bristlenose plecos

[Harriet]

i have a bristlenose pleco in a 15 gallon with two angelfish the angels are moving to a bigger tank soon (two weeks into cycling) he can’t go with them as i have a common pleco who will be going in with them the new tank is 200l and i just don’t have space for a bigger tank i rescued this fish when he had a bad burn from carelessness with previous owners and he was in a very badly overstocked 15 gallon he was with the two angels who i also took in as the tank was too small with previous owner wayyyy too small obviously and it was the pleco the 2 angels 6-7 mollies and 5 penguin tetras which is scary i know for a 15 gallon and there was 100s of tiny snails on there too but now i’m reading 15 gallons is too small for him and i there is no way i can get a bigger tank until i can get my own house which is at least a year and a half a away i don’t want him to suffer and no my lfs DO NOT take fish back they never have i live in a small town where stuff isn’t that easy they don’t even sell tanks bigger than 15 most don’t even sell tanks they just sell fish, i’m just confused on how it’s too small when there plenty room for him to swim and will be even more once the angels are in a bigger tank i wanted to get him some tank mates but guess this isn’t possible really??

 

[Harriet]

when i said i don’t have space for a bigger tank i meant another bigger tank i wish i could get him i really do and it’s not a money issue it’s a space issue i only have one room for everything i own and there’s barely even space for one big one but the angels needed it but there’s actually no physical way to put another big tank in here

 

[charliebankston]

How big is the BN pleco again?

 

[Harriet]

he’s 4 maybe 4 and a half inches no bigger than 5 for sure

 

[charliebankston]

What I read said 25 gallons min. 4-6" growth. I'm sure he'll be OK in there for awhile. Maybe see if you can rehome him after he's healed up. I know you would like to keep him, but it doesn't sound feasible for you at this time. Us fish keepers want them all. Someone was rehoming a 12" flowerhorn cheap near me last week. I really would love to have it. But no matter how I rearranged my stocking, I just didn't have a tank big enough for him. Prob ev1 on this forum has faced that same dilemma

 

[Harriet]

he’s fully healed now i’ve had him since before Covid started and he was in there alone until his burn was gone, i’d honestly love to rehome him where he would be happier but i live in a middle of england town nobody barely has fish here most people don’t have tanks bigger than 15 the only person i know other than me who has bigger tanks on my partners grandfather who only keeps goldfish and has no space anyway the local fish stores have terrible fish conditions too i witnessed a woman stick her unwashed probably soapy and sanitised hands (due to covid) and swish her hand round extremely fast in the water cause i told her there was a dead fish in there, small towns are tough for fish and being 16 even i made a post with all my friends also being highschoolers i doubt it would reach anybody who had one anyway

 

[Harriet]

also my other lfs have like no tropical fish and the ones they do have are sitting in green sludgy water they give out wrong advice constantly luckily i don’t just believe random untrained employees but most people do here the tanks i do see are always not big enough or overstocked or dirty most people here get fed wrong info about everything fish aren’t common here everyone i talk to treat my fish like they don’t matter cause they’re fish

 

[charliebankston]

That stinks! Well, you might be stuck with him. I don't know that I would put anyone else in that tank tho. Most small fish need a little school, then you'd def be over stocked

 

[Harriet]

i also can’t drive obviously and can’t go anywhere and most people who want a pleco just go to the pet store most people have one by default it seems like my local store sold my mum a common pleco and told she could put it in a ten gallon forever which is obviously never true in any situation

 

[Harriet]

i’ll leave him in his tank alone until i can get him a bigger one when i move out i’ll definitely be upgrading his decor as it had be quite minimal with the angels in there he has a fake rock ornament that he loves but i’ll definitely be upgrading with some small wood pieces and live plants for him

 

[charliebankston]

Yeah, I used to keep fish back in the stone ages when I was your age. Years before petsmart or petco etc existed. One lfs, and the guy/ owner would sell me whatever I wanted. Never gave advice, etc. I had a 20g with a pacu and a 29g with an Oscar. There was no one to ask and no internet resources. And that dude just was looking to make money. Alot of good info out there now tho

 

[charliebankston]

Sounds like you have a good plan for him then, good luck!

 

[Harriet]

i’m honestly glad my local stores don’t sell huge fish like that they have goldfish that are on the larger side but the biggest tropical fish they have is angelfish i feel like many people would have fish in tanks that are way way too small and majorly overstocked the biggest fish nearish i’ve ever seen was a huge huge tank filled with fully grown discus at a koi carp center like five towns over i was such a long drive but the koi and fish were worth it even if i could only look

 

[Harriet]

and surprisingly even that store had a lot of small dead tropical fish like the guppies and the cories also the staff were very rude and staring like i wasn’t aloud in there they’re reviews aren’t the best for kindness lol

 

[charliebankston]

Wow. Customers over here always give poor reviews to the chain pet stores, but i live south of Houston, and go to alot of stores up there. I've been in maybe 20 different ones. Prob half of those had no better quality fish than the chains. And dead ones. And sick ones. And staff that either didn't care or didn't know. I really don't see much difference in the 2 styles. I stick with the same 3 stores basically

 

[charliebankston]

I see alot with ich in stores. I've even told some staff, but by the time I left, they're still selling stock from the same tank

 

[charliebankston]

My wife says they sell the sick ones so ppl come back and buy medicine. ?? Maybe she's right