Tale of Two Plecos--Goliath and Runt

[fearlessfisch]

I bought two albino dwarf plecos about a month ago. Both were the same size at purchase....they were little bitty wee fishes about the size of an earring. Goliath has already grown to 3 or 4 times his original size. Little Runt remains as tiny and runtish as the day I brought him home.

Goliath is smart. He knows immediately when I put veggies in the tank, and he is on top of them almost before I can withdraw my hand. He also scours the sand for edibles. Runt is active, but he spends all of his time rasping algae on the glass. I have gone so far as to pick him up and place him directly on a piece of zucchini to help him get the idea, but he just swims away. He doesn't seem very bright.

I am wondering if poor Runt will ever grow up. And no, it's not psychological...I promise I don't call him Runt to his face. I don't think I'm doing anything blatantly wrong, since Goliath is growing so well....right?

I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions for poor little Runt.

 

[Toirtis]

Could be:

a) Genetic...it is possible that Runt really is a runt.

b) Goliath is a bully and keeping Runt away from veggies, etc when you are not around (i.e. at night)...and just the constant bullying could be stressing Runt into poor growth.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Thanks, Toirtis. It never occurred to me that he might just be that way. I haven't seen any aggression, but you're right that I don't see them at night. I think I will start putting veggies at both far ends of the tank instead of just in the middle, just in case Runt is facing competition.

 

[TankGirl]

I have three ancistrus (not albino - BrianNY knows a lot about runts in the albino variety) and my male is significantly larger than the females, and I had similar concerns. I do think the male bullies his way around the tank and gets more food, but I see the females eating often enough to reassure me that they might just be genetically smaller - they are about 2.5" (have been for over 4 years now) and the male is a good 4.5".

 

[fearlessfisch]

Thanks, Tankgirl. This is very interesting to me. I have been reassured by the fact that Runt is very active and always seems to be eating algae, even though his body doesn't show it. I will have to do some research on sexing plecos.

 

[TankGirl]

For the bristlenose, males have tentacles, females do not. There is tons of info on planetcatfish.com, in the cat-e-log, with plenty of pics.