# What to do with plecostomus?!!! It's huge



## abdulkhan (Aug 14, 2013)

Okay so i have a 30 gallon tank thats 36" wide, and have 5 EY CICHLIDS in there, around 2-3 inches or 3.5 

I got this plecostomus from someone because they were getting rid of their tank, and it was housed in a 5 gallon...

I put it in my 30 gallon for now, but idk if it will have enough space and will it hurt my other fish? It's like 7 inches or more its huge...

Thanks any tips will be helpfull!

Also i got two Corydoras thats are 1 and 1.5 inch, i placed them in a ten gallon with my betta, is that okay?

Thanks


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

abdulkhan said:


> Okay so i have a 30 gallon tank thats 36" wide, and have 5 EY CICHLIDS in there, around 2-3 inches or 3.5
> 
> I got this plecostomus from someone because they were getting rid of their tank, and it was housed in a 5 gallon...
> 
> ...


THAT WAS HOUSED IN A 5 GALLON?!. That pleco may get bigger too so you may want to upgrade


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## PELIGROSOPYGO (Aug 27, 2013)

Kimchi24 said:


> THAT WAS HOUSED IN A 5 GALLON?!. That pleco may get bigger too so you may want to upgrade


My reaction as well lol! That can't be right? Maybe it was a bit bigger than a 5g.. In regards to abdulkhan concerns, I've had many plecos in the past and they all grew quite large. Never harmed any of my fish but they Do eat ALOT and produce more waste so you water changes are a must to get all the waste it will produce. I have a friend who had a 29g with 3 fantail goldfish and 2 common plecos about 4" and the bottom of his tank was covered with waste. Kind of disgusting but yeah you get my point


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

PELIGROSOPYGO said:


> My reaction as well lol! That can't be right? Maybe it was a bit bigger than a 5g.. In regards to abdulkhan concerns, I've had many plecos in the past and they all grew quite large. Never harmed any of my fish but they Do eat ALOT and produce more waste so you water changes are a must to get all the waste it will produce. I have a friend who had a 29g with 3 fantail goldfish and 2 common plecos about 4" and the bottom of his tank was covered with waste. Kind of disgusting but yeah you get my point


I got like 6 - 7 fancy goldfish and 1 BN Pleco in a 75g, and the bottom is not filled with waste at all, and is actually clean without me even having to clean it because 1) I have a lot of plants (types which the goldfish wont eat), 2) I have sand substrate, 3) I have snails to eat the waste (not much food is left for them when having goldfish).

To the OP, your setup is begging for real live plants!!!! And don't pleco need a Driftwood? Just get some nice driftwood, tie some Java Fern on it, and Voila!!!! Java Fern don't require much light, are low maintenance and self replicate, help purify your water, look nice, don't gather any alga (the only plant I have that doesn't).


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Yeah, plecos are generally harmless to other fish, but they do need to eat both wood and other vegetable matter to stay healthy. They like sweet potato (uncooked) and also zucchini (but make sure to slice the skin so that they won't get a round of zucchini skin trapped over their gills).


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

That fish has the potential to reach near 2 feet.

Your be better off taking it into a LFS that will take it or give it away. Commons aren't wort much and that thing is really heavy on the bio load


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## abdulkhan (Aug 14, 2013)

*Thanks*

Thanks for all the replies. Yea i noticed the pleco doesn't do much, just lays in one spot(at day time) when i turn off the lights he starts cleaning the glass and decorations lol. Also my EY cichlids dont mind him at all and made them less agressive (idk how).

also i added two corydoaras to the tank they're fat but fast(2 inches and 1.5 inches, and stick together in a group with the EY CICHLIDS.. 
Am i over stocked?

But the pleco really does produce alot of waste, i only have an aqueon 30 filter in there idk if thats good or get another one??

I actually don't mind the pleco kinda like it, but if it's a bad idea to keep him, i don't mind getting rid of him.

I also don't have heater but the temperature stays around 26 degrees.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

best to get a heater for when temps do drop.

If it is a common pleco, give it away. It will get way too big for the tank and filter

There are lots of nice plecos that don't get huge, Bristlenose plecos get to about 4 inches and are nice. And be sure to have some driftwood for them.

The cories will most likely get killed by the betta, and they like to be in schools, I recommend 3 min. They would also have a hard time with the cichlids. 

Its time to get another tank for community fish like the cories. This is how MTS gets started, multiple tank syndrome. I currently have 13 tanks with water in them, but 5 don't have any fish in them right now, filled with plants for now.


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## abdulkhan (Aug 14, 2013)

pyrrolin said:


> best to get a heater for when temps do drop.
> 
> If it is a common pleco, give it away. It will get way too big for the tank and filter
> 
> ...


i have a 6 gallon tank, 16*12*8. should i put the cories in that? its an empty tank.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

That should work, but it is the smallest tank I would put them in. I also recommend sand substrate for them, easier on their whiskers


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

My understanding is that cories are considered a good tank mate for bettas. Not all bettas are highly aggressive with other fish. I have kept mine with shrimp and neon tetras without difficulty. It is just a good idea to have a backup home for someone in case your betta does in fact get aggressive. 

Remember if you move the cories to another tank it needs to be fully cycled. 

Also I would upgrade that filter if I was you. Especially if you keep that pleco. Most filters are over-rated. So sure, it is supposed to be rated for 30 gallons, but it won't really work well in a fully stocked 30 gallon tank.


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## abdulkhan (Aug 14, 2013)

colio said:


> My understanding is that cories are considered a good tank mate for bettas. Not all bettas are highly aggressive with other fish. I have kept mine with shrimp and neon tetras without difficulty. It is just a good idea to have a backup home for someone in case your betta does in fact get aggressive.
> 
> Remember if you move the cories to another tank it needs to be fully cycled.
> 
> Also I would upgrade that filter if I was you. Especially if you keep that pleco. Most filters are over-rated. So sure, it is supposed to be rated for 30 gallons, but it won't really work well in a fully stocked 30 gallon tank.


The filter is rated for 45 gallons, 200 gph it says. i did move the cories to my betta tank but the betta wants 10 gallons to himself lol. so now the cories are in a 6 gallon that has been cycled.

i plan on getting rid of the pleco though, not my taste and as much as it cleans it has alot of waste. how much could i get for it anyway? its 8 inches long


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

You probably won't get anything for the pleco if you ensure that it goes to a good home. Common ones like that aren't popular and there is much more supply than demand.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

You'd be lucky to actually be able to get rid of it for free. Harsh but that's the truth


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

you should put the betta in the 6 gallon and the cories in the 10


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## abdulkhan (Aug 14, 2013)

pyrrolin said:


> you should put the betta in the 6 gallon and the cories in the 10


I Will do that.


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