My Common Pleco

[beanyboy1982]

i think he aint well its eat nearly 1/3 of a plant an now its just sitting on the bottom of the tank not moving till u put the net near him then he movews but he aint sucking or anything ?

 

[Luke_e]

What size tank is he in?
You cant expect him to be sucking or moving around all the time, they need to rest with them being such large fish. Keep an eye on him.

 

[beanyboy1982]

the tank is 80 cm wide 46 high an bout 40ish deep the pleck is 8 inch

 

[Luke_e]

Ok, i'm sure you're aware that the common plec can grow up to 12" and needs a tank size of around 4" +.

I'm confused to whats wrong though, most plecs sit in one spot and hardly move until night, has he eaten? They like algae wafers, veg, all sorts.

 

[beanyboy1982]

ive put some cucumber in an he aint touched it yet been in their 4 about 2 hours norm he will go 4 it straight away

 

[Luke_e]

Hmm, cant really help you any further as i dont own a common plec, i only have a whiptail plec and he just sits around and eats at night. Hopefully someone will be able to advise. But what i would recomend is keep an eye on him, and take a look at the cucumber in the morning and see if he's touched it.

 

[KathyM]

I agree. Be warned though - the species most commonly sold as "common" plecs will definitely reach well over 18", and up to 2-3ft (liposarcus pardalis). I think you're probably going to have to look at a MUCH bigger tank in the long run, TBH he's too already big for the one he's in.

 

[beanyboy1982]

i had took him out an put him in another tank about 3 ish 2 day but ive just done a water test an the no2 and no3 was high so ive changed the water an put him bach in the tank he is norm in an he seems 2 be more active now so i will just have 2 see how he goes


( wont he just grow an stop with the size of the tank or will he keep going ? )

 

[Luke_e]

He may stop at the size of the tank, but this is just plane cruelty.
His body may will stop growing, but his internal organs wont, and they will become compressed inside the body, and will ultimatly end in a premature death.
He needs a bigger tank as soon as possible.

 

[beanyboy1982]

didnt know about that

what are these moonlights like 4 the pleco an other fish ? are they worth it or do they just like pitch black ?

 

[Luke_e]

I wouldnt even be thinking about moonlights at the moment beanyboy. You should be thinking about rehoming him or getting a bigger tank, as its more important that he lives a good life rather than having moonlights (well obviously there is a price difference, but if you can afford upgrade, if not rehome).

Moonlights are basically a blue cathode which can simulate the moons cycle and add a new dimension a fish at night. It can aid in you viewing the night time antics of nocturnal fish, you dim them down so you dont keep the other fish 'awake' so they can 'rest', but just enough light to see the fish.

 

[KathyM]

It's unlikely he'll stop growing to be honest, and like Luke said, even if he does, it'll shorten his lifespan significantly (and if he doesn't he won't fit anyway). I know how hard it is, but he needs to have a HUGE tank. I can't see one smaller than 6 x 2 x 2 being suitable. Like I said, I know it's hard, we had to give up our chocolate albino liposarcus because he was sold to us as hypostomus punctatus by PAH. It's easy to tell if he's liposarcus pardalis (the giant ones) as he'll have roughly 11-14 dorsal rays. If he was a hypostomus, he'd have 5-8.

 

[beanyboy1982]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=137899

 

[KathyM]

Do you still have both or just one now?

Firstly the top one is a gibbiceps - can reach 18-20" in a decent tank (lovely fish btw).

I think the other is a gold nugget, and will reach up to 16", but are slow growing.

Even if you only have one of them in this tank, it's not going to be suitable, sorry.

 

[beanyboy1982]

so what size tank do i need ?