Pleco growth question?

[Shadowplec6]

I got a common sailfin pleco about a year ago as 3 1/2 inch juvenile and now she ( I think?) is a little over 6 inches long. I have always heard that plecos grow relatively slow and she is only the second pleco I have ever had; my first passed away a few years ago and yes , he was big boy (his head alone was easily 5 or 6 inches wide and I had him for a good 17 years; a nice childhood memory, I got him when 5 years old ) So my question is would growing around 3 inches in a year be an example of good growth for a pleco of her species? ( She gets wafers and likes bloodworms, shrimp pellets and river shrimp)
P.S: I have learned a lot more about aquarium keeping since I got my first pleco (Sandshrew) and my second pleco (Shadow) seems to be growing faster than Sandshrew did and she is a beauty * I will post a photo of her when catch her out of her cave*

 

[duanes]

A friend caught a 4 inch wild Panamanian Pleco for me back in March, the net it's in the day I got it, is a 4" net.

8 months later, it is about 6",

Especially if offered a diet with occasional protein, they all seem to grow quickly for me too.

This one will chase other fish away from chucks of fish or shrimp.

 

[esoxlucius]

I've had bad experiences with plecos, and totally my own fault. I bought a 2-3" common pleco a few years ago and put it in a small grow out tank. He was on his own and he absolutely thrived. After about 8 months he was 7". He grew really quickly.

Then as soon as I moved him to my 180 com tank his growth stopped and a few months later he was dead!

There was just way too much competition for food in that tank and the poor pleco wasn't getting his share. I tried all sorts of tricks from feeding after lights out to depositing food via a tube directly down into known hideouts of his. But there was no improvement, the other fish just wised up to my tricks and got the food before him.

I hoped that eating algae off the glass and munching on bog wood would keep him nourished but of course they need other nutrition too.

I think when they're pretty big they can handle themselves and can bully for food and they learn to get their share. Then they grow into monsters. But when small, if they don't learn quick, they can suffer, and just scant servings of algae and bogwood are no replacement for proper food.

As I found out. ?

 

[MrsE88]

My common plecos all grew pretty fast I think. Got two at around 2” and they were 8” at least in the first year. By the second year one was 14” when I gave It away.
They really liked zucchini, squash, pellets, and really any other food that was put in the tank.

I’m really not sure what is common for their yearly growth rate, but tank size, water changes, and temp will all play a role in how fast or slow they grow.

 

[Raka]

My 2in sailfin was in a 30 until 6in then moved to a 55. He is currently @ 11in at just over a year old. Clean water and proper diet play a huge factor in growth rates. He's the fish in my profile pic. Has had fresh veggies available 2 to 3x a week as well as daily wafers. Nitrates were always kept below 10pp in the 30g, the 55 holds 0ppm.

 

[Shadowplec6]

 

[Shadowplec6]

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