Hey everyone- Meet Sam and Emily. Sam is the pleco on the left and Emily is on the right, or in the barrel. These two plecos are around 2" right now... I don't know how much they'll grow! At the shop where I bought them there was a tank with bigger versions of these little guys. They're all larger than 6".... I'm scared now- very scared. Will my 20 gallon tank hold up?
Will Sam and Emily grow to be 9 pounds and 19 inches? I also heard they stop growing when their environment gets too small, but their organs still continue to grow, leading to internal issues and death. The fish store I got them from don't allow returns. Should I be taking immediate action or am I worrying about nothing...?


This post has been edited by Aleydis: Jun 12 2008, 10:05 PM

im not a pleco expert... but assuming that they are the common variety of plec, then no you tank wont hold up. common plecs get around 18" (i think) now if it is a pitbull, bristlenose or a smaller varity then you should be ok. Do you happen to know what it was labeled as? (not that they are always right)

it looks like either a comman or gibby in that case it will grow upto 20" and will sooner than l8r outgrow that tank unless ur planning a big upgrade in the near future i would try and return him 2 ur LFS or where u got him from


jen

Oh, dear... I only have a 20g tank as of now as my community and the biggest tank... I'm not planning on another tank for at least a few years... I can't return my plecos either- nor do I know of a suitable owner.
I think I'm screwed. =(
Thank you for your reply, though.

When they start getting too big, which won't be long, call the fish stores and ask if you can donate. Someone will take them.

the one on the left is a gibby (i'm 99% sure) and the one on the right is a common pleco.
yea, they get massive so i'd try return them or rehome them while they're still small.

why can't you return the fish?

The one on the laft is a gibby! That will get very very big >.>

if you saw bigger ones in a tank next to them then why did u go ahead and buy them? especially 2?

Well we didn't SEE the bigger ones until a few days after we bought... Do you guys know if Petsmart allows donations...? The place I got them from is like a breeder factory... It just breeds and sells to pet shops, and sometimes sell individually, so thus they don't accept refunds or returns. They don't want to risk taking in fish with diseases, and I suppose they're too lazy to quarantine.
Plus... How am I supposed to catch two plecos? They move far too fast...

its worth calling and asking. As far as for catching... what i do is use two nets. 1 to chase and one to scoop, have one already in the tank without moving it around alot if at all, use the other to chase the plec near the scoop net and once they are close enough move quickly, trying to catch 4 danios in a 55 gallon tank took me about 2 hrs.... they are quick. with having a smaller tank it should be a bit easier. (less space to run to)