Different types of gold nugget plecos?

[Wet Whiskers]

I would say its a small spot. Wow 3", that's not a lot of growth in 3 yrs.... what do you feed it?

I just moved a bunch of fish including all my gold nugget plecos. I realized the small spot is smaller than I realized. I think he's closer to 3.5". These guys are more carnivores than omnivores. So, they all live on a great diet of hikari massivore, carnivore pellets, algae waffers, sinking wafers, blood worms, black worms, krill, tetra bits (my discus refuse to eat any other pellet) and of course any drift wood they'd like to suck the muck off of. Their diet varies with addition of mysis shrimp, zucchini (which they have no interest in), sweet potato (again little to no interest), and tilapia. You'd think with the water parameters being perfect for them (low pH with temp around 80) that they would grow more. Apparently, they are just super slow growers....

 

[Casper2000]

Damn sounds like you feed them a feast. That's a bit depressing to know it'll take so many years for the 4"er im getting to hit 12" lol.

 

[Wet Whiskers]

Damn sounds like you feed them a feast. That's a bit depressing to know it'll take so many years for the 4"er im getting to hit 12" lol.

Remember just because my little guy's growth rate is one, doesn't mean that yours will be the same. First, I just got a really good look at my little guy, and his spots are definitely smaller than yours. He's not the same species/subspecies. I think yours is the middle size. Secondly, male versus female alone can dramatically change growth rate. And, of course, thirdly, each fish has different growth rates depending on their individual genetic make up.

These guys demand clean water, but more importantly consistent water. They don't do well with giant swings. These guys thrive at lower pH's and warmer temperatures than some other plecos. They are perfectly happy at 6.4 and 80 degrees. The do need good aeration as well, and a piece of driftwood is crucial.