sailfin and common

[lowes3]

i have a sailfin at the moment. i have had it for 7 or 8 months now and i was expencting it to reach 12" within a year, but it has grown just under 1" in the 7/8 months ive had it.
i was wondering if a sailfin would live happily with a common as ive been told commons will grow much faster than the sailfin has.

 

[jclyde13]

We'll need a little more info to be able to find out why your pleco isn't growing:

What do you feed it? How often do you feed it? How big was it when you got it? What is the temperature and size of your aquarium (include the dimensions)? What are your water parameters? How often do you do water changes? What are using for filtration.

For the part about common-sailfin compatibility -- That will depend on the size of your tank. If they don't have enough room, they will fight.


P.S. Welcome to MFK

 

[lowes3]

We'll need a little more info to be able to find out why your pleco isn't growing:

What do you feed it? How often do you feed it? How big was it when you got it? What is the temperature and size of your aquarium (include the dimensions)? What are your water parameters? How often do you do water changes? What are using for filtration.

For the part about common-sailfin compatibility -- That will depend on the size of your tank. If they don't have enough room, they will fight.


P.S. Welcome to MFK

it gets fed zucchini, cucumber and algee wafers. i put zucchini or cucumber in every night, and some algee wafers in every other day. it was about 4" when i got it and now its just under 5". the aquarium is 120cm x 50cm x 66cm. Ammonia - 0, nitrites - 0, nitrates - under 10ppm. i do water changes every week, normally 50%. im using an Aqua one 1250 filter, turning over 1250L/Hr.
i expected it to grow like a weed but that just hasnt happened. i thought i was doing something wrong but i cant understand what. i thought a common might grow abit better.

 

[impala]

Sounds like your doing everything right, it my have bad genes. The albino sailfins grow slower in my experience.
As for the common, should not be a problem imo.

 

[lowes3]

Sounds like your doing everything right, it my have bad genes. The albino sailfins grow slower in my experience.
As for the common, should not be a problem imo.

i was thinking that there might be something wrong with that particular fish. yeah its a normal sailfin.
so a common might be a better idea? if the common grew to 12" quickly would there be problems there?

 

[JesusFish]

It probably is the particular fish. And as far as them getting along, with that tank size they should do just fine. My sailfin has grown from 3" to 9" in 11 months. He is a champ.

 

[Geoey]

I have had a common plecco not grow after a frustrating six months and no growth what so ever it died a lot of fish have bad genes, especially popular species.
Try purchasing the biggest one from the bunch if they are all from the same lot , or buy something already big .

 

[lowes3]

it must just have bad genes. its very strange that it hasnt grown because it never stops eating.
if i did get a common and then the sailfin eventually reached 12" could the 2 live happily in my tank?

 

[Warborg]

There are many factors behind growth in Plecos.

Water conditions(lots of water changes),tank size , tankmates(a fish that fights or is picked on will not go after food as much).

This is my opinion and I'm sure others will hammer me on this but I consider zucchini and cucumber to be like filler food when it comes to growth.

When I was growing my plecos into 16-19 inch monsters in 2 years I was feeding them Shrimp pellets 3 times a day (water changes 2-3 times a week)

 

[jclyde13]

Sounds like your doing everything right, it my have bad genes. The albino sailfins grow slower in my experience.
As for the common, should not be a problem imo.

I agree on the part about bad genes, but not on the part about the common being no problem. IMO, the tank is too small to keep both in.