Help with soothing a guilty conscience?

So Ive literally just joined for this but I've often looked up existing threads on here before, however I wanted to talk about this cuz im feeling real stressed about this.

Basically ive been fishkeeping for a bit now, almost a year now so im no where near an expert and I dont have a huge apartment so I dont have loads of tanks and I just focus on the 2 i have but today I did something i never thought i would have. let me explain a bit since im new apparently i cant fill anything out yet

I have a 10 gallon cube that has a betta in it and some big amano shrimp plus 2 mystery snails, all planted with 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and it usually sits around 5ppm nitrate thanks to floating plants. Everyone gets on and its been up for about 7 months i think with no issues really

My other tank is a 15 gallon long and i keep a school of 6 bandit cories and another betta plus 4 nerites, also planted with the same readings as my above one. This was my first and is about 10 months old, again no issues except i had a snail die for an unknown reason months ago but nothing apart from that. I think I got really lucky tbh cause ive seen so many newbies have issues. both tanks read 7.2 pH and 8kH btw

So here comes the issue. For a good few months ive been putting money aside because ive made space for a 20 gallon and im really into BNPs cause ive got a buddy who keeps a few of them and before all this i used to help him out with his fish for fun. He really got me into all this. So in around a month, mid jan id say im ready to buy all the stuff for my 20 and get it set up and i plan to use media from my other tanks and get a BN in there, maybe a few zebra danios or something.

However, I have trouble with patience. Im quite impulsive and want things now, but i try to use my head especially in fishkeeping because i want to put the animals lives above all else. But youre seeing where this is going arent you?

I finally got to go to the fish store today and I was picking up a few bits and pieces like food and conditioner bc ive been stuck ordering online and i just like the experience of driving there etc so of course I looked at their fish.

And, yep, I did it. After spending like 20 minutes suspiciously wandering aisles trying to talk myself out of it, I dont know what posessed me but i couldnt leave the store without a plec. So i bought one.

I took him (or her) home and drip acclimated for an hour before putting it in my 15 gallon. It's still a baby, only an inch long.

I feel so guilty, it's been a good 7 hours now and i cant settle to sleep because although im 110% certain i'll have that 20 gallon at the start of january and due to having established aquarium media free for me to use meaning i can transfer it as soon as i get it set up, i just feel so bad. I always told myself id never buy a fish i didnt have a permanant tank for and i just dont know what came over me. I guess i just wanted one so bad and just seeing them after not being at the store for so long it just got me in the right place.

Will it be okay in there for a few weeks? I have food for it and everything, I just need to know or need to hear something comforting. I know its not the same as doing something so wrong that you end up killing a fish but i dont know. People say im too sensitive for a guy.

And what about my betta and cories? will they be okay with it? Im just freaking out a little.

thanks, sorry if this is all jumbled im in england and its almost midnight

 

Don't worry, we've all done worse(I've kept 8 goldfish in a 5 gallon, dark times)! A pleco in those tank won't kill the fish, won't harm the fish, and won't do anything but raise the bio-load. Hey, its a baby, I have multiple baby plecos that I bred, and are still growing, they don't have much of an effect on a planted tank, and hey, don't put your conscious on this, the pleco & other fish will be fine. I suggest a good nights sleep though!

 

I have at least a dozen BN fry at about 1in long in a 5gal growout tank (they will be moved shortly). Small tanks when young aren’t going to hurt a BN pleco, in fact 15gal is fairly doable for an adult so long as you keep the bioload/nitrates in check.

Nothing to worry about IMO.

 

It'll be fine for a few weeks, even an adult would be fine for a few weeks. A lot of people qt their fish beforehand and often in tanks you wouldn't dream of keeping adult fish in permanently

 

Don't worry, we've all done worse(I've kept 8 goldfish in a 5 gallon, dark times)! A pleco in those tank won't kill the fish, won't harm the fish, and won't do anything but raise the bio-load. Hey, its a baby, I have multiple baby plecos that I bred, and are still growing, they don't have much of an effect on a planted tank, and hey, don't put your conscious on this, the pleco & other fish will be fine. I suggest a good nights sleep though!

Thanks dude, it feels great to just have a bit of confirmation im not doing something super bad. I can be a bit quick to judge myself unfortunately. I'll make sure to get to bed tho lol

I have at least a dozen BN fry at about 1in long in a 5gal growout tank (they will be moved shortly). Small tanks when young aren’t going to hurt a BN pleco, in fact 15gal is fairly doable for an adult so long as you keep the bioload/nitrates in check.

Nothing to worry about IMO.

Awesome, that really does take weight off too. I'll still go ahead with the 20 anyways but thanks for letting me know

It'll be fine for a few weeks, even an adult would be fine for a few weeks. A lot of people qt their fish beforehand and often in tanks you wouldn't dream of keeping adult fish in permanently

That is true, Ive used a 1 gallon plastic tank for qt before but it cracked recently, thankfully with no fish in it...yikes, otherwise i would have done the same with the plec, but i think he'll be fine the fish place i go to is really reputable and stuff. Thanks tho

 

I agree with the above! I was expecting worse from your initial panic. The pleco is only a baby, when we breed them we can have have hundreds of little ones like yours spread across 10/20 gallon tanks. You have good intentions to upgrade the tank, and a 15 gallon has plenty of space for a small one for a good while.
BN plecos are fairly slow growers so you have time to figure things out!
Don't worry, just enjoy your new fish and look forward to the tank upgrade. This should be an exciting experience

 

I agree with the above! I was expecting worse from your initial panic. The pleco is only a baby, when we breed them we can have have hundreds of little ones like yours spread across 10/20 gallon tanks. You have good intentions to upgrade the tank, and a 15 gallon has plenty of space for a small one for a good while.
BN plecos are fairly slow growers so you have time to figure things out!
Don't worry, just enjoy your new fish and look forward to the tank upgrade. This should be an exciting experience

You guys are really helpful, I do tend to panic easy lol, but now that i feel less mad at myself i am pretty excited to have this lil dude for a long time

 

I am 99% sure an adult bn pleco would be okay let alone a baby. Just stay on top of your testing and water changes.

 

Unless he brought in a disease, it’ll be absolutely fine. They’re peaceful fish, especially as babies, and he’s probably really happy right now .

 

thanks for such quick and great responses guys, its really helped so much. feels a bit like ripping a band aid off actually, seems really bad till you actually do it and it turns out to hurt way less than you thought it might...

For real though, what a helpful site

 

I would feel guiltier about putting him in with others without quarantine

Edit: what, devilish grin is not allowed?

 

I would feel guiltier about putting him in with others without quarantine

Edit: what, devilish grin is not allowed?

Totally get that, dude, like i'd said i would have if i was able to. And I do trust the store, they arent a regular pet store and only deal in fish which they themselves qt and they wont allow you to purchase fish that have newly come in, for the qt reason and also to let them settle before undergoing stress again. Great company.

 

Haha yeah you probably shouldn't do that haha but its done now so just stick to the plan and it will be OK.

 

You guys are really helpful, I do tend to panic easy lol, but now that i feel less mad at myself i am pretty excited to have this lil dude for a long time

Aw, well I'm glad we could all be of some help! and yes, you should be. If kept correctly they can live a very long time. I've got a 10 year old bn plec myself. They're a lot of fun, and one of the least shy and goofier plecos, so you should get plenty of enjoyment out of him/her

 

He/she will be fine, and can stay in there awhile at that size. Don't rush into the other tank, take your time and do it right.