# Can my betta be kept with a plecostimos?



## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

I spelled that wrong.
Okay,
It's room temp.
I think it may have a filter, it looks like an undergravel filter, it has that thing that goes under the gravel, which is connected to a tube, but the tube is not connected to anything else. Inside the tube is a smaller tube with an airstone attached, the smaller tube is attcahed to what i think is an airpump.
Actually, after writing it, I think it's just for decoration and the bubbles are inside the tube so it won't bother the fish, but it disturbs the water surface.
It's one gallon
I have fake plants in it.
I already put the plecostimus in with my fish,
I don;t think he's attacked it, even though i put the plecostimous in after prince. OOPS!


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

No, Plecos need HUGE tanks, he will outgrow that WAY to fast.... 1 gallon is barely big enough for 1 fish


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

*uh oh...*

okay, right now, my pleco is in a .75 gal with no filter with my betta 'cause our pipes froze and flooded my house, and the took our furniture last night while i was sleeping, and they moved my fish.

Someone pulled out the filter, and all my fake plants... I had forgotten to rinse out the gravel, so i put my betta and the pleco in a medium sized vase. If i take the pleco out, i won't have anywhere to put him... i wonder if anybody on this website would take him...
Awwwww.... but no one is gonna want to pay $10 for a pleco ( i would give him away for free) and i dont have any heater thingies. What should i do??!!?!?!?!?!!?!!?!?!?!!??!!?


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Hm... only thing I can think of is to take him to a petstore.... or see if any of your friends can take him.... I don't really have experiance with Plecos, I've aways stuck with smaller species of fish (other than oscars and cichlids) so I've always either had a snail or Siamese Algae Eaters in my 30 gallon... which is min. size for them....or mollies as they actually like to eat algae...lol....
You can see if anyone on the forum will take him, but it wont be likely since almost everyone has snow.... but maybe another member will come on and help out?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

You could just return him to the pet/fish store that you purchased him from. If they provided you with inaccurate information as to the housing and care requirements of your, you may be able to convince them to take it back. 

I would definitely look at finding a heater for your betta if it is cold enough for the pipes to have frozen. Most pet stores and fish stores sell them fairly cheaply so they shouldn't be that hard to find.

In a 1 gallon tank, I would remove both the gravel and filter as you will find the actual capacity of the tank will be much less because of water displacement caused by your substrate and decorations. While this wouldn't matter much in a larger aquarium, a 1 gallon tank doesn't offer much wriggle room. 

My smaller tanks are all bare-bottom (don't have any gravel) with some PVC pipes/terracotta pots and java moss for my bettas to hide in. This set-up is much easier to clean and maximises the amount of water and swimming space available to my bettas.


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

okay,
I dont know if they'll take it back...
I do have the reciept, but the bag i got him in is almost torn in half, but you can still see the item number.
They did not tell me anything about the size of the tank, excepth when i told them i wanted the smallest one there, they told me that you want to get the biggest one, and i told him that it was only a one gal. tank, and he said that the algae would just grow faster. 
Is that helpful?


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

@Littlebettas- No! I have 2 plecos in my divided 10 gal. And they don't grow a bit! Some plecos don't grow ALOT. Depending on th type of pleco

EDIT: @irbyma7297- How big is your pleco?


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

i dont know... maybe about 3 to 4 inches


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

well, at least half an inch more than prince.


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

common plecos can grow to well over a foot, I believe 16-18" is quite possible.
Even the smaller species of plecos (like bristlenose) will grow to at least 3-4".

I would definitely take the pleco back and tell them how you said you had a 1 gal and they wanted to give you a bigger one. Too many pet store employees don't know anything or next to nothing about fish.

There are other issues, but they aren't as important as returning the pleco. We of course would highly recommend a larger tank (2.5 gal is perfect!), and a heater and thermometer, they are happiest and healthiest at 78-80. Just a bit of food for thought should you ever decide to upgrade.


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

Okay, Oh, and i got him at wal-mart, and there wasn't anybody around the pet section, so my friend got somebody from the tech section.


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

oh, i know a teacher with a fish tank in his class room, it's pretty big, and he has the same size plecos in it, i can ask him if he can take him!


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

Well, you can get like a 5 galllon tank because my pleco loves it and he's always happy. Does he regularly swim to the top of the water then goes back down? (as if hes jumping for air) If your betta builds bubble nests then the pleco will ruin it.


