Baby pleco tank size

[Jofi]

Hey, I have a baby common pleco in a tank right now with a couple of guppies. I might have to get rid of my guppies though, and if I do, the tank is going with them, but I want to keep my pleco. I have this big, wide vase that I was thinking I’ll throw a moss ball, maybe a piece of bark or a lucky bamboo stem in and then add him. As far as I’ve seen he’s not a super active pleco so I feel like he will be 100% ok in it. The thing is he’s still small and he’ll only be in it for 1.5-2 months before going into something bigger. He’ll fit in it and still have room cause he’s small and it’s good sized and he shouldn’t grow too much in the time I’ll have him there, but is that an ok thing to do? I don’t have many options, but I feel like he’s still be happy in it. Any thoughts?

 

[CassCats]

Oh no definitely not, sorry.

Plecos produce lots of waste. You know, poop. This will foul the water in small tanks.

And common plecos grow up to 24 inches, thats 2 feet long, potentially. They really will need a 150-200 gallon tank just for one.

And even as a baby it needs space to grow properly and healthily. Stunting fish in small spaces poses health risks and is cruel IMO

If you can't provide a tank large enough for the common, I would look to find him a home and find yourself something that suits your tank size and water.


Plus additional to this, in a vase, what about a cycled filter? Heater? Aeration? You really should have a cycled tank ready for him if you know the tank is leaving but want to keep the fish.

I would suggest instead, get a clean tote bin and house him in that instead of the vase, get at least a 20-50g and keep the filter for the time being, but frankly I'd look to rehome him altogether if you can't get him the size of tank he is going to need.