How Big Do L27 Plecos Go

[black molly3]

how big do they go and what does the L stand for and what does the number stand for.
i seen one at my lfs today and it was £15.99 is this cheep or dear

 

[SuperColey1]

Check these links out as there are several variants of L27

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=337
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=994
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=993
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=891

If I were you I would post in the Catfish section in the Plecos and Loricarids section as the Royal Plec is a much loved fish in there.

As far as I know £15 is a good price if it is indeed a Royal. They can get up to 16" (without tail!!!!)

 

[black angel]

So what happened to the skiing and taking back of the fish?

 

[LisaLQ]

They get big but after the initial couple of inches they slow down to an inch a year. How big is this one for £15?

Either way, you cant have one in that tank. Not a chance in hell. Even with daily water changes, there's no way you'd keep on top of the mess - these guys poo sawdust, and even in a 2ft tank (15 gal) I was doing water changes and gravel vacs every other day just to keep on top of the mess produced by a 1.5" royal. And he was the only fish in there, it wasn't an alerady far too overcrowded tank.

You really have to listen to advice - you cant add any more fish. At all. None. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

But please please please, if you are going to add yet another fish - not a plec - and especially not a royal...

 

[nmonks]

Following up LisaLQ's comment above, your selection of fish is ambtious, to say the least. It isn't just a question of size, but also behaviour and water chemistry.

1. The gobies and mollies certainly need hard, alkaline water and I would STRONGLY recommend brackish water, something none of your other fish, with the exception of the panchax, would really enjoy.
2. Pimelodus pictus is which is what I imagine your "pimodella" catfish is. This is a schooling, predatory fish. It shouldn't be kept on its own. Regardless, it will eat small fishes, such as, say, the gobies. These catfish get to about 12-15 cm.
3. The knifefish is also predatory and potentially rather large (certainly expect around 15-20 cm).
4. Honey gouramis are small, sensitive fish that need peace and quiet.
5. Rams are aggressive for their size and likely to hammer the honey gouramis if they decide to spawn and call "dibs" on some nice bit of territory.
6. Golden panchax are predatory fish that get to around 10 cm long. Can be territorial.
7. Black Synodontis are, I imagine, Synodontis nigrita. These are big (15 cm+), territorial, and rather aggressive when mature. Ideal for use in things like communities of Central American cichlids, but not in standard communities.
8. Green severum are large (15 cm+) and can be very aggressive, and not perfect community fish except with large, robust tankmates.
9. Common plec could be anything but almost certainly one of the large loricariids. Expect 30-40 cm. Needs a big tank. Grows quite quickly.

Even if you had a 125 gallon tank, mixing a common plec and a royal plec isn't a brilliant idea. These large plecs tend to be territorial, and while they can sometimes work out kept in large groups, in twos and threes there tends to be a lot of bullying.

Cheers, Neale

12.5 GAL freshwater tank
4 bumble bee gobies
2 baloon mollys
1 Pimodella catfish
1 black knife fish
2 red honey dwarf gourami
2 golden PANCHAX
2 rams
1 black upside down catfish
1 green severum
1 common plec

 

[Shadow~Fox]

What type of filtration are you running on that? I can tell you that a Black Knife fish will grow to 50cm +!

Um you could have a small L27 in the 12.5 gallon until its about 3-4'' IF

(1) Only fish in the tank
(2) MEGA filtration
(3) Daily water changes
(4) Knowing you can get a bigger tank

I know that you want to keep this fish, I love this fish especially the whitish form, but if you don’t sort out the tank you have now your going to kill all your fish. But please I am not trying to be mean.

 

[LisaLQ]

I personally wouldn't even risk a 3-4" royal in there. I had a 1.5" royal in a 15g on his own, and it meant water changes every other day, and there was tonnes of mess just from him. It was managable at his size, but if he'd have been 3-4", it would have meant twice daily water changes I'd think - daily gravel vacs, and still one very unhappy little plec. Any other baby plec you'd probably get away with it short term, but not a royal - they make much more mess than most plecs due to them eating lots of wood.