Plecostomus Growth

[legoms013]

How fast to plecos grow?? I just bought a tiny little 2 inch one today but I can't wait until he/she is bigger (my local pet store has a huge 8 inch one).

[YaYgoldFish]

how big is your tank? And it depends on what kind you have.. im guessing you have the common kind and it probably will be a while til it reaches 8 inches..

[RobbieG]

I have two common plecos that are about a year old and are about that size (8 inches)

The tank in your profile will be too small for the fish in about that long.

[Drumachine09]

What is your tank size, filtration, waterchange amount and schedule?


Depending on the above three factors, you might not be able to keep the pleco.

[legoms013]

30 Gal. 50% water change weekly......Top fin 30 filter.

I have a ornamental pond he can move to when he gets too big.

[gm72]

Unless the pond is extremely well heated you won't be able to keep the pleco in there when he gets bigger. They are warm water fish and would never survive a winter. A 30 gallon is not near large enough for even an 8" pleco. They are VERY dirty fish. You will need at least a 55 gallon into which you would move him. If you are unable/unwilling to upgrade to a larger tank, please consider taking him back to the store. There are smaller varieties of plecos that would do far better in a small 30 gallon.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Another thing that really affects pleco growth is how much he eats. If he is eating alot, he will obviously grow faster than if he eats too little.

[freshwaterfishlover]

I only own 1 Pleco and it is in my 38g. It is a Briselnose and It usually grows to around 6", but my store told me more like 8". Good Smaller Pleco.

[Tres]

Many stores sell clown plecos or dwarf plecos.
they can only grow to 4-6 inches.

Very nice if you don't want to stunt the growth of you pleco :)

[tropfish]

i sae the smaller plecos like tres is talking aobut in the lfs today. They only get about %in from what the card says, and they look almost exactly like the common plecos, there is only a small difference in coloration.

[freshwaterfishlover]

Clown Pleco do cost some money though.

[Tres]

Mine were 6$ each... and two is enough to keep a 55 gallon tank pretty clean.