Weiner Plecco

[heavyjuice]

Yeah gday. yeah ive had this plecco for about eight months now. not sure what type it is but its black with like brownish yellow spots on it. anyway in the eight months that ive had it it has only grown about half anf inch. its only about two inches long. i have it in a four foot tank with a brislte nose catfish and a variety of cichlids. i keep the temperature of the tank at around 28 degrees celcius and the ph is fairly neutral. yeah can somebody give some advice/explanation to this anomalie.

[OrionGirl]

What do you feed? How many bristlenose are in there with it? Have you looked on PlanetCatfish for the species? There are species that don't get huge. There are some species of pleco that need the meatier foods to grow.

Some of my plecos haven't grown much, and I suspect that the presence of a large, male bristlenose is the reason. Fish emit hormones that can inhibit the growth of their competition (ie, the younger fish). If you have a couple of dominant bristlenose, this could be the reason your unidentified fish isn't growing very much.

[GEV83]

You serious older pleco can do that to the younger ones. I've never knew this. That could explain my Dwarf Gibbiceps. Ive had some that grew like crazy but this one I have now grows slow. I've had it for about a year and its only put on about an inch or two.

[OrionGirl]

Any older, mature fish can do this, and it can cross species. Doesn't always--depends on how closely the hormones present resembles the specific species own hormones. My chocolate is growing just fine in the same tank, as is the butterfly. Just the ancistrus species seem affected.

This is one of the reasons frequent water changes will help--it dilutes the hormones. Heck, the hormones reduce the growth rate of the fish that's putting them out. The hormones break down naturally, but with the dominant fish in there kicking out more, the level will stay consistant without frequent and large water changes. If you have another tank where you can move the adult to, you may see a sudden growth spurt.

[GEV83]

How interesting never knew this about fish. But it actually does make sense thanks alot orion now I know what up with all my previous slow growers.