How big do plecos get?

[Paradise_Gourami]

I have 2 common plecos that just keep growing thier 6 inches now and i now their going to get bigger. Ive heard that they cand get up to 20 inches whats the bigest pleco youve seen?

 

[Morrgan]

The biggest common pleco I've seen was about 10 inches, but from what I've heard (and you too apparently), they can get much bigger than that.

 

[Eelzor]

usually the common plecos get 18" maximum.

 

[jonall]

I bought a Plec last night and asked my LFS how big it could get, he showed me one that was around 10" but he also told me that it was raised in a 6ft tank and that thier growth is related to the size of tank they grow up in, anyone out there know if this is true ? He may have just been talking rubbish to get the sale which he would have gotten anyway I plan on getting a much bigger tank in the future so was not to worried about its eventual size. But he did save me a couple of £'s on buying a air venturi kit for my filter and told me how to do it with just a piece of rubber tubing

 

[ryan]

the biggest plec i hav ever seen was 22 inches long. it was MASSIVE and very ver impressive

 

[OscarCichlid]

i bought a pl*co at about 3 inches from my lfs and put it in a 20 gallon tank wit a Baby Oscar, Kissing gourami, and 2 black skirt tetra. now about 8 months later it is huge. Its now 9-10 inches in a 20 gallon tank and will soo be moved to his new spacious home, a 75 gallon tank.. i wonder how big he will get in there???

 

[Morrgan]

I bought a Plec last night and asked my LFS how big it could get, he showed me one that was around 10" but he also told me that it was raised in a 6ft tank and that thier growth is related to the size of tank they grow up in, anyone out there know if this is true?

As far as I know, this isn't true. It's the water quality and diet that affects the growth of a fish, not the size of the tank. If they are kept in a small tank but have good water and good food, they will grow.

The story about fish not growing if the tank is too small could have come up just because it's harder to keep good water quality in a small tank, and so the size of the tank matters indirectly.