How Larger Tank Do I Need For My Gibby?

[philb]

Hi,

I bought a gibbicpes pleco at around 2.5 inches long around 14months ago! Be misinformed i didn't realise how fast this thing would grow!

Hes now just over 10inches, which I think is incredible in that shorter space of time!

At the moment hes in a 180litre tank, what sort of size tank is he going to be comfortable in, the one at the moment is a Fluval Duo deeep 1000, so 39inches long and creating a lot of waste! im currently running an external filter and he has a few inhabitants, 2 silver sharks, a golden nugget pleco, 3 cardinal tetras, 2 zebra danios and 3 small clown loaches?

any ideas?

Cheers

 

[xingumike]

6x2x2 (feet) minimum imo

 

[Davo86]

6x2x2 (feet) minimum imo

Agreed, you will also need a larger tank for the sharks and clowns too, a 6ft long will be much needed for these fish when fully grown

 

[n3ont3tra]

Yeah you might even need bigger than that if you plan to keep the balas (silver sharks). They are very skittish and like to be in bigger groups.

 

[Gibbo]

May end up fighting with the Gold Nugget as well if low on space... that fish alone would appreciate a good territory. Provide plenty of good caves/refuges for both fish, and large, regular water changes.

 

[indigoj]

I've got my 7" Gibby in a 5ftx18"x18" at the moment (he was around 2" when I got him 8 months ago) with a plan to upgrade to a 6x2x2 or 7x2x2 as soon as I have the cash.

I too made the silly newbie mistake of listening to the LFS when they said 'oh they rarely get above 8 inches' I now know that is becasue they are usually kept in tanks that are too small.

I fully expect 'Nipper' to reach 12 inches within the next 6 months or so as he gets a very varied diet (loves prawns) so I'm aiming to have the bigger tank not long after that.

One thing I noticed is that he had a massive growth spurt when he was moved into the 5ft from a 3ft, he grew about 2 inches seemingly overnight!