Plec Id Please!

[cahnnarel]

Hi!

I bought two plecs about a month ago from my local aquatic centre and was told they would only reach about 6inches eventually...tho' having looked at various pics I am wondering if I have been misinformed...are they sailfins?? My tank is only 3ft - holds 110litres...am a little concerned that eventually they will outgrow? They are currently around 4 inches.. and are great characters! I also have some guppies, swordtails and yellow tetras in the tank..

wise words from any of you that know would be most appreciated!! If they are ones that will get enormous, what kind of growth rate can I expect - as in how long can i keep them in the 3ft tank?

Many thanks in advance !!

 

[fishnterrapins]

I think from looking at the pics that you've got some nice sailfin plecs there and yes unfortunately (as with many lfs' around me) you have been misinformed. They're basically a common plec and during their quite long lives (between 10 and 20 years in some cases) they can grow up to and beyond 2foot.

As for growth rate i'm not 100% sure. We've had our sailfin for about 3 or 4 years now and he's gone from the size of a small guppy to 8" if that helps

However, I'm not 100% sure of the type of plec so I'd wait for someone else to confirm before doing anything

 

[cahnnarel]

Thanks for replying! How big is your tank? I blame my brother partly too for telling me how great they are and his is in tank smaller than mine , he's had his for around 4 years too actually... ... I don't want to get rid of them at all...if they will be happy in that tank size for a couple of years or so then that's fine...my philosophy on it is that who knows what's round the corner, hopefully I'll be living in a bigger house and can get a bigger tank to accomodate them, lol...!

Here's my current tank

 

[LisaLQ]

Yep - they're gibbies and will reach 18-24", bigger than common plecs It will take them a year or two to reach that size, as they tend to grow a little slower than commons, but they are also quite territorial when kept with their own kind, so it might be wise to keep a close eye on them.

2 would need a 180g tank min just for them to have their own territory. If you decide to keep one, the min tank size for an adult is 4 x 2 x 2ft, preferably bigger though.

Beautiful fish - I had a lovely 15" one (Hawkins), rehomed him along with my cichlids last year though - but he was humungus and not even finished growing!

 

[fishnterrapins]

We've got our plec in a 140 litre tank, 4foot x 2foot x 1foot, with tetras etc but we're about to change him into our new 7foot x 2foot x 2foot tank (once its cycled and I'm 100% happy cause I don't want to loose the little guy).

We did have 2 but gave 1 away when they started fighting over territory

 

[cahnnarel]

Yep - they're gibbies and will reach 18-24", bigger than common plecs It will take them a year or two to reach that size, as they tend to grow a little slower than commons, but they are also quite territorial when kept with their own kind, so it might be wise to keep a close eye on them.

2 would need a 180g tank min just for them to have their own territory. If you decide to keep one, the min tank size for an adult is 4 x 2 x 2ft, preferably bigger though.

Beautiful fish - I had a lovely 15" one (Hawkins), rehomed him along with my cichlids last year though - but he was humungus and not even finished growing!

Oh boy, I'm in trouble, lol.... Thanks for all the info Lisa... i can't believe they or rather the Man in the shop told me that they only got to about 6 inches, would be fine in a 3ft tank and liked companions....looks like I'm going to have to go back and have a Big Word with them in there...

I agree, they are really beautiful, but there is no way I can accomodate them when they get bigger like that!!

 

[cahnnarel]

Here are some more action shots of them...

 

[raptorrex]

lol its really academic, as Sailfin plecos grow to 20 inches anyway!

min tank width 24 inches, 48 inch minimum length, well when they grow anyway.

very nice fish though guy!!!!

 

[cahnnarel]

Well I spoke to the shop this morning and they are fine about me taking them back, they have other pleco's there that don't grow so big, so I'll take mine in, in a couple of weeks when I have time off work and it won't be crazy busy in t here....sad to have to do this tho', I am fond of them in their baby state