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## SmokeNLark (Jul 22, 2010)

Regardless of the species of pleco, a 5 gallon, let alone a 1 gallon, is wayyyy too small. Bristlenose are the smallest, only getting 3-5 inches. a 10 gallon is needed for one and a 20 is needed for 2. A common pleco needs at least a 55 gallon. Too small of tanks can cause stunting or stress. And stressed fish are much more susceptible to illness and premature death. 

I would find someone to take him. If you know anyone, or try craigslist. Or bring him back to the store. And wal-mart is just about the worst place to buy fish. They know absolutely nothing, will never give you right information, and, as a whole, take the worst care of their fish. See if you have a local or chain pet store around for buying fish. And always do research before bringing an animal home. Our sister site tropicalfishkeeping.com has fish profiles with good, concise information on tons of species, it's a great place to start.

Please don't just stick him in a 5 gallon. It's too small. Either take him back or find him a proper home.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

If you cant find anyone to take the pleco and price of a larger tank is the issue, you can use a large, clear storage container. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can probably get a 10 gallon one for like $10 or so. I know they have even larger ones as well. I am having "issues" with my 20G and a mystery illness outbreak and 5 of my females are now in a storage bin.


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

okay, my parents saidd they probably won't take him, and she wont drive me to the store to check.
She wont even let me put prince back in his tank, and she wont tell me why.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

i had a pleco in a 29 gallon. he/she was nearly a foot long, and lived about 11 years. :T the only reason he, and the goldfish he lived with, died, was because my dad would put random baby fish he caught while fishing into their tank, and they caught sometime. so... they need HUGE tanks. bigger even than my 29 gallon.


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## SmokeNLark (Jul 22, 2010)

Try calling the store. If they will take him, then maybe she'll drive you.


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

the teacher said he'll take it! YAY!!


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I am so happy to hear you are able to find him/her another home. Our pet store sells plecos as algae eaters and great for any size tank, and if they out grow your tank you can bring them back and trade for a small one again. They then sell the big pleco for $20. They make $30 off each pleco. Anyways, plecos are a no no. So happy you listened. They are very interesting fish to have though, I have one (Ms Pleco AKA Jaws) in my 29g. She's 6" right now, and I bought her a 50g tank to move into next spring  She was dumped on my doorstep when I bought a 10g tank :*(


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

awww... thats so sad...:-( But kinda happy at the same time! the pleco is in a better home now!


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## Byte (Jan 15, 2011)

I, myself am actually curious as to what is a good tank cleaning buddy. Obviously I don't expect the new friend to clean the whole tank for me, just aid me and perhaps add some company for my Betta

My worries are the size of my tank and the hostility of my Betta. What are the best cleaners to keep with a Betta?


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

actually, prince is very,very mellow, but it's kinda funny, he flares at nothing everyonce of a while, and he flares at his food before he eats it!


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I would say Shrimp, but they can become snacks haha There's also snails but they produce their own waste which you'd have to clean. @Byte


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> I would say Shrimp, but they can become snacks haha There's also snails but they produce their own waste which you'd have to clean. @Byte


 same story with plecos (snail poop part) my plecos do like 100 in. poops (well not literally)


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

hey! the type of pleco the store labels said it was was 'large pleco'


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

"large pleco" would be anything really, but usually a Common Pleco. They can grow to be 12-18". 

My pleco poops like there's no tomorrow. I love plecos and snails, why must they be so nasty?


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> "large pleco" would be anything really, but usually a Common Pleco. They can grow to be 12-18".
> 
> My pleco poops like there's no tomorrow. I love plecos and snails, why must they be so nasty?


 IKR?:roll::shock::-?


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

*I Am Sad to Say...*


uh.. 
my pleco died
​


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Awwee I'm so sorry  I was heart broken when I lost one of my two rescues a few months ago. They are amazing fish.


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

I Know :,-(


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

same thing happened to my first pleco. I just found him dead and he looked like a zombie. He was upside down and his eye was bitten


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## Thesharpestlives (Oct 2, 2011)

did u have a bubbler or a filter? if not,this is what killed your pleco. my VERY first pleco my mother got died due to lack of oxygenated water.


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

I did have a filter. I think it was one of my fish... they literally eat anything.


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## Thesharpestlives (Oct 2, 2011)

I meant irbyma lol


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## StarBetta (Aug 5, 2011)

Thesharpestlives said:


> I meant irbyma lol


oh sorry lol


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## Thesharpestlives (Oct 2, 2011)

No ,im sorry lol .no harm done


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

i had a bubbler. :-(


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## Thesharpestlives (Oct 2, 2011)

you said you moved it to a vase..was the bubbler in the vase?


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