So I was reading the Wikipedia article on Common Plecos...

[devder1]

No offence but that is fairly short.

Remember humans have been recorded over 8ft 11in (Robert Wadlow).

so ur saying 7'5 would be short kuz ol robby wad had some messed up genes?

 

[dmopar74]

I have been keeping tropicals for 21 years now and have never heard of a 5 ft "plec"!.I have two in a 6x2x2 tank for 3 years now, previously they were each in a 48"x12"x18" for at least 4 years.
They are both about 11" in length now, The largest plec I have seen is about 18"-20" in a shop in London.

if these are "commons" id hate to know how they are stunted so bad, 11" in 7 years?

 

[Ianab]

if these are "commons" id hate to know how they are stunted so bad, 11" in 7 years?

Commons may be one of several different species. Some max out around 12-14", so 11" after 7 years is about right.

Other 'Common' species can grow to 18-24", and should be much bigger at that age for sure.

Ian

 

[Desert Bus]

Commons may be one of several different species. Some max out around 12-14", so 11" after 7 years is about right.

Other 'Common' species can grow to 18-24", and should be much bigger at that age for sure.

Ian

It's obvious you don't use Wikipedia, or else you'd know that Hypostomus plecostomus can grow to 5 feet long. (yes, this is sarcasm)

 

[Ianab]

Yeah, it's Wikipedia, where any trained monkey is an expert

 

[david17]

someone with a wiki account please delete that sentence....

 

[Alhazred]

So I was reading the Wikipedia article on Common Plecos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleco), and I wasn't seeing anything new to me, until I got to this, under Etymology:

"Plecostomus fish have been known to get 5 feet in length with unverified sightings in the wild of 8 feet."

I've been on this board awhile, read god knows how many threads, and haven't seen any Plecos over 3 feet.

Wikipedia: 99% right, 1% very very wrong.

common plecos grow until they die and the growth is throttled by chems in the body that are produced when certain chemicalls are in the water at certain levels

the result is the bigger the area the bigger the pleco will grow.

try putting a pleco in a pond and to large water changes and high filtration and watch just how fast it grows

 

[matubula]

common plecos grow until they die and the growth is throttled by chems in the body that are produced when certain chemicalls are in the water at certain levels

the result is the bigger the area the bigger the pleco will grow.

try putting a pleco in a pond and to large water changes and high filtration and watch just how fast it grows

Ive heard that goldfish excrete growth hormones but not plecs. Anyway, a 'common' plec will not get anywhere near 5ft even if the conditions are perfect for its entire life, and I highly doubt they continually grow until they die.

 

[JenTN]

Yeah, it's Wikipedia, where any trained monkey is an expert

Just last week I read on there that ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) would be common until parents started raising their kids up right and start whoopin their kids, LOL.

 

[Allan01230]

One drunken fisherman one day saw a common goldfish that was 12 ft TL. LOL