Question about my 60 gallon tank with a betta and a pleco in it.

[jessa]

Hey everyone

As a kid my parents bought some goldfish for me and kept them in a 29 gallon tank with a pleco (which I called a "sucker fish" and still do sometimes haha) and it never got very big and seemed to be a pretty peaceful guy. When I got my new 60 gallon tank after years of having no fish I decided to get another one because I'd really liked the one I'd had before. So I named him Spot and put him in the new tank with my betta named Smoke (after the Mortal Kombat character because he looked grayish in the cup at PetSmart, but he's since turned purple) who I'd been keeping in a baby BiOrb that I hated. But now after some late research I've found out that the particular one I got can grow up to 18" and might be aggressive. Now I'm scared I can't add anymore fish to my tank and that he might hurt Smoke.

Will he be okay in this tank with my betta and some Dalmatian mollies that I wanted or should I take him back? I mean, he hasn't showed any signs of aggression yet. Smoke was picking at his algae wafer while he was eating at it and didn't chase him or anything, but he's only 2 or 3 inches right now.

Sorry for rambling on. I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks so much!

 

[Juice]

He should be fine, however will probably need to be homed into a larger tank eventually if he is a common. They do get quite large!

 

[jessa]

I'm fairly certain that's what he is since he was labeled as a Plecostomus without any further detail to the name. Hopefully I'll have a little time before I need to upgrade since I just spent over $700 on this new tank and the stuff to get it running. :/ Thanks for the help!

 

[silentcircuit]

Yeah, eventually you'll need a 75, ideally a 120g (they can get to 16"+) but they grow fairly slow. In my experience plecos aren't aggressive unless they're bothered. The beta isn't likely to bother it, nor are the mollies. You should be fine.

 

[ianab]

Large plecos are generally only aggressive toward other large plecos. or any fish that start to hassle them. They tend to ignore smaller fish like betta etc.

My big guy lives in an uneasy truce with my Oscar. Some mornings I come in and there is a scrape on the Oscar's side, or a bit of fin missing off the pleco. But never a death match showdown.

I used to have my goldspot in a 3ft tank full of guppies, I don't think he ate any.

Size tank? Depends in the exact species. Lately it seems that most "Common" plecos are p. Pardalis, These may only top out at 12" fully grown. There are other species sold as "commons" that do get bigger, but you might get lucky. It's not a problem for a couple of years anyway,.

Ian

 

[AngelFishRock]

I have my pleco in with my angels geos and cories and he keeps to himself, he will however get quite an attitude when he is eating his wafer and other fish try to nibble on it. He only shares with the cories. I wouldn't worry about him picking on other fish.