Amanda

I was at my LFS yesterday, and they have arounf 8 6 -7 in common plecos in rather small holding tanks. Many of them now have bent spines. My question is this : is the stunting damage already done? If it is, would I be able to rescue one for my 55 gal.? I feel som horrible, they're all so large, and they now have spine deformities.

Also, I would move my clown to my 20 gal. if I got the rescue pleco.

lew2000

Amanda, how long have the Pleco's been in this tank, bent spine can be do to many things of course; injury, malformation, but with all of the Pleca's having bent spines it may be a troubling sign of disease, possibly piscine tuberculosis?? I have a Mango Pleco that i bought from a friend (owns the LF- and nobody would buy because of this) and it's dorsal fin was bent and somewhat mangled and he/she is still going strong 5 years later. As I am sure you know common Pleco's can grow to 18" or more - but they grow very slowly and can live for very long - at least 10 years and even longer years have been stated on web sites and in journals. If you want to rescue one - I would advise you use a quarantine tank if you don't already. And since I love Pleco's and they can live long lives i am obviuosly very biased - if i could i would have a whole housefull of tanks with Pleco's.

Amanda

I know how large they can get, but these fish are actually bent.
It's because they are longer than the tanks they're in. They're about 7 in.
If the damage of stunted growth is already been done, they should do okay in a 55 gal.
I just want to know other people's opinions on what they'd do in this situation.

lew2000

sorry to offend

Amanda

You didn't offend me, I was just saying.
If I could possibly take one of these fish for a 55, I would love to.

Shawnie

I agree with lew ....without knowing exactly what was wrong, you take a huge chance of infecting your main tank...as much as we would love to help them all, putting a sick fish is almost asking for trouble I wouldnt risk it unless I knew for sure it was only overcrowding that was the issue...with that many in such a small tank, theres bound to be tons wrong with these poor fellas ..great heart you have in trying to make things better!!

Amanda

Well, I wish I had taken a pic.
It's every pleco there besides the BN.
They're length wise up against the back of the tank, and they bend like an 'L' when they reach the bottom of the tank.
This is the same place where I got my clown, and the tanks are very clean & healthy - just extremely small.

Shawnie

and what happens when fish are stressed out to the max? disease...in the end its going to be your choice, we are just those devils advocates sitting on your shoulder

Amanda

Haha. I can keep it in my 20 gal. for a little while.
But the ultimate questions is:
How much larger do you think they'll get?

Shawnie

if its a common, they can go anywhere from 12-24 inches...ive seen some at our LFS that would easily be 2 feet long..and chunky to boot...so who knows how big they will get with bent spines n such

Amanda

Yeah....I have no idea either.
I think some of these have grown up there.
So I'm thinking that the stunting damage has already been done.

Shawnie

just remember, stunting growth doesnt stop the internal organs from growing..the fish will just die before that happens just make a decision based on all the fishies in the tank it would be going too...I know how hard it is to not bring home the sick and injured ones for sure...goodluck!