My Common Pleco In 55 Gallon Tank

[Morpheus1967]

No offense, but we are not wrong. There is a lot of experience here trying to help you not only have a successful tank, but also healthy and happy fish. You need to re-home all of the common plecos. You simply do not have the tank size to accommodate them.

And please don't take this the wrong way. We are just trying to help. We have all made mistakes in this hobby. If not, this forum wouldn't even exist.

 

[Feohw]

To be honest I didn't want to get bubbles at the time my mom picked him out because she believed that I needed another one when I had a smaller tank. But in the end I began to like bubbles. she got a him because she had plecos like bubbles and the did fine and lived a long life before she had to rehome all our fish because we where moving when I was a little girl and I believe they where the same size as bubbles all there life and they where in a much smaller tank so that is why I am also starting to think bubbles is not what I think he is

This is my last reply to this thread. I'm not going to keep going around like this. If you like bubbles, you should rehome him. Stunting and living in a small place is not going to do him well. Hopefully you do what's right.

 

[jpm995]

As long as their small you shouldn't have a problem. It will probably take quite a while for them to grow. You'll know when their getting too big for the tank. At that point you need to upgrade or give them to a pet store that will take them [maybe in trade?]. For now enjoy them.

 

[Shay1431]

As long as their small you shouldn't have a problem. It will probably take quite a while for them to grow. You'll know when their getting too big for the tank. At that point you need to upgrade or give them to a pet store that will take them [maybe in trade?]. For now enjoy them.

Yeah they are small and have not grown much since I got them I which was some months ago I have not had them as lo g as my other fish. It was some time in the summer I got them I think

 

[mattgirl]

It would be good to get good clear photos of each of your plecos so it can be determined exactly what you have.

There are true common plecos, the ones that can grow to tremendous sizes. And then we have some that are called common bristle nose plecos. They are much smaller when grown.

Plecos come in lots of different kinds and sizes so knowing exactly what you have would go a long way toward determining what you should do with yours.

I had a common pleco named Jethro. I knew when I got Jethro as a tiny fry that I would not get to keep him very long. I got to enjoy him for about a year. During that year he grew from that little bitty creature into an 8" long 2 or more inch wide very active fish that was much too big for my 55 gallon tank.

When I got Jethro I already had a place lined up for him to live out the rest of his life. He is now in a HUGE above ground pond.

 

[toeknee]

I'm just going to echo the sentiments everyone else has already said here. I understand getting attached to fish, looking at them and thinking they're doing just fine. When in reality they are not fine and if you really care about them you would either return or rehome those common plecos.

Keeping a common pleco in a 55 or even a 75 is like keeping an elephant in a cage it can just barely turn around in. Sure that Elephant can live for years and years as long as it's fed. But it's actually living an absolutely miserable existence. Same goes for your common plecos in a small tank. Even if your commons are small now they grow very fast and live for up to THIRTY years. You can't keep an animal in a tiny enclosure compared to it's size like that for decades. It's just not right.

You can keep your Bushy Nose Plecos no problem! The Commons however.....need to go.

 

[Shay1431]

These are the three in the 55 gallon

And one of the two in the other tank. The other one is hiding in the boat like always unless it is eating

 

[Elkwatcher]

@Shay1431 you have been given good advice by others, probably easier to re home the common pleco's while they are still smaller.. return them to your pet store. Better to see them get a chance at living their lives out in 100 gallon+. Hard to ID your pleco's from the photo's unfortunately. Your tanks are beautifully kept!

 

[Feohw]

Yeah I'm seeing 2 longfin bristlenose and 3 commons.