new pleco owner

[xItsRoachx]

so i have just bought a pleco and done research concerned for pleco. the little fella currently lives in a 15g tank but is roughly 3 inches. so my question would be when do you or anyone who is willing to help believe i should up the size? i wanna help him grow and be a strong little guy

 

[tlindsey]

so i have just bought a pleco and done research concerned for pleco. the little fella currently lives in a 15g tank but is roughly 3 inches. so my question would be when do you or anyone who is willing to help believe i should up the size? i wanna help him grow and be a strong little guy

Welcome aboard
Pleco's are one of the species that produce a lot of waste. What type of Pleco is it? If aquarium is completely Cycled I suggest 50 % or more water changes weekly. This will do 2 things help keep Nitrate low and help Pleco grow to its potential. You will have time to upgrade if it is a smaller specie Bristlenose but if a Common Pleco upgrade to to a 55 gallon or larger as soon as you can.

 

[xItsRoachx]

Welcome aboard
Pleco's are one of the species that produce a lot of waste. What type of Pleco is it? If aquarium is completely Cycled I suggest 50 % or more water changes weekly. This will do 2 things help keep Nitrate low and help Pleco grow to its potential. You will have time to upgrade if it is a smaller specie Bristlenose but if a Common Pleco upgrade to to a 55 gallon or larger as soon as you can.

it is a common pleco, but from what i noticed at the lfs it was the smallest one from the few that it was with. also with the sizing the tank up would it be okay with him being by himself in a tank that size be okay or should i get him a couple friends? unless it doesnt matter.

 

[tlindsey]

it is a common pleco, but from what i noticed at the lfs it was the smallest one from the few that it was with. also with the sizing the tank up would it be okay with him being by himself in a tank that size be okay or should i get him a couple friends? unless it doesnt matter.

If you upgrade to the 55 gallon I suggest another specie of fish that swims because aquarium will become boring to look at quickly.

 

[xItsRoachx]

If you upgrade to the 55 gallon I suggest another specie of fish that swims because aquarium will become boring to look at quickly.

alright cool! i appreciate the help! i noticed while searching up more about the pleco for snack/treats should i give algea tablets or veggies?

 

[Blakewater]

For a common pleco a 2’ tank width is a bare minimum id assume as they get 18”. I’m not an expert on plecos and another pro can tell you the actual minimum tank size but I’d assume at least 180 gallons but others might feel more is necessary. The faster you upgrade the happier he’ll be and the sooner you can rest easy. It’s hard giving away common plecos because most people can’t house them and they’re so readily available

 

[tlindsey]

alright cool! i appreciate the help! i noticed while searching up more about the pleco for snack/treats should i give algea tablets or veggies?

It's a personal choice but you can feed both if you like. I feed my Bristlenose Algae Wafer for Pleco's.

 

[xItsRoachx]

For a common pleco a 2’ tank width is a bare minimum id assume as they get 18”. I’m not an expert on plecos and another pro can tell you the actual minimum tank size but I’d assume at least 180 gallons but others might feel more is necessary. The faster you upgrade the happier he’ll be and the sooner you can rest easy. It’s hard giving away common plecos because most people can’t house them and they’re so readily available

so pretty much as tlindsay said get a bigger tank as soon as possible. i just wanna make him the happiest i can

 

[Blakewater]

so pretty much as tlindsay said get a bigger tank as soon as possible. i just wanna make him the happiest i can

Yup and the sooner you get him a big tank (this is totally an unproven opinion but I see it all the time with my fish) the more beautiful he’ll become. When I give my fish more room as babies they tend to grow faster and show better coloring which I assume comes from their general happiness. Make sure to keep some wood in the tank as well as they like to eat it. As stated they also poop a LOT. Like an impressive amount. To the point you won’t be able to compute how so much sh*t came out of such a small creature.