I need help not killing a pleco!

[Arkmite]

So my friend wants me to get his almost foot long pleco so it can live with my 2 black moors. I also have a few mystery snails in the tank. I have a few problems to start with already. This fish has lived in almost complete isolation for most of its life because it was bullied so bad by other fish his fins were damaged. To make things better he lives in a 15 gallon tank with really, really hard water. I'm not too concerned about my moors because they seem pretty friendly for the most part, there was another fish that would bully the both of them though. I'm getting a large tank soon so I'm hoping they won't be too territorial or whatever. How do I even start with this project? Should I put a mystery snail in his tank now to get him used to things around him again?

I have a picture if it will help:

 

[Mr. Bones]

IMHO, plecos, unless you really like them are just rope poopers. Very little to no algae removal when they get bigger, and just added load on your bio.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Yeah, sounds like a common pleco given the foot long description. Hard to believe he's survived in a 15g tank given they make a 55g tank seem too small. Their bio load is huge as well. I've read of folks who've kept one common pleco by itself in a 55g and the tank required one weekly fin-level water change to keep the nitrate creep not to exceed ~20ppm. These guys need lots of wood to rasp on and lots of veggie matter.

If you want a pleco, get a bristlenose. They stay under 6" and clean algae off hardscape better than any other critter I've kept. They don't need wood either, but you need to feed them veggies like cucumber often. They are poop machines like said above.

 

[fishorama]

So not to sound too harsh, you have 2 black moors & want to add a BIG pleco...in a 15g?!? Or is you tank larger? I'm not sure I understand...all those fish eat a lot, poop a lot & grow large. I think the best answer to your friend is "thanks but no thanks, I don't have tank space". I know you want to help your friend but it's their problem, don't make it yours.

 

[OrionGirl]

The pleco and moors are unlikely to interact much so long as you feed the pleco enough. Moors and plecos tend to ignore each other completely.

That said, I will second the concern of having large waste producers in a small tank--without knowing what you have or what you are getting, there's not way to really offer tips. If you're going with a 75 or above, it will be ok for a while, but eventually will need something bigger. Common plecos can hit more than 2 foot. They really are not great aquarium animals.

 

[dougall]

I read to mean that the pleco was alone in a tank of 15g currently.

But I didn't see what size tank he would be going into. Peoples version of a 'big tank' varies widely across the board.. personally I would want him in something 2' front to back within 6 months to a year from now.

Unless he's under a year old, the chance might be that he is stunted already. And I would really think long and hard about the long term needs of the fish, especially tank size. Not something I'd personally want to be keeping without a really good reason.

 

[myswtsins]

I love plecos, even common (maybe especially), always have alway will. But I've never kept one for all the reasons stated above. Considering they get to 18"+ a standard 75g that is only 18" front to back is just not big enough so you have to go up to a 24" front to back foot print putting you into the 120g+ department and I can't do that in my house and most people can't.

And they poop SO much. You do have moors so you have a small idea about poop machines but a common pleco will put your moors to shame! lol

I think they would all get along just fine though. Biggest issue is tank size, you put any fish in a tank that is too small and everyone gets cranky and sick.

 

[Arkmite]

I read to mean that the pleco was alone in a tank of 15g currently.

But I didn't see what size tank he would be going into. Peoples version of a 'big tank' varies widely across the board.. personally I would want him in something 2' front to back within 6 months to a year from now.

Unless he's under a year old, the chance might be that he is stunted already. And I would really think long and hard about the long term needs of the fish, especially tank size. Not something I'd personally want to be keeping without a really good reason.

Well I'm not going to keep him permanently they just want me to hold onto him for a few months while they move. But the tank size i'm getting is a 55 gal for a permanent home of my moors.