Aquarium/Pleco Question

[jumperstop]

Today I purchased 5 plecos from petsmart, which I realized after I got home that was way too many because they can get up to 2 feet long. Right now 3 of them are about 3 inches, 2 are about 2 inches. I have a 55 gallon tank and figured I would keep them until they became too large because they are not taking up a lot of room at the moment. Is this an ok idea? How long will I be able to keep them? And will the local fish store buy/adopt them from me?

 

[Blueiz]

I reccomend rehoming them now, as they have large body masses and are poop machines. Plus, you won't be near as attached to them now as you can be months from now. They grow pretty fast as well. As for the local pet store taking them, you'll have to ask...

 

[dkpate]

+1. You WILL become attached to them lol.

 

[jsoong]

moved to FW - general

 

[jumperstop]

So if I kept one or two would that be ok for my size tank? I have two different breeds and would like to keep at least one of each if possible.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I would suggest only keeping one because of their eventual size. Not only that but they're going to need food and with 2 of them you'll have to keep on top of supplimenting then with enough to eat. In my opinion one is perfect for that size tank any more is pushing it.

 

[mfdrookie516]

wait... what kind do you have? If theyre some of the smaller variety, they may only get to be 2-3 maybe 5 inches... if theyre common plecos, those are the ones that get to be feet

 

[mgamer20o0]

what kind of plecos did you get?

they are also very heavy on the bio load. i hope you have zucchini

 

[jumperstop]

I'm pretty sure they are the common breed of plecos because of their color. The smaller ones say thier "algea eaters" on the reciept, idk if that is a species or a petsmart stupid thing.

 

[mfdrookie516]

well petsmart does have some weird titles for things. can you post a couple pictures of them?

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

More than likely they are common pleccos. I just bought a new one for my tank and it's a common and the receipt says "algae eater" it's their product description.

 

[eatsomepopcorn]

I would keep them all and sell them when they get larger. Fish grow to the size of the tank. I have had plecos in 55g and at most mine grew to about 6-8 inches. However, I dont know what type I had. You don't have to rush them out the door unless you are trying to get your money back and the I would suggest going down to 1 or 2.

 

[mfdrookie516]

No, no, no. Fish DO grow to the size of the tank, on the outside... They do not, however, quit growing on the inside. Keeping a fish in a tank that is too small will ultimately lead to their early death!

Wanna hear the horse comparison again?

 

[eatsomepopcorn]

I will have to disagree with the rookster. My experience dates back to 1975 with freshwater, at least, and rarely have I seen a large fish grow to its maximum adult size in a tank that is smaller than ideal. I also have never heard of the inside growing to adult size while the ouside staying smallers, sounds like something from Alien vs. Predator.

 

[Aquarium1]

You might not have seen them grow the size of their tank because they're growth may have been stunted. Tip of the Week - Stunting Fish

 

[eatsomepopcorn]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing that with me. I don't know the science behind it, I only know what I have experienced. I am sure there are varied opinions on this subject. I do agree that Oscars are extremely hearty. The two that I had were jumpers and whenever they were frightened by a door slam or something like that they would swim to the bottom and the swim to the top full speed and scar themselves up pretty bad. Occasionally they would hit the hood in the right spot and fling open the tank top door (plastic door) and they would repeat this but the second time the door would be open and they would fly out of the tank. Sometimes this happened when I was not home and I would have to look around on the floor for them and throw one back in. They always survived.

 

[Aquarium1]

Lol. I've heard they have quite the personalities. Btw, I just thought I'd share a story that I learned from. My neighbor has a 55g. She filled it up one time, didn't let it cycle, didn't do pwcs, and probably overstocked it and apparently kept it running for 10 years before they got some disease. So she moves and starts again, no cycle no pwcs and starts with like 7 fish tht would grow to overstock her tank. All her fish died in about 2 months. I started my 55 at the same time and cycled and did pwcs and at first a few of mine died. But then my tank got better and hers started going downhill. That's why I try to stick with the guidelines and why I stayed with this forum (also because everyone here helped a bunch lol)

btw sorry how badly it's worded lol. I'm gettin sleepy.