How To Sex Common Plecs

[Elliott 03]

I have 1 common pleco and I want another of the oposite gender.

 

[Bloo]

You can't even have one common pleco in a 29 gallon - never mind two

And they don't breed in captivity (as far as I know).

 

[Elliott 03]

You can't even have one common pleco in a 29 gallon - never mind two

And they don't breed in captivity (as far as I know).

It is very small and I will trade it in when it gets bigger untill then I would like to breed some and give them to my cousins

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I have 1 common pleco and I want another of the oposite gender.

Any reason in particular why you want two of the opposite sex? If you want to breed them, its pretty imposible in an aquarium, you really need a pond to do it, as they dig about a 4ft mud hole into a bank in the pond to lay their eggs in.

2 common plecs may also end up fighting as they mature if you keep them in the same tank- your current tank though is too small for even one so i would concentrate on getting a larger tank to house it properly rather than adding another pleco which will may your stocking problems much worse.

Common pleco's are easiest sexed when they are at least 8inches long- males are slim and long when veiwed from above, and often have flatter and longer heads/snouts, while a mature female will be rather fat looking in comparison when looked at from above and often have thicker set heads.

I would not advise adding another common pleco to your tank at all though.

 

[KathyM]

It is very small and I will trade it in when it gets bigger untill then I would like to breed some and give them to my cousins

They won't breed until they are mature anyway, and as others have explained you need a very specialised setup to breed them (and massively bigger than your tank). To be honest there are much easier to breed and more sought after plecs to breed. I don't understand why anyone would want to breed common plecs when they're unsuitable for most average home aquaria and are ten a penny.

Like Tokis suggested, I would recommend finding suitable housing for yours before contemplating another. Most large species of plec are territorial with their own species and are hard to sex, so putting aside the tank sie issue, getting another would be inadvisable anyway.

 

[dylema]

Perhaps some bristle noses would be good. They are easy to sex and will be happy enough in a well kept 29g to breed.

Dylan

 

[Bloo]

You can't even have one common pleco in a 29 gallon - never mind two

And they don't breed in captivity (as far as I know).

It is very small and I will trade it in when it gets bigger untill then I would like to breed some and give them to my cousins

Besides to already mentioned impossibilities of breeding common plecos, they are cheap as chips - so even if you "could" breed them; the culture food, care, time and effort would cost a lot lot more than a juvi common pleco. Besides - just look in almost any classifieds ads selling fish - there are always people try to give away commons (for free).

 

[Elliott 03]

You can't even have one common pleco in a 29 gallon - never mind two

And they don't breed in captivity (as far as I know).

It is very small and I will trade it in when it gets bigger untill then I would like to breed some and give them to my cousins

Besides to already mentioned impossibilities of breeding common plecos, they are cheap as chips - so even if you "could" breed them; the culture food, care, time and effort would cost a lot lot more than a juvi common pleco. Besides - just look in almost any classifieds ads selling fish - there are always people try to give away commons (for free).

Thanks for all your help.