Why does everybody hate "common" plecos?

[Cdieker]

I love my little guy. Everybody says "they get to big" and "should be avoided like the plauge ". Why? Mine is about 5" right now and i throw a couple of wafers when i wake up and go to bed. He doesn't bother any other fish and I've never had one that does. Even one i had that was about 1 foot long. He just laid on a rock and when the lights went off he roamed the glass it was cool to watch.

 

[Fishes]

I don't think people 'hate' them really, it's just that they get huge and very few people have tanks large enough for their adult size, making them rather undesirable.

personally I think think they are pretty cool but I don't have a tank anywhere near large enough. I know far too many people who have bought one and then hard a hard time rehoming it when it gets too big.

 

[Dom90]

Well they grow to be about 20" so unless you have a 150 gallon tank or bigger or a pond, it's really not going to work.

 

[Aquarist]

Hello,

Videos of interest above. IMO, the Common Pleco should be left in the wild. I have information that states they can grow upwards of 30"s. If this is the case, then this fish would not even be able to turn around in my 265g aquarium. There are so many other varieties that we can keep in our aquariums that are more suitable.

I have a Sail Fin Pleco, currently 12"s and a Bristle Nose Pleco at 4", both in my 265g tank. My Sail Fin is going on 15 years old and the Bristle Nose is 4 or 5 years old now.

The Common Pleco deserves so much better than an aquarium. A pond with hundreds of gallons would be so much better.
Better yet, leave them in their natural habitat.

Ken

 

[BornThisWayBettas]

I've got nothing against them that's for sure! I look at them and oh, how I long for one! But they're so big that many (if not most) of us couldn't possibly house one long term in a decent tank. One thing that is sad and frustrating though (and it's not even the poor pleco's fault), is that at pet stores, when someone asks for an "algae eater", they are often given a pleco of some sort. :/

 

[Coradee]

I'm in total agreement with Aquarist that they're best left in the wild, 'common' plecs are an impressive fish but few people have tanks large enough to fulfil their needs for the whole of their lives & sadly many suffer a premature death

 

[Gena]

Because they are no good poopers who poop. And they get huge. Like, when I go to Shedd Aquarium and I see those foot long plecos with their beady eyes.. It terrifies me. Why anyone would want THAT in their tank(with exception to those monster fish keeping ppls. I know why they like them) is beyond me. At least get a bristle nose, it may look worse than a common but at least it doesn't get huge. >.<

 

[BornThisWayBettas]

Why anyone would want THAT in their tank(with exception to those monster fish keeping ppls. I know why they like them) is beyond me.

Cuz' they're adorable!!!

 

[lbonini1]

I love Common Plecos, they're very cool but they're not aquarium fish. They're meant to be left in the wild

Also their bio-loads are horrendous and their size is monstrous. Go for something like a Bristlenose which are much smaller and even cuter

 

[waterlilykari]

Why does everybody hate &quot;common&quot; plecos?

I loved the one we had growing up but my parents were in the same boat as just about everyone else that buys a pleco - gets a cute little one or two inch one to control algae and any leftover fish food and finds out the hard way they get massive and actually ADD to the bioload. I was heartbroken when my mom decided to rehome Guadalupe while I was at school one day. Now that I'm older and know better what their requirements really are, I fully understand that it was for the best interest of our pleco and even feel bad we didn't either upgrade her tank or rehome her sooner but still, Guadalupe was a wonderful pleco!