Size to release guppy fry? And question on plecos

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Walker Anderson

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Dec 12, 2005
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Hi, I have 4 guppy fry that I managed to catch when I woke up a few weeks ago. They are about twice the original size. Basically instead of tadpoles, they are looking like fish now. When can I release them into the large tank with the parent fish so they wont get eaten?

Also, are plecos hard to find? The only place near me, counting 1 mom and pop store (excelent store, small stock), 2 chain stores (good stock, very small variety), 1 megamart (literally every tank had mutiple dead fish floating in them, me and my brother were amazed at the condition.) They had plecos, but they weren't marked on the labels and the were rather large.

I can't seem to find any. I am apprehensive about online orders, has anyone opinions on that route?
I am fearful they won't deal well with the transport. Of course I am also the type that has 3 bettas in tanks at home, because when I see them in the little petrie dishes of blue water, I always buy the sickest, saddest looking one. :). One was solid black, after a week of room, warmth and food, he turned dark blue with fins blending into dark red. Another was white. Same time goes by, He is now white bodied with pink around his gills, and pink on the ends of his fins.

Thanks for any info.

Walker
 

Ghost_knife

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Nov 17, 2005
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I have ordered most of my plecs from online, they come to you nicely packed and overnighted, they are hardy fish and hard to kill unless your tank paramiters are waayyyy off... the thing with guppies is that if it cant fit into their mouths in any way, they can go back in with the parents, with pleco's if you have a smaller tank (smaller then a 55) you would want some of the smaller species of plec's. I would reccomend Gold nugget, Royal, King Tiger most stay smaller but some of them get to about 15 inches in my little list, commons can get monsterus about 2 foot, maybe more.
 

clayt101

Registered Abuser
Plecos are easy to find, but they do get large. Those large ones that you see are what will become of the little ones that you see in stores. I would not bother ordering one as shipping prices make it impractical for just one fish. If you want a smaller fish, go with a bristlenose pleco or a clown pleco, those both stay pretty small. Many of the fancy plecos also stay small, especially the hpancistrus species, but they are not "common" and considerably more expensive.
 

jason2894

cichlids,cichlids,cichlids!!!!!!!!!
Jan 13, 2006
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another thing about most plecos is that they tend to be very messy fish. by this i mean they poop, poop, and poop all the time. i have a common pleco he's about 5 inches long now and i constantly see poop comming out of him that just seems to string along for several inches. i mean i realize my other fish poop too but i feel they make more of a mess than what its really worth. as soon as i can find someone to take this guy off my hands hes gone.
 

icka

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Jun 16, 2005
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Indiana
that store supports improper care of the pleco then. If you can not house a full grown pleco, dont get one. It is truly that simple. That really does upset me because it tells people it is ok to buy the wrong fish for their tank becuase you can cmoe back and get a new one, onmce the other fishj starts to become stunted.
Wrong.
 
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