pleco in my 55g

[Briarmoor]

Due to some strange circumstances, my mom's 6" pleco (common?) came to stay with me in the 55g. He is the only fish in there right now, so I don't put flakes or pellets in there. I do give him an algae disc every other day. Is this adequate or would he benefit from shrimp pellets, etc? I read the pleco was herbivorous and would not want anything meat based. I can give him/her a slice of zuchini too.

He/she is enjoying the almost double-sized tank and being able to swim freely. Very shy though and hides as soon as a light goes on. Right after I put him/her in the tank and looked in that evening, he/she put the dorsal fin up slightly then lowered it. Was that a defensive gesture? He/she was real hard to catch, so I may not be popular or trusted right now.

P.

 

[Morrgan]

Depending on the species of your common pleco, it can grow to between 12 and 20 inches. I don't think a 55 gal will be enough for it. In fact, I'd suggest something at least twice as big. Commons are very active plecos when they have settled in and have enough room, so they need space.

Commons are herbivorous indeed, but they won't say no to the occasional meatbased pellet or tablet. I think it would be a good idea to feed every day, if there's no algae in the tank.

Heh, the raising of the dorsal fin is a defensive gesture, so might be that he/she doesn't trust you yet. But don't worry, he/she'll settle in soon enough.

 

[freddyk]

I have something in the tank for pleco's to eat most of the time - it's impossible to overfeed them vegetable matter so you can let them eat as much of it as they will. Zucchini is a favoured food and well taken in my experience, and cucumber is used by many as well.

A common pleco will eventually outgrow the 55, but you've got quite a while before this will become a concern.

 

[Briarmoor]

I put a slice of room temp (previously fresh frozen) zuchini in the tank this a.m. and even though the light was on, some chunks are gone out of it. Pleco couldn't resist! I'll drop a shrimp pellet in tonight and see what it thinks. It will probably wonder at the buffet.

I know it will outgrow the 55g within the year, but it was in Mom's 30g with 2 goldfish, 3 corys and some frogs. Mom's tank was overstocked *and* too small for it already, then a power outage stopped her filter and she got a new one and didn't save any of the old filter. So there was way too much fish waste going on in there for the new filter and I took the pleco home with me.

I really wanted a bristlenose in the 55g but felt sorry for this one. If I don't save up and buy a 75g within the year, I'll rehome Pleco. LFS said people get them for large tanks all the time, but I was dubious. Seems like there would be way more oversized plecos than people with tanks for them. JMO.

P.