How Fast Do Plecs Grow

itszztom · Mar 2, 2006

I have a couple of Plecos about 2 inches and I had them for a several months

I feed them algae disc once a night.

I am wondering how fast do they grow because they havn't seemed to grow at all since I had them...I know they grow big tho

---
Additional Question

My Koi (plantinum ogon) was injured and had an infection in his tail area and I was adviced in this Koi forum to cut the tail fin off and remove the scales around the infected area and use Anti-bacterial thing in the tank so I did. It's infected area seems to be better now and my question is

Usually how long does it takes for the regrowth of fins?

dcwillms · Mar 2, 2006

Well, I do believe I can field your Pleco question, but not your Koi question. Me and my friends all bought Pleco's at the same time about a year ago, and they have hardly grown an inch if that. They are slow growing creatures, and I would expect their life span to be what....say 10-15 years? In my LFS, they have 15" Plecos. 7 of them. They do get big, but in due time and due care, things will turn out. You can safely keep one in a 10 gallon for I would say a year or two easily.

Torrean · Mar 3, 2006

my sister kept a plec in a ten gallon for 3 years and he reached 10". I believe they tend to grow much faster than this when kept in larger tanks. Not sure what the mechanics are but perhaps the fish releases a hormone into the water that the concentration of that hormone tells the body how fast it should grow and how large it should be when adult size. I would not keep a common plec in a ten gallon for any amount of time. You can't be sure you'll be able or be willing to rehome it when the time comes and in the meantime you can't be sure what effect such a (potentially) large fish living in such small volume will have on it's physiology.

Tolak · Mar 3, 2006

It depends on the type of plec, it's much like asking how fast does a dog grow. Commons, if fed properly, and kept in a large enough tank, will hit 12" in around a year, and start to slow down after that.

I have an angel that had 2/3 of it's fins torn off when a couple of others paired up. They grew back to normal in a few months. This angel is one of the nicest looking blacks I own now. Plenty of water changes helps torn up fins better than anything I have ever tried.

Torrean · Mar 3, 2006

Tolak why do you think that my sisters grew so much slower than the commons you are talking about? Is there some crazy kinda truth to the fish grows to fit the tank myth?

dwarfgourami · Mar 3, 2006

Torrean said:
Tolak why do you think that my sisters grew so much slower than the commons you are talking about? Is there some crazy kinda truth to the fish grows to fit the tank myth?

Aka stunting. The phenomenon can also be observed in children from Roumanian orphanages.