Plecos a question

[pettygil]

Plecos. I bought at pet store. I bought 2 tiny Plecos but the pet store lady said they can get up to 21 inches. I have a 40 gallon tall tank, the lady told me that in a few years they would out grow the tank.. I also have other fish in the tank. They would not take the fish back. I do have a friend who has a pound that she has tons of Gold Fish, could she put plecos in her pound once the fish are old enough? I know there are tons of diff Plecos, which Plecos stay small? How old do Plecos live for?

 

[Andy Sager]

Plecos. I bought at pet store. I bought 2 tiny Plecos but the pet store lady said they can get up to 21 inches. I have a 40 gallon tall tank, the lady told me that in a few years they would out grow the tank.. I also have other fish in the tank. They would not take the fish back. I do have a friend who has a pound that she has tons of Gold Fish, could she put plecos in her pound once the fish are old enough? I know there are tons of diff Plecos, which Plecos stay small? How old do Plecos live for?

You want to stay with the Bristlenose / bushynose Plecos. There are a number of variations to these (i.e. Albino, calico, lemon, blue eyed lemon ) but they stay smaller. As for whether yours can go in your friend's pound ( Pond? ) will depend on what types of goldfish she has in it and whether she would want it. Yours is probably a Hypostomus Plecostomus which get very large but are sold very small. They can go after the slime coats of slow moving goldfish so if she has anything " valuable" in there like Koi or Orandas, I would not want those in with a large Hypo. Pleco.
Hypos plecos live about 10-15 years if they are cared for properly.

Here's a list of different small plecos. 14 Small Pleco Species (Under 4.3" in Adult Size) Some are VERY expensive so read through the whole descriptions before falling in love with any.

 

[angiemike6]

Hi Pettygil. Andy is right about getting a bristlenose pleco, but in my opinion the common plec you likely have is probably better at getting rid of any algae. I also have a 40 gallon tank, and when I started fishkeeping 30 years ago there were not the number of different plecs available, and it was fairly normal then for an aquatic centre to suggest a common plec. I had a common plec which eventually reached about 18 inches in length, but as it started in my tank when it was about 1 inch long, it was used to the tank and never seem stressed. You asked how long that pleco would last for, well mine lasted 28 years. I did not worry about having a pleco that large, and have replaced him with another one. I am surprised that the aquatic centre would not take them back as selling you two of them for a tank of your size is ridiculous, and most good stores will take fish back. If you do keep one of them, you shouldn't keep both as eventually they will together be too big for your tank.

 

[pettygil]

I read that plecos like to hide. I have 2 small plecos and I can not find them. I will give the one pleco to my friend, so I will only have one pleco in my fish tank. She also has plecos Are plecos eat algae?

 

[Andy Sager]

I read that plecos like to hide. I have 2 small plecos and I can not find them. I will give the one pleco to my friend, so I will only have one pleco in my fish tank. She also has plecos Are plecos eat algae?

There are plecos that eat mainly algae, Plecos that must consume some wood fiber to help in their digestion and some plecos that are carnivores that eat meat. If you do in fact have the Hypostomus plecostomus, they are omnivores so they will eat algae as well as meat foods like brine shrimp, bloodworms and similar. Bristlenose plecos eat mainly algae and other vegetable matter but will also eat things like shrimps or worms if available.

 

[pettygil]

One of my Pleco died, so now I only have one Pleco which seems to be fine. My water is fine, no Ammonia and very little Nitrates. I am not sure why it died.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Is there enough algae and biofilm for the pleco to eat? Are you feeding any supplementary food for the pleco like algae wafers or vegetables? Some plecos need driftwood in the aquascape to rasp on as a digestive aid. Do you have any driftwood in your aquarium?

 

[pettygil]

Is there enough algae and biofilm for the pleco to eat? Are you feeding any supplementary food for the pleco like algae wafers or vegetables? Some plecos need driftwood in the aquascape to rasp on as a digestive aid. Do you have any driftwood in your aquarium?

I got plenty of Algae in my tank. I did order algae wafers and I will get tomorrow to feed my fish. I do not have drift wood, do I need to buy some? I whish I knew what kind of plecto I had but the pet store does not know and their fish looked sick, which is maybe one of the plecos died. The fish looked really skinny, but maybe plecos look that way.

 

[pettygil]

I just order driftwood on Amazon on line, it will be here in 2 days

 

[Andy Sager]

Post a picture of the Pleco and we can hopefully identify it. If the store's fish were sick or sickly, it's probably why the one fish died. One of the things to look for when buying plecos is if their belly is full or sunken in. Never buy a fish with a sunken in belly. That means it's not eating for the store so it probably won't eat for you either. If I am right about yours being a Hypostomus Plecostomus, it's not one of the wood eaters.

 

[pettygil]

I try to take photo, but the fish swims away when I get near the tank. And he or she likes to hide. I will try to get the right moment to try to take a photo. I will try to take a photo, if fishy swims out and about. I will try to look at the fish see if he or she belly, kind of hard to do cause fish likes to hide.

 

[Andy Sager]

I try to take photo, but the fish swims away when I get near the tank. And he or she likes to hide. I will try to get the right moment to try to take a photo. I will try to take a photo, if fishy swims out and about. I will try to look at the fish see if he or she belly, kind of hard to do cause fish likes to hide.

If your camera has a zoom, take a movie when the fish is out and about and zoom in. Also, the best way to check it's underside is when it's sucking on the glass panels. When at a store, if the fish are not clinging to the glass, always look at them in the bag to make sure they are not sunken in BEFORE you purchase them.

 

[pettygil]

Here is a photo. I might have to try another pic.. fish did take off but he did so fast, I will try again. This was just a practice photo.

 

[Andy Sager]

Here is a photo. I might have to try another pic.. fish did take off but he did so fast, I will try again. This was just a practice photo.

Keep practicing.

 

[pettygil]

Here is a video of my pleco, hope this will see better than the photo I took.

 

[Andy Sager]

Here is a video of my pleco, hope this will see better than the photo I took.

I got dizzy watching the floor. LOL Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a Hypostomus. The algae waffers or tablets should suit him fine. He should also eat any food that makes it to the bottom as well.

 

[pettygil]

Well at least by watching my video you do not need to get drunk. lol I do have bottom feeders so I am not sure how much will be left to eat. I have cory fish and I use sinking pellets. I also mis read your post I thought you said hippopotamus lol

 

[pettygil]

I just received my Alge waffers and my corys ate it, now what am I supposed to do? i need food for my fish

 

[Andy Sager]

I just received my Alge waffers and my corys ate it, now what am I supposed to do? i need food for my fish

Try feeding the waffer just after the lights go out. Plecos are more nocturnal critters so it will be out and about more while the cories are sleeping.

 

[pettygil]

Try feeding the waffer just after the lights go out. Plecos are more nocturnal critters so it will be out and about more while the cories are sleeping.

Thanks for your help. Will do, now my fish can eat. I found this reply to be very helpful.