how many plecos is too many?

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catfishman1

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 6, 2009
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Colonia, NJ
i have a 7in. common pleco and a 6in. gibbiceps that im planning to move to a new 75 gallon tank cuz its gettin crowded in the 25 gallon tank they currently call home. im thinking about making the new tank an all-pleco tank and im wondering how many plecos i would be able to get. i would use the 25 gallon to nurse smaller plecos up to size for the 75 gallon if they are too small. the first pleco would probably be a royal. soooooooo how many plecos would be able to live happily in a 75 gallon tank and would it be ok to use the 25 gallon as a nursing tank?

btw sorry that this is so long i just have alot of things to ask lol PLECOS FTW!!!!!!!!!!!:grinno:
 
Well, first off a common pleco will outgrow a 75. So that's sort of too many right off. Maybe you should target collecting the smaller species. I have a few smaller ones but a common gets very very large. Royals get large also and require wood in the tank.
 
Plecos are territorial and don't live in congregations in the wild. You would be forcing some very unnatural situations on them. I don't think its a good idea.
 
The rules I use for plecos is:

1) The type of Pleco
2) Size of tank
3) Enough hiding places
4) Enough food

All 3 of the plecos you mention can get big.

The Common and Sailfin and both can get to 2 feet. I don't know royals that well but I know there is one kind that can get up to 3 feet (check out the monster pleco photos thread (oddball has one)).

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31564


My personal advice is to look for a bigger tank then 75. I would consider it only as a grow out tank.
 
Even if you get a huge tank size there are limits to what u can added.. a good size tank would be a 6ft or 8ft long tank...

This will give them enough room for movement and hiding places along with territory of their own.. Driftwood can help to make different places for plecos to eat, hide and explorer.

Your 75 gallon is a bit small for the giant speices of pleco.. u can have them when young.. its not certain how long and how fast each pleco's growth rate are.. I agree with the previous post.. if you like pleco and want a community of them.. stick to smaller size.

Try doing research on planetcatfish.com for the individuals plecos you want.. also.. good filteration, environment and diet will promote a healthy pleco.. hope this helps..
 
focus on the ones you already have. It might be YEARS before they get crazy big. But for now see and go from there with a 75g its a good start as the tank footprint is GREAT for surface areas. My commons with my experience got to 8'' within 4-5 years then slowed down and grew less and less before I ended up selling them off when shutting down several of my tanks.
 
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