Common Pleco Growth Question

[TrailRat1994]

I have what appears to be a common pleco. It matches almost all pictures of common pleco's I have seen. I bought it in 2014 as a baby at about 1 1/2 inches. He went into a 10 gallon tank for about 2 years and grew to about 4 1/2 inches. I then transferred him to a 16 gallon tall tank for about 9 months. He was still about 4 1/2 inches when I transferred him to a 40 gallon breeder tank. He has been there for about 3 months and has not grown at all. I have read that the common pleco has a potention size of about 18 inches. My question is could it be that because about 3 years have passed since I got him at 1 1/2 inches that he is too old to grow anymore?

[Jools]

No, they can grow in spurts. Probably needs more space.


Jools