Common pleco tank size concern

wendamus

Crazy Guppy Lady with serious MTS
Jul 17, 2008
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Los Angeles
Hi folks,

I got my common brown pleco about 5 months ago, kept him in a 10 gallon 'til he was 3 inches long, now he's in my biggest tank, a 40 gallon.

Like so many others, I got him before I realized how big of a tank he needed. I have some future plans for a 125 gallon, but it'll be at least a year.

I don't want him to suffer. He's one of my favorite fish. He's about 5-6 inches long now, and does well on zucchini, spinach, Hikari wafers and keeping my tank super spotless.

How long before I need to move him to a larger tank? I've heard their internal organs will start growing larger than their external size can accommodate at some point, but I don't know when to start worrying about it.

I'll find him a new home if I don't have a bigger tank set up, if that's necessary, but I'd like to give myself as much time as possible, since he's such a neat fish.
 
so he's growm 3 inches in 5 months?!?
Wow thats fast! Mine didnt grow like that.

I kept a common in a 10 gal for 4 years.. then moved him into a 125.. He went from 4 inches to about 8 now.. but it took him a year to grow that 4 inches...

Some say that they grow fast when they are young, and then their growth rate starts to slow a bit... I dont think he will suffer inthat 40 for a while, but then again, he grew pretty fast!
 
Hi folks,

I got my common brown pleco about 5 months ago, kept him in a 10 gallon 'til he was 3 inches long, now he's in my biggest tank, a 40 gallon.

Like so many others, I got him before I realized how big of a tank he needed. I have some future plans for a 125 gallon, but it'll be at least a year.

I don't want him to suffer. He's one of my favorite fish. He's about 5-6 inches long now, and does well on zucchini, spinach, Hikari wafers and keeping my tank super spotless.

How long before I need to move him to a larger tank? I've heard their internal organs will start growing larger than their external size can accommodate at some point, but I don't know when to start worrying about it.

I'll find him a new home if I don't have a bigger tank set up, if that's necessary, but I'd like to give myself as much time as possible, since he's such a neat fish.

That's the thing about stunting, you usually don't notice until the harm has already been done. Sooner is always better than later but it's hard to give a specific time frame.
 
That's the thing about stunting, you usually don't notice until the harm has already been done. Sooner is always better than later but it's hard to give a specific time frame.

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. Let me ask in a different way.

If I were just buying a different breed pleco and I had a 40 gallon tank, what would be the maximum adult size you'd reccomend for the tank? 5 inches? 7 inches? 10 inches? It's usually overstocked with immature guppies, but I do twice weekly water changes and check water params regularly, so I'm more worried about swimming around space than water quality. If I could figure out a maximum size, then I'd use that as a marker to find him a new place to live.
 
i've got an 18" and a 10" common that I had to bring in from one of our ponds, (didn't realize how big they'd gotten over the summer). Right now each is in a seperate 75g. while I try to finish setting up a 90 and a 120 (I need an addition). Looking at the 18" in the 75g. makes me wonder if he'll even be comfortable in the 120. He spent his past summers in a 5,000 gal. koi pond and with any luck he'll be going out to a new 17,000g. pond next spring. It's just the over wintering thing that bugs me. He eats well and seems O.K., still friendly. I don't really have much choice at the moment. 120 is the biggest I have & I'm runnin' out of room for tanks. Foot and a half long common plecos are not in high demand.
 
so he's growm 3 inches in 5 months?!?
Wow thats fast! Mine didnt grow like that.

I kept a common in a 10 gal for 4 years.. then moved him into a 125.. He went from 4 inches to about 8 now.. but it took him a year to grow that 4 inches...

Some say that they grow fast when they are young, and then their growth rate starts to slow a bit... I dont think he will suffer inthat 40 for a while, but then again, he grew pretty fast!

hmmm. OP said the pleco reached 3 inches in the 5 months he had it, not that it grew three inches in that time. just clarifyin'.

but, i also kept my common pleco in a 10g for probably 6 months. when he reached about 6 inches (i know, very bad) he moved into a 50g tank (4ft by 1.5 ft) and now he's in a 150g tank. doesn't seem to have done any damage, but of course this was AFTER i learned about cycling, water changes, nitrates, etc. if i had him during the "add water when it gets low, take the tank down and clean it completely every 2 months" beginner phase, i doubt he'd still be around.
 
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