Common plecs

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It looks like i may be ending up with 3 common plecs for my 200gal tank when i get it as a freind of mine is going to uni within the next couple of months and is rehoming/selling all his fish including a 10inch common plec...I want to take it off him mainly because its going to my lfs if he doesn't find anyone to take it off his hands and my lfs is notorious for selling common plecs to people with 10gal tanks and i don't want that to happen to his...
I've been doing so much research on them recently but i gathered that most people have never kept 3 adult or near adult common plecs in the same tank with a growing sailfin as well...
On planetcatfish.com all its say for common plec compatability is "peaceful as far as large plecs go"- i find this realy vague, its like saying "yes this piranha is peacful as far as piranhas go but will still eat your fish" etc.
Im still at the point where, if i need to get a slightly larger tank i can still get it but i need to have everything figured out by mid july so i don't want to make any mistakes...Getting very strong filtration isn't a problem at all but i wanna know if so many large plecs are going to get along ok? Any tips/advice?

 

[smithrc]

whats the footprint of the tank - Ideally you will want as much floor space as possible.

They will more than likely be quite teritorial so there are 2 trains of thought to follow.

A/
Lots of hiding places and lots of 'funature' to break up line if sight and divide territory

B/
No hiding places and no defining bounderies.


A/ will give them their own places to call home but without failure one will want anothers hiding place. B/ will remove things to fight over and they may live happily along side each other. But who really wants a 200gal bare tank?

I'll be honest - in a 200gal tank I'd want to have 2 12" plecs and a few smaller (6-8") not 3 12"+ and an 18+.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The tank is going to be 6-7ft long, 3ft at the sides and about 2ft high- its also 200 UK gallons and not US ones...

The thing is is that i already have 2 common plecs and a small sailfin- the largest common plec is about 7inchs long and lives in a 50gallon+ tank with a 4-5inch sailfin plec and my other common plec is about 6inchs and lives in a 30gallon...
The whole point of the 200gallon tank is so they can all happily grow up together in it without getting stunted growth and the such like, i've had the plecs for a fair amount of time and i got them all when they were tiny little 1inch things starving in my lfs- rehoming them is realy out of the question since i couldn't trust anyone else to give them what they need, so it is why im trying to give them all they need myself.
Money realy isn't an issue as far as the tank is concerned so thats not a problem but my main concern is maintaining the tank itself although i suppose i could go for a bit larger tank but not too much...

I'll try to give each plec his own "cave", my largest common and small sailfin currently share the same cave which i made very happily in and never leave each others side and the cave is about a 1 1/2ft long, how big a cave is a full grown sailfin going to need to sleep comfortably in?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

After a bit of thought, would 5 1-2ft cavesfor the plecs be okay with lots of planting and well defined spaces marking terotorial boundrys? I feel like the pleco lady right now! I wish i could save more common and sailfin plecs though, poor little things get so abused all the time in small tanks...

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ok, some new plans, i think i will make the tank a 280gal or posibly a 300gal one so it will be 6ft long, 4ft at the sides and 2ft high- is this going to be enough to help sort out any terotorial agression between the plecs?

 

[smithrc]

I'd say so - That'll be a very nice tank
6ft x 4ft x 2ft - wow thats 3x 4x2x2 stuck together!

you'll be able to get some nice sized mid smimmers too

 

[hellohefalump]

wow... *speechless* wow....

what a tank that would be...

wow...

 

[Torrean]

I still think commons grow to 18+. Wallmart says they do at least. And the LFS I got mine from said the same thing. 300 gallon tank should be just fine for that many 18+" plecs.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Sorry i took a while to reply- been away for a couple of days, as long as the plecs are going to be happy, im happy . Im still discussing over adopting my friends common plec as his mum likes it alot although she can't look after it for various reasons so we are still working things out, but when it comes down to it i will probably still end up with 3 commons one way or another as my lfs is always getting in ones that have outgrown their owners tanks.
Hmm...I think its safe to say im seriously addicted to fish keeping ! I spend way more on my fish than i do on myself, its like my life story- "little did she know, that fateful day when her landlord gave her a 10gallon tank all those clouded years ago, her addiction to plecos and livebearers and those adorable corys would consume her mind and she would aspire to make her whole house into a giant aquarium!!! Mwha ha ha!!!"
Or somthing like that..."cough"...