please help, common pleco rescue

[jodyr35, posts: 14]

Heres the deal, im currently selling my collection of large fish as im moving back to my army base. I cant have an aquarium over 60 gallons at my new apartment. Last month i purchased 60 gallon wide that is 36" long, 22" wide and 24" tall. Its up and running at my new place and houses a 4" kamfa flowerhorn. For filtration i have three HOB filters; a 70 gallon marineland, 70 gallon aquaclear and a 15 gallon marineland. I also have a powerhead running.

Now the problem, i met my new neighbor today who was telling me he had a55 gallon with a huge common pleco and largemouth bass. I went and looked at the tank and i was in shock. Through the murky water i saw a poor pleco around "15 inches laying in the tank with a "13 inch or so bass He then told me hes letting both fish go in our local lake tomorrow so he can get a bigger fish! I tried talkin to this gut but he just doesnt listen.. This pleco appears to be in great health some how and i was wondering if it would be humane to take this fish in and place him in my 60 gallon. Ive called on the lfs and no one will take him. In four months im relocating and can get a larger aquarium then. I know my aquarium is too small, but at the same time i think he would be much happier in a tank nearly twice as wide and clean for just a few months...?

I currently do %30 water changes twice a week, i would obviously need to up them, correct? This guy only had an air pump in the tank, and hes had the fish in the tank for over a year now, changes a little water every couple months.. I know the fish will survive in my aquarium, but the last thing i want to do is cause any animal to suffer in my care, what should i do?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated, either i take the fish in or the neighbor is dumping him into the lake tomorrow. :/

[jodyr35, posts: 14]

Heres the deal, im currently selling my collection of large fish as im moving back to my army base. I cant have an aquarium over 60 gallons at my new apartment. Last month i purchased 60 gallon wide that is 36" long, 22" wide and 24" tall. Its up and running at my new place and houses a 4" kamfa flowerhorn. For filtration i have three HOB filters; a 70 gallon marineland, 70 gallon aquaclear and a 15 gallon marineland. I also have a powerhead running.

Now the problem, i met my new neighbor today who was telling me he had a55 gallon with a huge common pleco and largemouth bass. I went and looked at the tank and i was in shock. Through the murky water i saw a poor pleco around "15 inches laying in the tank with a "13 inch or so bass He then told me hes letting both fish go in our local lake tomorrow so he can get a bigger fish! I tried talkin to this gut but he just doesnt listen.. This pleco appears to be in great health some how and i was wondering if it would be humane to take this fish in and place him in my 60 gallon. Ive called on the lfs and no one will take him. In four months im relocating and can get a larger aquarium then. I know my aquarium is too small, but at the same time i think he would be much happier in a tank nearly twice as wide and clean for just a few months...?

I currently do %30 water changes twice a week, i would obviously need to up them, correct? This guy only had an air pump in the tank, and hes had the fish in the tank for over a year now, changes a little water every couple months.. I know the fish will survive in my aquarium, but the last thing i want to do is cause any animal to suffer in my care, what should i do?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated, either i take the fish in or the neighbor is dumping him into the lake tomorrow. :/

[racoll, posts: 4473]

Good plan to take the fish on. Your tank will certainly be a big improvement. Sounds like you know what you are doing.

You might want to tell your neighbour that the US taxpayer spends millions, if not billions, of dollars trying to mitigate the damage caused by alien species, so putting the fish into a lake is really not a very clever idea at all.

See here.

[jodyr35, posts: 14]

Thanks, ive never had a pleco this large before and in such a small tank should i be worried about ammonia causing trouble with my flowerhorn. How frequent and how much water should i be changing? Is this his max size? And last question; i have like no alage in my aquarium. What should i feed this guy?

Ive cleared all the rock and decorations out of my aquarium except for one large plant that reaches the surface, trying to give him as much space as possible. My aquarium is about a foot shorter but 22" wide rather than 12". I justhope he will be happyin this aquarium for a few months. I added a nice ammount of sand to the gravel i already had hoping its a little softer on hos belly.. and im doing a water change now. Ill be picking him up tomorrow, crossing fingers!

[racoll, posts: 4473]

How frequent and how much water should i be changing?

Do you have ammonia/nitrite/nitrate test kits? That would be the easiest way to monitor water quality. If not, then about 50% twice a week should be more than enough.

What should i feed this guy?

They're not fussy. Algae wafers, pellets, flake, and some veg (e.g. squash, zucchini etc).

Is this his max size?

15" TL is a big one, but they get to over 20" TL or so in the wild.

[Zeno, posts: 102]

Sure put him in your tank. He will survive.
Later on, you can look for a better environment.

[Lframe, posts: 13]

Better if you can get it. Your filtration is enough to serve a big pleco.
After next few months you can upgrade tank and keep some other fish too.

[Jools]

jodyr35,

Look, this is the third time I've had to merge your posts. Please don't double post. We are all here to help, but PLEASE abide by the rules.

Jools