How Many Per Tank?

[carronann]

Hi all, i'm new to the fish world. I've got a hexagonal tank and have 4 guppies, 4 tetras, a dwarf gurami and a siamese fighting fish and of course a pleco. Not quite sure which of the variety he is but i was told he'll grow to about 5"max. Is it possible to have more than 1 pleco per tank as i saw another one today and fell in love with him.

Regards
Carron

 

[Tolak]

What size hex?

 

[stang1]

Hi Carron.
I'd be very careful having a fighter with your guppies. Apparently because the guppies have colourful fins the fighters mistake them for another Betta and are likely to attack.

 

[sylvia]

Also dwarf gouramies and siamese fighters don't get along. You will have trouble eventualy.

You need to make sure you know what species of plec you have. Some grow to over a foot long. If yours grows to 5", it's probably some kind of bristlenose but posting a picture would help.

Most plecs are territorial so need lots of room to themselves. generaly speaking, they need to be one per tank.

As you mentioned your tank's a hex, I expect it's actualy too small for another plec anyway (and possibly for all those gouramies).

 

[Bex]

You can have more than 1 plec per tank but you need a lot of space on the bottom and you also need plenty of places for them to hide. Either make some caves or get some decent sized bits of wood that they can hide under. Most plecs like to graze on bogwood as well. Get good filtration too as you must keep the gravel clean as this is where they spend all their time.

I would say a hexagonal tank is probably not the best for having several plecs as most of the space is in the height, rather than lots of floor space. Do you know what size your tank is? Or how many gallons/litres?

I also wouldn't take your LFS's word for it that your plec will only grow to 5". Heard lots of stories from people who have been told this, only to find out their plec is a Common Plec which get well over 1 foot.

Got any pics of your pleccy so that someone can ID him for you? I would resist buying the plec you saw until you can be sure that your tank is suitable. It will result in tears if your tanks is not right.

Oh, and a word of warning. Buying plecs can be VERY addictive and may lead to you spending all your hard earned cash on much bigger tanks and expensive plecs Wish someone had warned me

 

[stang1]

Your not wrong Bex! My other half has now got his eye on a 5 foot tank because he loves plecs so much!

 

[Bex]

Your not wrong Bex! My other half has now got his eye on a 5 foot tank because he loves plecs so much!

That's what we've now got!

And now we're looking into an 8 foot.

Think I might set up a Plecos Anonymous group for all us addicts

 

[stang1]

Your not wrong Bex! My other half has now got his eye on a 5 foot tank because he loves plecs so much!

That's what we've now got!

And now we're looking into an 8 foot.

Think I might set up a Plecos Anonymous group for all us addicts

I bet there would be plenty of members
Just out of curiosity, how many plecs could we get in a 5 foot tank?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Your not wrong Bex! My other half has now got his eye on a 5 foot tank because he loves plecs so much!

That's what we've now got!

And now we're looking into an 8 foot.

Think I might set up a Plecos Anonymous group for all us addicts

I bet there would be plenty of members
Just out of curiosity, how many plecs could we get in a 5 foot tank?

It depends on the types of plecs you have or are going for, as many are quite territorial towards each other- even sailfin and common pleco's can be agressive towards each other, and they are some of the most peaceful pleco's out there. Generally speaking, most pleco's are happiest on their own unless specified otherwise.
Also, try to avoid mixing very large plecos with very small ones unless you have a back up tank for if things go wrong, as large ones can bully smaller ones out of food or territory like caves in the tank.

 

[Bex]

Pretty much what Tokis has said. Depends very much on their adult size.

We've got 6 in ours and we can see that is the limit. They range in size and we've been monitoring the small ones carefully to make sure they feed.

Things never happen like they should though. The plecs that are supposed to be grumpy aren't. The ones that are supposed to be shy are out all the time.

Our Royal plec Eddie is about 4-5"ish. No-one challenges him for the cucumber. Then we got a 2 1/2" Snowball plec, who will literally harass him for some. The little guy is so brave.

We have got lots of wood, lots of caves and therefore lots of hiding places. It is 95% of the time a very harmonious plec world, just the occasional grumpiness but no harm is ever done. Everyone knows their pecking order!

 

[stang1]

We have 5 in our 3ft tank but they are still small. We'll be getting a 5ft tank in the next few weeks so well put them in there. At the moment we have a snowball plec, Bristlenose, Magnum plec, A green one( can't remember what sort, the other half will know) and a Peckoltia. They all have their own little hiding place and we've had no problems. When we move them into the 5ft will that pretty much be the limit?

 

[Bex]

It's hard to say. The reason 6 is the limit in our tank is because we have a Gibbi (will get big), an albino common (also a big guy) and a Royal (will also get big but slow growers). Eventually we will need a bigger tank for the these big guys. Hence why we want an 8ft!

We've got a Snowball - they are adorable aren't they? Bristlies stay small I think. Not sure about Magnums, never read about them. Is your green one an L200 Green Phantom Plec by any chance? These are great plecs but can be a little aggressive - ours was anyway! But again, won't get huge.

As long as you have plenty of hiding places, and I've read that caves shouldn't face each other and things like that. Plenty of wood also, our plecs prefer hiding under the wood rather than in the caves we made for them

You could probably get a couple more small ones in there. Just try and read up about them first for size and temperament, and food requirements. For example, my Royal is a strict veggie and too much meaty food will eventually kill him. We've got our feeding routine sorted and he never goes near the meaty stuff - nothing distracts him once he gets his cucumber. But still, we have to watch him and if he ever goes for the prawns etc we will just whip them out.

 

[stang1]

You're right, it is an L200, couldn't think of its name at all. And the Snowball is gorgeous, not too shy either! We've got bogwood and slate in our tank and none of the hidey holes are facing each other. Thanks for that tip though cos I wouldn't have thought of it. The Magnum apparently grows to about 8 inches but he only comes out at night. Reading up on him though, he doesn't particularly like the light.
The trouble is there are too many plecs to choose from, I'd quite happily have one of each! Before you know it, we'll be getting an 8ft tank. Might have to sell the kids though and use their bedrooms!

 

[Bex]

I know where you are coming from. Plecs are so cool I want them all. Doesn't help that our LFS always has some great L numbers in. And have now told us that they can get whatever ones we want. Aargh!

They've got some lovely zebra's in now too, but they are so pricey. Me and the hubby have been thinking of setting up a smaller tank and buying all 4 to try and breed them. Tempting!

Would love to see some pics of the L200. Ours died and I was so gutted. Want another one but I'm on the lookout for a really nice specimen. The last one at our LFS only had half a tail fin - birth deformity - was going cheap though.

For now though we are quite satisfied with what we've got. We've got most of our wishlist, including our little Red Whiptails in our smaller tank. These are the cutest little guys in the world. If you've got a small tank, get some of these if you can - L10a

 

[stang1]

How much are their zebras going for? If you do decide to breed them, I'd love to buy some from you! Oh God, not another plec to add to my wish list
Sorry to hear about your plec, I can imagine how gutted you were. I just tried to get a photo and the blooming batteries need recharging. I'll try and get a photo on later. He's about 3-4 inches but my local lfs have smaller ones, about 2 inches.
As for the red whiptail, thats exactly what I want for one of my tanks. How big do they get? I have a 40g, 21g and a 5g. I also have 3 x 4g tanks each holding a male fighter. Would any of these tanks be suitable?