My pleco is still growing.....?

Question

I've had my pleco for about 4 years now and i'm worried that he may become too big for my tank. Is it possible that he may become to big to live in my tank? If yes, when will i know when he is at this stage?
Also, my local pet shop said that if i could catch him, they would buy him from me. The problem is that he is far to quick for me to catch. What can i do?

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Answer 1

If he's a common pleco, he may get too large. If he's longer than the tank is wide and has trouble turning around, that's a good way of telling your tank's too small. Lowering your water is a good way to catch him - be careful of the spines in his fins!

Answer 2

Plecos do get huge, I have saw several 18" ones at a LFS.

The only time fish stop growing to tank size is from stunting, either from being cramped or dirty water. Very unhealthy, damages organs and shortens lifespan.

The 1" per gallon rule is plain bull$@!^. It doesn't take into account girth, which adds a lot to the waste load, and usually most people don't factor in the size when full grown, not the size when you buy them. The 1" rule works for tetras. A great example. An 18" Oscar will weigh around 3 lbs ... 18 1" guppies will come no where near that mass.

Lowering the water like said prior will aid in catching him. you can trick him too, use two nets and chase him into the other (or get a cheap fish bowl and chase him into it with the lowered water level). It is easier to outthink to catch a fish than it is to outmanuever.

Best of luck.

Answer 3

This depends on many factors Like, tank size, type of pleco, and the amount of food availible to him. The fish should stop growing when the tank gets to small. Also some plecos can grow to almost 2 feet, others to only 5 in. If it has more than enough food it will use the extra to grow more. As to catching him may be difficult. Try slowly pushing him into a corner then guickly closing the sides around him and pulling up to the top with him trapped. Trust me, I've been doing it for 10 years. Best of luck to you and your pleco.
P.S. only take him to a fish store not pet store.

Answer 4

Despite may people's belief pleco don't grow to fit a tank. Their growth in small tank is often stunted by lack of food, or poor water conditions. It's size depends on the type of pleco. A true "common" pleco will reach 1 foot or so. The sailfin pleco will reach 2 feet. On the plus side large pleco are in demand so many fish stores will happily give you store credit for them.

Netting them is rather hard, and some species will entangle themselves in the net due to spines. Personally I generally use my bare hands. The trick is to go slowly. The other method is to remove about 1/2 the water, and all hiding spots. Get a big bowl or small bucket. Then either herd him in, or scoop him up. Often with a small bucket on it's side a pleco will swim into it to escape, and hide;-)

Answer 5

I would say if you fear he has outgrown your tank, or will soon, you should remove him now and sell him to your local fish store. Depending on your size tank, I would say after 4 years of growth for a pleco, he should at LEAST be in a 55gal long, depending on what you have with him... is he even close to 1/4 as long as your tank is? I would use that as a reference for him being too big. In reference to what "Betta lover" said, yes, fish do stop growing on the outside, but this is stunting, and while it appears to have stopped growing, the internal organs etc don't stop and it is very painful. Being a responsible pet owner involves not letting it get to that point, and it sounds like that is what you are trying to avoid, good catch! :) If you have trouble catching him, try using 2 large nets, one in front, and one to close in from behind. This technique can often make fast fish (CAE's in my case) much easier to catch. Good luck, and again, great job observing that he could be outgrowing his environment and recognizing it as a problem! You should make a nice return on what probably began as a $2.00 pleco! :) Congrats!

Answer 6

The average pleco will grow to a size of about 2 and a half feet. The only possible way to catch him would be to drain your water slightly so that he has less room to run away then get a friend to help you catch it with your hands or you will need to buy a pond net to let him go in gently.
Your pleco has most likely already outgrown his tank and you will need to give him to the fish store or make a pond for him

Answer 7

Yeah, Plecos don't really follow the "grow to the tank size" rule. They keep growing, often a lot. I have a 110 gallon freshwater tank and *still* had to trade in my regular Hypostomus and my Gibby when they crested 20 inches, and that was in under 3 years in both cases.

At any rate, you don't identify the specific, but the most comonly sold by pet stores and LFS is the hypostomus which *will* grow huge, 18 - 24". I seriously doubt you will have acquired one of the many dwarf ones that vary in size from about 2 inches to 8 or 9 inches, especially as they are usually much pricier than the regular ones.

That said, yes, he probably will outgrow. Easiest way is to remove your decorations/obstacles/hiding spots, drop your water like you were doing a water change and, as another poster mentioned, use two nets to enhance your ability to capture the guy. For mine I used a net and a bloody huge tupperware bowl to chase him into.

Good luck. :)

Answer 8

15 inches? Some plecos grow to well over three feet (over 36 inches). The smallest "pleco" I know of, and definitely the smallest one you are likely to find in the aquarium trade, would be any of the Otocinclus species (Otocinclus affinis is the most common one in the hobby). A 1.5-inch-long Otocinclus is a really large Oto.

Answer 9

one inch fish per gallon of water is the general rule,so you have to total the number of fish in your tank in inches and then divide by the tanks volume (ten fish in a one hundred gallon tank can grow ten inches if thier species allows. i've seen 15 inch plecos, if you do want to sell it find someone with a pond, and to catch it use two nets lol

Answer 10

Pelcos don"t grow to the size of the thank. there bodies will stop growing but not there organs and will soon die. I wouldent put a palco in anythang under a 55 gallon if u plan on keeping it till full age.