Pleco

[fatelerror89]

I have a sailfin  pleco in my tank and was thinking of adding another pleco would that be ok or would my pleco attack another pleco ?
 
i have a 125 l tank but getting 180 l in couple of months 

 

[Mikey1]

i would not recommend that

 

[techen]

Please do your research on these plecos, They grow to huge sizes. You shouldn't have one nevermind two in such a small tank. I suggest replacing it and getting a bristlenose pleco.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Sailfins come in several varieties. All get big- as much as 20 inches. The smaller ones stay at about 14 inches. You really need a 6x2 foot tank at the minimum for these fish and a larger tanks would be better.

 

[fatelerror89]

at the moment he is just a baby and seen a full size one in the shop.. yeah would but limited on tank size in my bedroom to i get my own place 180 l is the biggest i can go in my bedroom with the space.they take ages to grow to full size so by the time i should have my own place with a big tank.
 
i don't really want to get rid of him and i am not really a fan of bristlenose pleco

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Well, there are a lot of plecos sized between a 5 inch bn and 15-20 inch sailfin.
 
Check out L014 = Scobinancistrus aureatus that gets to about 12 inches. http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=161
 
Or L114 = Pseudacanthicus cf. leopardus that tops out at about 10 inches. http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=208
.

 

[Wills]

Well, there are a lot of plecos sized between a 5 inch bn and 15-20 inch sailfin.
 
Check out L014 = Scobinancistrus aureatus that gets to about 12 inches. http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=161
 
Or L114 = Pseudacanthicus cf. leopardus that tops out at about 10 inches. http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=208
.

Sorry but both those fish are not suitable for a 125 liter or a 180 liter tank.


- Fatalerror - making a plan like that around a fish is a massive decision... moving out is a big deal - not sure how old you are but are we talking months or years till this is a possibility? To get one of these big tanks you would need to probably get a ground floor apartment - which is a big consideration when you dont have the monster tank already.

These kind of plecs do grow reasonably fast and in 18 months you would see 10-12 inches on it. Maybe a bit less with them being in a very small tank like a 125 liter.

My best advise with big fish is - buy the tank then the fish. Buying a baby monster with hopes of buying a big tank is never a good idea - I did it, I have done it more than once and then the big tank plans fall through for loads of reasons - my reason was my flat flooded so it seriously held up the tank upgrade by nearly a year and I had to rehome fish. If the potential barrier to you getting a tank is moving out of your family home, that is a massive deal and might not be straight forward.

The thing with plecs is there are hundreds of species and there are so many varieties you cant dislike them all. I dont know what your other fish are but something like an L204 Flash Plec would work in this size tank, a Queen Arabesque Plec would as well. Or there are more common species around like L187 Rubberlip Plecs - these need high flow and there are a few members on here that are real pros at these fish.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/numbers.php?mode=l&thumbs=16

This is a great resource for you to have a look at to learn about all the plecs (or at least the ones you like the look of)

In all honesty I would rehome this Sailfin and look at getting on in the 4-7 inch range. There are tons out there an other one off the top of my head - L235 Flyer Plecs are cool

Hope thats helped
Wills

 

[fatelerror89]

another thought was going to give him to my mate who has a 400l rio tank for him to live in when he got to big for the tank which he will. i will look some other plecs  but i do like the Queen Arabesque Plec it looks cool.
 
For my big tank it will be a couple of years still only a HGV mechanic apprentice and not got the money for my own house yet and the other fish in the tank are panda corys ..5 band barbs.. zebra danio
 
cheers 
rob

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Sorry but both those fish are not suitable for a 125 liter or a 180 liter tank.

 
I never suggested the poster get the fish. I was merely responding to the idea that the choices in plecos were either a 5 inch bn or a monster sailfin. There are many plecos between the two and those were two good examples.
 
However, you might want to pop over to Planet catfish and then put this into the search "L114 growth rate" here is some of what you will see:
 

Mine went through a growth spurt a couple of months ago, but the rate has slowed down. Mine started at 2-2.5" SL in Jan 2010; today they're at 5-6" SL. (3 in a 75 g tank) (posted Feb2, 2012)

L114 doesn't grow very quickly in my experience. But growth rate is dependant on MANY different factors, so it's quite hard to say precisely.

L114 grow fast compare to othet pseuda.
I bought one at 1.5" and 2 years after he was approx 6".

Blue text is added by me above.
 
or this about L014:
 

Their growth rate will slow at about 5-6". From then on, maybe about 1-1.5" a year. I agree with what Mat said, wild fishes do grow much faster than fishes in captivity. But if you're able to provide a pond, you might be able to get growth rate comparable to in the wild. It's been proven with L-numbers generally noted for slow growth, such as panaque and L56.

 
So perhaps these fish don't grow quite as fast as you believe? And the other thing is both the 14 and 114 are very very easy to rehome because they are not as easy to find as more commonly kept plecos, especially at a good size.
 
Now I would be happy to admit I am incorrect about the growth rates if you can find me information from other keepers that suggest your belief about their being able to "grow reasonably fast and in 18 months you would see 10-12 inches on it. Maybe a bit less with them being in a very small tank like a 125 liter." I would welcome it.

 

[Wills]

Amin - sorry if I offended totally not intended - great you can back it up with that fantastic info but when I read your initial comment it did come across as a bit of "there are plenty of other plecs you should get these two" so sorry if I misinterpreted your post.
 
Personally I wouldnt recommend getting fish to later sell on as it can throw out long term stocking plans and adult sizes etc but I do agree a lot of the big plecs would sell on easy at any size - a similar situation to Royal type Panaques Slow growing but will always be popular. Also if it were me if I spent months and years raising a prize plec from a small size I would want to keep them as something of a trophy?
 
But in my last sentence about growing reasonably fast in 18 months I was meaning common and sailfin plecs - which I think we can possibly agree do grow quite fast in this time scale? I know I have seen specimens grow this fast and I know others that have seen this.
 
Like I say not intended to offend just a misinterpretation of your post it seems. In my defense though, not sure such a heavy handed post by your self was 100% needed when all it would have taken was - I was just using these two as an example...
 
Wills

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I was not trying to be heavy handed. I also think that some folks who say they will upgrade their tank size do over time while others merely intend to but never actually do. I agree that sailfins get bigger faster but thought it had been ruled out due to their ultimate size. The other two fish would give somebody a bit more time to rehome when that point comes.
 
My goal was just to show that there are other nice plecos that are bigger but not monsters. Those whose size is bigger than a bn but smaller than a gibby.
 
I was not offended, I was more interested in insuring folks would have good info is all. For my part I only keep smaller plecs, mostly hypans.