if i get around a 20 gall.aquerium can i fill it up with just alot of exotic plecos 3 or 2 inches?

Question

nothing bigger. and around how many plecos can i put in there ?

Answer 1

There are tons of plecos that only grow to 2 inches, you just have to know where to look. You won't find them in any pet store unless they accidently get mixed in with another species. Ordering online is the most likely place.

Plecos will fight amongst each other so go with a 20 gallon long, not a 20 gallon high, then you could have probably 4-5 small plecos. Please do not use the inch per gallon "rule," it is not a good guideline to go by for any fish, especially plecos. The reasons are they need territory because plecos will fight over territory amongst themselves, and all plecos produce alot of waste, so if you have 10 2 inch plecos, you are going to have massive water quality problems.

The most common small type pleco is the pit-bull pleco. Look at the rubberlip plecos at petsmart and see if they have a different kind mixed in with them, study closely so you know what to look for. I got what I thought was a rubberlip pleco and it turned out to be a rare species that only grows to 2 inches. Here is the link to what I have. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=917

If you want a link to a place to order from, email me or post a question on my forum(link below) and I'll give you a couple of links if I can.

Answer 2

Plecos grow anywhere from 4 inches to 18 inches. The largest ones would need a 125 gallon tank. The smallest ones would need a 30 gallon tank. The 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water is a myth because, while this can apply to fish that remain small and thin, such as guppies, this will not apply to fish that grow long and wide in girth. This rule grows exponentially as the fish grows in width and weight as well as length. Putting a fish in too small a tank stunts their growth and is cruel because they don't just "stop growing." They continue to grow on the inside, but because their exterior doesn't grow, they become deformed from the inside out, so you could keep one pleco in a 20 gallon tank until it got to be around 2.5 inches. Then you would have to get a larger tank.

Answer 3

As SF said, those guys will quickly outgrow that 20 gal, the 1" of fish rule is for ADULTS, and only small adults, which don't include plecos.
If you want something neat to watch, buy two types of cory cats that look a lot different, like greens and pandas. They tend to school with their own type, so you'd have two groups swimming around, and when they swim through each other they split apart into their original groups, its pretty neat and I'd love to have a 20 gal to try that with.

Answer 4

A twenty gallon tank is not large enough for more than two or three Ancistrus species catfish,further more many of the species commonly called Plecostomus are territorial,and will fight con-specifics(fish of the same species) to the death. You should research each animal individually. Also you should research the adult size of each type. All that being said, there are still a lot of fish that would fit your needs. And a small tank with lots of drift wood and 2 or 3 really neat small Ancistrus cats could be very attractive. The major family of this type of fishes is called Loricariidae,and a Google search of this word should provide you with tons of information. Good hunting,and good luck.---------PeeTee

Answer 5

Most plecos will not remain 2" for very long and will grow to be huge so a 20 gal. won't be suitable for even one for very long. And depending on what type of pleco you get will depend on whether they will get along or be very territorial.

Answer 6

Have you ever seen an adult Pleco? It wouldn't even fit in a 20! Try a 125 or150... for just one!

Answer 7

Just like the person above, said follow that rule. 1 gallon for every 1 inch of fish. But make sure you have some room for decorations and a place to hide(You do need that for the fish to be happy, I mean a place to hide not the decorations).
Anyway, try to have a even number of fish and even number of female and male. This is specifically important if you want to breed.

2 Inches:
Leave 3 Gallons for oxygen item, decorations, place to hide and misc.

17 gallons left:
4 female 4 male.

Leave the 1 gallon for one cleaner fish(optional but it helps because I have one and reduces a little bit of cleaning) or leave it just incase one fish grows bigger than expected(each fish is unique you know)

One more thing, I bought like 12 fish and at one point had more than 32. Had to give some away. I have a talent for breeding I know ;). No experience with plecos so I would not relie on it completely. And start with 1 male and 1 female and build up every week. I know, I know, it can be very frustrating and everyone naturally wants their tank full the day they fill it up. But if you start with less and build up its good for fish. Also, if your going to get a tank let it run for an entire week with filter, heater, ornaments and everything except the fish. Again this can be very boring but if you want the best out of your tank..ya. I think you get the idea and do you really want only plecos? I have a variety, and after a lot of breeding, I have fish with different colors...it can be very cool, its like making fish.

Hope this helps

One final thing the measurement 1 in fish for 1 gl. Its just sort of a rough measure, do not have to be like perfect. Also, I get only small fish so that I can support lots of babies...and lots of fish but thats up to you.

Answer 8

the general rule is to only have 1 inch worth of fish per 1 gallon of water, so saying if you want to have 2 inch long fish(not any bigger) then you can have 10 fish......10*2 inches=20 (gallons), for 3 inch fish about 6 maybe 7.