knightnurse14

This guy is in a 30 gal tank. I took some heat over him in an earlier post. Can one of you guys tell me if I will need to find him a larger home in the future?

Amanda

That looks like a common sailfin pleco.
He will reach a very large adult size and need an ideal home of 75 gal. +

fishrule101

Most pelcos reach a pretty big size for a 30. Right now it looks ok, but it will you will need to find it a new home once it starts getting pretty big.

Shawnie

he is a common and a very nice one at that... and eventually yes he will out grow that tank..they grow slowly tho but the poo ALOT......the bioload is more what you have to worry about in the smaller tanks..its hard to keep parimeters on tact without the extra waste from a plec...although the 30 gal is bigger, and he takes awile to grow, with upkeep of water changes and such you will know when its time to move him........ sorry for the "heat" you got..

Butterfly

Yep I vote common also Also sorry for the "heat". We all really love our fishes and only want the best for them and some times go over board. thanks for taking it in the spirit it was intended
carol

knightnurse14

Thanks for the advice! I'll start looking for a bigger tank!

navyscuba

Yeap that is a common pleco and it probably get about a foot long. I have two one on a 50 gal tank and the other on a 55 gal. They are 11" and 10" long.

knightnurse14

I didn't take offence. I was looking for good advice and I got it. But even though my tank is "overstocked" It's really looking good. Water parameters check out when I do the strips and the angel fish aren't fighting at this point. The large male Molly is a bully but I have plenty of hiding places and none of the fish seem stressed. Well actually I take that back! I've noticed that the little green cory cat is running back and forth at one end a lot. I'd like to add a couple more little cory cats but am afraid to with the current bioload!

Shawnie

I read your other threads and it wasnt just advice you were given..you did get the heat...im glad you didnt take offense and you are still around with us!!! thats great!! and you will know from your fishies when things are wrong..maintenance goes along way..I have a few overstocked tanks myself...its a pain but worth it to keep the fish happy...and im only going to give you this advice from using them..the strips tend to give false readings more than accurate...so think about a liquid API master test kit down the road with your new tank....goodluck with your babies!

Butterfly

I love your pleco. He looks like one we had a couple of years ago that my son named "Titan" because he got so big. I put tubs of fish and plants outside each year and his job was to keep them algae free. In the winter he would come inside. He got about 10 inches and I found him on the floor one morning when I got up Thanks for letting me hijack for a trip down memory lane
carol

knightnurse14

You're welcome Carol. Sorry to hear about Titan's end. Must have been distressing. My tank is pretty well covered so he shouldn't get out. I think the biggest danger to my fish is when I vacuum the gravel. Have to keep a sharp eye to keep from injuring any of them!!

CWO4GUNNER

Yes the vacuum is unnerving without a strainer hooked up with a Python. My Pleco which is exactly like yours isn't the problem its those darn Cory's they actually follow the vac around and I have to be careful that one day they are going to take a fast ride down the drain.

namehater

how big is he right now? im guessing pretty small (comparing him to your gravel size)

i have a common that is about 4" living in my 14g with 8 tetras and some ghost shrimp. my water is perfectly fine. once my bigger tanks are cycled he will move into one of those, but in a 30g, i would guess a common pleco could live quite happily until hes about 7" or 8". thats about the size i would move him to something bigger.

namehater

heres a link to a picture of mine, it looks like we have the same substrate, thats why i was assuming yours was pretty small

may be common to you, but hes special to me!