Royal Plec

[jamie2010]

so i wake up on christmas morning and my fiancee says "look in your tank" there chomping on some bog wood is a royal plec.she housed it in my friends tank until xmas eve so i wouldnt know.
so my question is i know they are a mid size cat (i think) and my stocking in my 40g is pretty sparce.so how long before i need to upgrade my tank he's only about 2 inches at the mo.
ta
jamie

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What is the length, height and width of the tank? A lot will depend on things like the tanks' dimensions.

 

[jamie2010]

rio 180
w 101cm
d 41 cm
h 50 cm
cheers

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Here is article from planetcatfish.com on keeping these great pleco's;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=151

And wikipedia;

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panaque_nigrolineatus

A tank 4ft long, 2ft wide and at least 1ft high would be good (59.97 US gallons, but probably closer to 54gals when tank is set up) to give this plec lots of space as it grows . I would definately not go for a tank shorter than 3ft long though as this pleco grows to a large 13.4inches long when fully grown.
Edit: most pleco's grow an inch a month when juveniles, but slow down in growth once they have grown towards half or two thirds their eventual size- i would advice upgrading the tank for a larger one when the pleco grows to 8inches+ long .

 

[LisaLQ]

Royals are different to most plecs, whereby they only grow at a rate of roughly an inch a year. So you have plenty of time to upgrade, but bear in mind you will have to keep well under-stocked as even at 2" these guys make a lot of mess - royals more so than other plecs, as they eat bogwood as the main part of their diet, therefore pooing sawdust. So regular gravel vacs are a must, as is bogwood (which you have), but I think you'll be ok with him in there as long as there aren't any huge amounts of other fish in there, or other mess makers. I'd probably upgrade asap anyway to get it over and done with - but I wouldn't expect him to outgrow the tank in a hurry like a common or other fast growing species!

 

[jamie2010]

ok thanks guys.at least im in no immediate trouble