Rescued 9inch pleco

[Wayne487]

Ok backstory:
so today I went to buy a second hand tank today (50g US) and while I was there the owner asked if I wanted a pleco to go with it for free as they couldn't rehome it so I had a look and there was a 9inch common pleco in a tank that was maybe 2G (if that! It was around 12inch long by around 10inch high and wide) with a few small fish in with him. He has a horrible burn from the heater on his nose it was that small he couldn't move away from it, I felt so sorry for the poor guy/girl so I agreed to rehome it. so I bought some melafix and have started treating him with that in quarantine for now.

My question is how big of a tank do they need? I don't intend on keeping him for very long if I can help it, ill try and give him to someone with a bigger tank when he's healed. For the meantime would my 4ft tank be suitable (when I've got it cleaned? (currently running my filter (260gph) in my 125L tank to try and get some BB going) like I said he's around 9inch long currently

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Well, they can get to be 1.5- 2 feet long

Nice rescue tho

 

[aquandrew]

180 gallons minimum for those guys

 

[Wayne487]

180 gallons minimum for those guys

Oh dear! I don't have a tank anywhere near that size, looks like ill be trying to rehome him again soon!

 

[bettaowner]

I hope he does ok.

 

[Mebbid]

180 gallons minimum for those guys

since I joined this forum I keep seeing larger and larger numbers for minimum tank size for them.

This web site says 50 - 100 gallons
Common Pleco

This site has a recommended 75 gallons
Common Pleco – The Care, Feeding and Breeding of Common Plecos

This site recommends a 72" tank for adults which is 125+ gallons.
Pleco Fish Profile, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish

Finally this site recommends a 5' - 6' tank.
plecoplanet: Which algae eating Pleco???

Whichever you choose to believe is up to you. 180 minimum is a bit overkill tho according to these sites.

In any case putting him in a 55g is a tank that should work for quite a while and is a HUGE improvement to his previous home. Heck, it may give you enough time and reason to upgrade to a bigger tank when the time comes

 

[Samzter]

Yes they can go into a 125g+

 

[Cactuspixie]

Ok backstory:
so today I went to buy a second hand tank today (50g US) and while I was there the owner asked if I wanted a pleco to go with it for free as they couldn't rehome it so I had a look and there was a 9inch common pleco in a tank that was maybe 2G (if that! It was around 12inch long by around 10inch high and wide) with a few small fish in with him. He has a horrible burn from the heater on his nose it was that small he couldn't move away from it, I felt so sorry for the poor guy/girl so I agreed to rehome it. so I bought some melafix and have started treating him with that in quarantine for now.

My question is how big of a tank do they need? I don't intend on keeping him for very long if I can help it, ill try and give him to someone with a bigger tank when he's healed. For the meantime would my 4ft tank be suitable (when I've got it cleaned? (currently running my filter (260gph) in my 125L tank to try and get some BB going) like I said he's around 9inch long currently

Well done! He'll be fine in the 4' tank until you find someone with, say, a 6' tank. Plenty of filtration and thorough gravel vacs with pwcs and he will be fine. Make sure he has some wood too

 

[Wayne487]

Well done! He'll be fine in the 4' tank until you find someone with, say, a 6' tank. Plenty of filtration and thorough gravel vacs with pwcs and he will be fine. Make sure he has some wood too

The tank I got came with wood I assume he was in the 4ft tank until they emptied it to sell it but personally I would have got him a home first then sold the tank but oh well. I can see a visible improvement on his nose already its not as red as it was so that's good

 

[Wayne487]

Thanks to everyone for the information I'm not too sure if ill be able to keep him as a tank that big would be a huge undertaking and not sure I have that kind of room as much as I wish I did lol. Thanks again everyone

 

[Coursair]

I've also rehomed Common Plecos to heated ponds. They are hardy fish when they have their needs met.

 

[aquandrew]

since I joined this forum I keep seeing larger and larger numbers for minimum tank size for them.

This web site says 50 - 100 gallons
Common Pleco

This site has a recommended 75 gallons
Common Pleco – The Care, Feeding and Breeding of Common Plecos

This site recommends a 72" tank for adults which is 125+ gallons.
Pleco Fish Profile, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish

Finally this site recommends a 5' - 6' tank.
plecoplanet: Which algae eating Pleco???

Whichever you choose to believe is up to you. 180 minimum is a bit overkill tho according to these sites.

In any case putting him in a 55g is a tank that should work for quite a while and is a HUGE improvement to his previous home. Heck, it may give you enough time and reason to upgrade to a bigger tank when the time comes

the tank has to at least be over 20 inches from front to back, just for it to turn around, and 50-75 gallons just doesn't cut it. not to mention the enormous bioload these prehistoric looking creatures make. it makes me mad that chain stores label them to fit in 55 gallon tanks. tropical fish hobbyist had a pretty good article about them in june
http://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/june_2013/m2/Page.action?lm=1372702354000&pg=72