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Hi all,
I dont know much about plecos so could anyone give me a rough guide to the growth rate of gibbiceps.
He is currently 4" long SL, and lives in a 100 gallon, I feed him hikari wafers, squash, and zuchini. Water quality is excellent but with little current. I brought him in february at 2".
How long before he hits about 12" SL? more or less.
I ask because he is the only fish that my clarias tolerates and they grew up together. Soon though Ill be adding another fish and i want to make sure that the gibby isnt too slow growing, or ill find a new home for him.
thanks
jason

I'm rather short on experience, too, but it seems like your gibby is growing properly. I bought my gibby in February at about the same size as yours. He's close to 5" SL now. I'll have to take him out and measure him tonight.

If this growth rate continues (and I don't think it will as IME the growth of most fish slow down as they get larger) then I believe it should take a bit less than 2 years for them to hit 12". I'd love to have my gibby get this big!

Hope this helps!

gibbys grow quite fast!! Compared to other plecs... they are monsters of the pleco world..

My gibby grew from 3" to 12" in about 2.5 years, then growth tapered off.

They like a meaty component to their diet, e.g. pieces of prawn, shrimp or cockle, besides what you're feeding. And this will increase the growth rate.

What other fish were you thinking of adding? Best to do it before your Clarias gets too big and mean. My gibby lives with a 12" Asian Red tail. It's the only form of life the Red tail at least grudgingly respects.

Another clarias! yep i will be adding another clarias, at least to see how they get on.
My largest one only seems to tolerate plecos so theres no problem there, I was just a little bit concerned with the addition of a second as to how the pleco would respond, the second clarias is smaller for now, but is growing much faster than my first and is considerably bulkier,
i think ill just have to see how they get on and have a move around if things dont work out. The main problem is the much slower growth rate of the gibby.
Thanks everyone for your help, ill let yoyu know how it goes at a later date.
jason

I have 3 gibbies that were purchased in march at about 3". Currently one is residing in a breeding tank with a pair of managuense and the two others are in a growout with Red Devils (5-8"). The one in the managuense tank is about 9" and the two with the devils are 6"+.

As they are the best cleanup patrol IMO that I have found they seem to grow in relation to how you feed the fish in the tank. With the devils it is a little different as they like to sift through the sand/gravel in search of food so there is more competition for food.

However they are tough enough to live in those tanks with those fish while other fish that were added have been killed and/or eaten.

I have had mine for about 5 months and he as gone from about 2.5" to 6.5". He definitely has an affinity for shrimp (both frozen and pellets). Also, he does a pretty good job on zucchini.