New pleco in newbie tank

[nem2k2]

Hi, I just added a little common pleco and a snail to my tank to help combat the algae growing in the tank, and they both proceeded to scrape every last bit of algae from the tank! So now I'm wondering what I should feed my pleco (and the snail too, I guess). I've read that they like cucumber? Should I feed him a few little pieces every day?

I hear plecos can be little piggies

Also, my tank is only a smallish setup (32L) and I read that plecos can grow to be quite large; any idea when I could expect him to outgrow the tank? He's only about an inch long at the moment.

 

[keane]

Not sure of the speed they grow but I understand they are not the quickest of growers. they can grow up to 18" long.

I would suggest keeping an eye on him and when he reaches say a quarter of the length of your tank, move him to a larger home.

So far as feeding goes, cucumber is good but I would only feed it as a treat no more than a couple of times a week.

Your LFS should sell algae wafers/pleco wafers. These should be its staple diet with the treats thrown in as mentioned above.

HTH

steve

EDIT: BTW.... to the forums

 

[dwarfgourami]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think commons need wood in their tank as part of their diet.
Also, they are great waste producers, so you won't be able to keep him in a 7 gallons for long. What else have you got in there? Keep a careful eye on water stats and be ready to upgrade soon.

 

[nem2k2]

Thanks for the replies and welcome

The tank is actually 40L, I was a bit off. I have 7 neon tetras in with the pleco.

I'm still looking for a few features for my tank, I will look into some driftwood this weekend.

I bought some sinking pellets for my pleco, I tried to give him one but my greedy tetras all got stuck into it I also tried a piece of brocolli (don't have any cucumber in the house atm!) but he doesn't seem very interested in it.

 

[Bloo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think commons need wood in their tank as part of their diet.
Also, they are great waste producers, so you won't be able to keep him in a 7 gallons for long. What else have you got in there? Keep a careful eye on water stats and be ready to upgrade soon.

Correct (as far as I know !). Most plecs need wood, though there certain are some that do no (as part of their diet to rasp on and obtain the lignin).
And yes, that tank will very very soon be much too small

 

[Cheese Specialist]

If your tank is 40l (10 Us gallons) I am afraid you'll need to get the plec out of there asap. although it is small they grow to a decent size pretty quickly (slow down after about 5") and create loads of mess no matter what their size.

You will not have neough water in the tank to dilute the waste and the plec will put amazing pressure on your filter.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.



Otos are good for small tanks btw. Algae eaters, small and very cute.

 

[nem2k2]

I wish the pet store told me these things when buying fish

How big a tank do plecos need??

 

[Bloo]

Plec's do not all get the same size. You can have some from 2" (or even smaller) all the way up to a few feet big !! That's why it's so very important to know exactly what you are buying. Do your research - if you can't find your answers here, google is the most amazing tool

Edit: and though there are some knowledgeable people who work in fish shops, most really do not know an awful lot. Do your own research and do not completely rely and what you hear (or even read for that matter). Always get at least 3 points of reference to compare notes. It's worth the extra effort in the long run.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Common plecs grow an inch+ a month but start to slow down once they reach 7inchs, you'll need to substitute its diet with algae wafers/tablets or cucumber in the mean time but i highly recommend you rehome the little fella unless you plan on getting a minimum of a 50gal tank for it to grow up in. If you have algae problems there are quite a few methods of getting rid of these without the use of an algae eating fish

 

[nem2k2]

Plec's do not all get the same size. You can have some from 2" (or even smaller) all the way up to a few feet big !! That's why it's so very important to know exactly what you are buying. Do your research - if you can't find your answers here, google is the most amazing tool

Unfortunately they don't have google at the pet shop

I will do more research before I buy any more fish though, that's for sure!

 

[morgan]

I did my research and decided to buy a Bristlenose Pleco, max size 5-6 inches. I have since discovered it is a Common Pleco, max size 12 - 18 inches. So much for doing research!! Lfs did offer to have it back but as they are so common and cheap you can imagine it's fate. Chop, chop! I am going to keep it and I will just have to buy a bigger tank soon.