75 Gallon Tank Common pleco moving to new tank

I have a common pleco. Seems he was mislabeled in the store. I thought he was bristlenose but young and hadn't developed bristles yet. Whatever. We move on. I've had him since Aug 2020 in a 36g bow tank. He is about 6ish" now.

I now have a 75g tank that I will be moving him into. I want to take my time and have a good setup for him. No hurry here.

I've spent all day researching and everything I've read is different. I'm soooo confused. One article says slow waves...another rapid water flow. One says gravel another sand, another bare bottom. Different tank mates are mentioned. Plants are good....don't use plants, they'll destroy them. Strict parameters necessary....they can live in any water you put them in.

The only consistent info I have is driftwood and hiding places. And I knew that.

Does anyone know a reliable source on setting up a common pleco home?

Thanks

 

I used to own a common pleco in a 55 gallon but rehomed him due to the tank being too small. Also fair warning these plecos can require tanks as big as 150 or even more depending on how big it gets. Generally you will want to recreate their home environment, which is a riverbed. They will prefer sand as they have barbels which can get injured on gravel. You will want to create caves for these fish to hide in as they are nocturnal. I would go with a strong filter as plecos produce a lot of waste and will require a good amount of filtration.

 

I used to own a common pleco in a 55 gallon but rehomed him due to the tank being too small. Also fair warning these plecos can require tanks as big as 150 or even more depending on how big it gets. Generally you will want to recreate their home environment, which is a riverbed. They will prefer sand as they have barbels which can get injured on gravel. You will want to create caves for these fish to hide in as they are nocturnal. I would go with a strong filter as plecos produce a lot of waste and will require a good amount of filtration.

Thanks for the tips. Any suggestions on lighting? My other tanks just use the lighting that came in the kit. This tank was tank only. I bought the top but deciding about lighting. I'll also have mollies in there and thinking about gourami.

 

Thanks for the tips. Any suggestions on lighting? My other tanks just use the lighting that came in the kit. This tank was tank only. I bought the top but deciding about lighting. I'll also have mollies in there and thinking about gourami.

From what I read I believe they prefer subdued lighting due to being nocturnal but I am not completely sure on that.

 

Just make sure you have real driftwood in the tank for your Pleco (for digestion purposes). Lighting doesn't really matter. I never bothered with "hiding places" anymore as my fish are strong enough to lift all the rocks I have in my tank and redecorate as they please. As far as substrate, I use gravel in my tank with mine. They are very hardy fish. I heard some people kept their Plecos that have grown too big for the conventional fish tank in their Koi ponds (which is a cold water environment).

I can see you've done a lot of research on Plecos. At that size for yours, its growth will slow down. He will continue to grow (albeit much, much slower).

Common Plecos are one of the most compatible fish ever as they don't seem to bother other livestock. Mine is definitely a "veteran" fish I've had. I kept mine in a tropical community tank with plants (he was much smaller then, so not sure if compatible with plants now), then turned that community tank into an African Cichlid tank, sold that tank for a bigger tank and now he lives in an American Cichlid tank with my Jaguar and Oscar.

Oh and uh.....Plecos poop a lot. Just be advised.

 

Just make sure you have real driftwood in the tank for your Pleco

Thanks for your great info here. And yes...driftwood...the piece Clarence is on in that pic I've had as long as I've had him and will be moving it to his new home too.

uh.....Plecos poop a lot

Got it....seen it....I'm sure will only increase as he ages.

I kept mine in a tropical community tank with plants

I've always had live plants with minimal problems from him but I suppose that could change as he grows bigger and stronger. I plan to pot my plants as I seem to have better luck with that and I can move them around as needed.

I don't really have a hiding place for him per se. In his current tank there's a hollow fake log he used to go into but I suspect he's a bit too wide now. So mostly he hangs out on his driftwood under I believe anubias leaves. I think I'll probably move the plant too.

How old/big is your pleco? Would live to see a pic if you have

 

Thanks for your great info here. And yes...driftwood...the piece Clarence is on in that pic I've had as long as I've had him and will be moving it to his new home too.

Got it....seen it....I'm sure will only increase as he ages.

I've always had live plants with minimal problems from him but I suppose that could change as he grows bigger and stronger. I plan to pot my plants as I seem to have better luck with that and I can move them around as needed.

I don't really have a hiding place for him per se. In his current tank there's a hollow fake log he used to go into but I suspect he's a bit too wide now. So mostly he hangs out on his driftwood under I believe anubias leaves. I think I'll probably move the plant too.

How old/big is your pleco? Would live to see a pic if you have

Not sure about the age, I got him when he was about 4" a few years ago. He's about 9" - 11" now. Looks exactly like yours. Mine definitely "bulked" up a lot more. I only manage to feed it blanched cucumbers every couple of days. He'll also eat leftover fish food. Algae wafers are out of the question now.

You haven't had any issues with keeping yours with plants, eh? Interesting to know! Mine didn't live in a planted aquarium for long.

 

. I only manage to feed it blanched cucumbers every couple of days. He'll also eat leftover fish food. Algae wafers are out of the question now.

Food...well he's in a tank with mollies so definitely eats leftover fish food. I feed them daily with 2 fasting days...Wed and Sat or Sun. 1 day/week frozen brine...1x/month frozen blood worms. I drop 2 algae wafers on flake days...so 4x/week...not sure if he eats more or the mollies eat more.

I've been inconsistent with fresh vegs but trying to get back to that.

Why do you say algae wafers are out of the question?

 

Wow haha well your Pleco will be big and strong for sure! That Pleco is eating clean!! Lol.

Why do you say algae wafers are out of the question?

See the fish in my profile picture? He'll swallow algae wafers whole before they touch the aquarium gravel; he thinks the wafers I drop in are pellets (the pellets he eats are Hikari Massivore). The only items he won't eat are vegetables (hence, the cucumber for the Pleco). Also whenever he eats, he spits out tons of chewed up fish food through his gills which fall to the aquarium substrate...then the Pleco eats that lol. Kind of gross now that I think about it.

If we were neighbours, I'd give you my container of algae wafers for free. They're fossilizing in the storage compartment in my tank stand now.

 

See the fish in my profile picture

I do. What kind is it? Can't you just feed them to him anyways? Shame to go to waste. Also I've heard of people shoving the wafer into the cucumber so maybe that would work for the pleco to eat it

 

I do. What kind is it?

Jaguar Cichlid.

I've heard of people shoving the wafer into the cucumber so maybe that would work for the pleco to eat it

I've tried so many methods. These fish give me a headache at times. Ideally, I want the Jag to be in a tank of its own or kept in pairs.