HELP!!! Pleco ruining my tank!!!

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Have a twelve inch pleco he is my favorite fish which is why I went out and get a fifty gallon long 48"x12"x18" to get him out of the thirty gallon he was in he is really happy and I decided to go with play sand as substrate but he keeps digging down to the glass every night!!! And it makes the tank look like poop! And I have tried different things to get him to stop but they won't work I need you guys' help!!

 

[jetajockey]

I don't think there's much you can do, big fish in small tanks tend to be destructive. Even in a much larger tank he may do the same thing.

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Well it just really looks bad but the sand really looks good!!

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

I don't think there's much you can do, big fish in small tanks tend to be destructive. Even in a much larger tank he may do the same thing.

Would more sand help??

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

Perhaps a way larger tank would help :/

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Perhaps a way larger tank would help :/

Not an option... My mom is really worried bout anything larger than my sixty five gallon especially since yesterday I broke my arm at work.... What if I let him dig but put more sand in bald spots?

 

[DragonFish71]

He's still going to dig where he wants to dig whether you add more sand or make spots for him.

Adding large rocks might work but the down side is when he digs, they could fall against the glass.

I finally had to re-home my 12 incher because he was so destructive, and I had him in a 120g. He'd root up plants, move the wood, dig pits. He was to worst mannered fish in the tank, and that's saying a lot when you consider there are jack dempseys in there who are supposed to be notorious for digging.

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

He's still going to dig where he wants to dig whether you add more sand or make spots for him.

Adding large rocks might work but the down side is when he digs, they could fall against the glass.

I finally had to re-home my 12 incher because he was so destructive, and I had him in a 120g. He'd root up plants, move the wood, dig pits. He was to worst mannered fish in the tank, and that's saying a lot when you consider there are jack dempseys in there who are supposed to be notorious for digging.

I can't get rid of him he is ZUES! Had him fir year and a half!

 

[emerald76]

I can't get rid of him he is ZUES! Had him fir year and a half!

Sometimes you have to for the sake of the fish and the tankmates
I'm rehoming my Molly, Apollo, who sort of knows his name and kisses my finger
It hurts but you may have to

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Sometimes you have to for the sake of the fish and the tankmates
I'm rehoming my Molly, Apollo, who sort of knows his name and kisses my finger
It hurts but you may have to

I thought getting a larger tank would do it :/

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

The tank is 48"x12" & the pleco is 12" & still growing
I'd feel pretty clusterphobic in that tank

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

The tank is 48"x12" & the pleco is 12" & still growing
I'd feel pretty clusterphobic in that tank

But now he Is all active opposed to when he was in the thirty he seems so happy!!

 

[Scott F]

Putting him into a new home may have him somewhat confused and he's staking out his spot.

I know I got a pleco this weekend, a baby, but there's plenty of hiding spots for him. He's found a nice place under a rock but he digs under it because that's what he wants.

Apparently the neon sign reading " don't dig in the tank " was a waste of money and time.

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Putting him into a new home may have him somewhat confused and he's staking out his spot.

I know I got a pleco this weekend, a baby, but there's plenty of hiding spots for him. He's found a nice place under a rock but he digs under it because that's what he wants.

Apparently the neon sign reading " don't dig in the tank " was a waste of money and time.

Yeah I got mine at inch and a half

 

[Jscoggins]

yeah I had to get rid of my 12" pleco when I decided to go with live plants...cuz he tore everything up..every fake plant I had was floating all the time it seemed like..and I knew that he couldn't be doing that if they were live plants...So I called around to pet stores and found one that would take him...It was hard but I'm glad I did it now!!!

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

yeah I had to get rid of my 12" pleco when I decided to go with live plants...cuz he tore everything up..every fake plant I had was floating all the time it seemed like..and I knew that he couldn't be doing that if they were live plants...So I called around to pet stores and found one that would take him...It was hard but I'm glad I did it now!!!

Well Imma just let him keep moving around the sand he's worth more then the sand looking nice!

 

[Cecil2010]

Your Pleco grew 11 and a half inches in a year and a half?

What kind of Pleco is it?

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

Normal pleco.... And he Is closer to twelve

 

[Starka]

Normal pleco.... And he Is closer to twelve

My BN plecos also dig in the sand. I don't mind half the time, but they tend to move the wood or anything that leans, cus they try to dig a hole underneath it.
My sand is about 2" deep and they never get to the bottom, though my are like quarter the size of yours.

Unfortunetly common plecos will get to at least 24" if not more and will require a 100 or 150 gal tank.

 

[TenaciousTriggerFish]

My BN plecos also dig in the sand. I don't mind half the time, but they tend to move the wood or anything that leans, cus they try to dig a hole underneath it.
My sand is about 2" deep and they never get to the bottom, though my are like quarter the size of yours.

Unfortunetly common plecos will get to at least 24" if not more and will require a 100 or 150 gal tank.

I'm not moving him sorry guys but he I'd mine... He is my ZUES that I have raised and haven't been able to find a decent pleco since like him since all the other ones