# Pleco in planted Tank



## SheCaMo (Jul 26, 2014)

So my husband brought home a common pleco.. 6 inches long, that one of his Co-Workers had in a 20g Tank with Mollies and just put him in my 75g planted tank
So far so good.. but me and this Pleco are not friends.. and we will not become friends.. he is super jumpy, i cant even turn the lights on without him freaking out and trying to jump out of the tank ( Im waiting for my glas lid), leave alone put my hand in it.
He is uprooting all my plants, chasing my fish around, clogging my intake with sand.. everything was nice and neat before he moved in.. now its chaos.. floating plants, mossballs being thrown around, etc..

Im seriously afraid he will either jump out and get eaten by my dogs or im going to lose it and we have catfishfry...

I was happy with my Corycats.. they did a great job, I have 2 small plecos.. no problems.. but him?
Any ideas what i can do besides rehoming, which i know my husband will not agree with ( he named him Carlos)


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Any way you can tie the plants to driftwood or rocks to keep them from getting uprooted?

Most plecos are nocturnal, does he have a suitable hiding place to rest during the day? If he can't find a hiding place it might be stressing him out. Terracotta hides like this are great for plecos,
http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Fish-Breeding/I/Cobalt-Pleco-Caves.aspx?CAWELAID=520009670000048352&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=520009670000047184&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKEAjw4s2wBRDSnr2jwZenlkgSJABvFcwQ7G1uT-AeFOo8YuqM_BO4XmObxgyLCqiZhc5he6QD9xoCTZ_w_wcB

They also like water movement. He might not be trying to jump out, he may actually be trying to swim up the filter outflow. Adding power head or circulation pump might help. I use one like this for my buffalo head cichlid to increase water movement.
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Sea-Circulation-Pump-Aquarium/dp/B009XSGI3S


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> but me and this Pleco are not friends.. and we will not become friends.


With a bit of time and effort you could become great friends.
Video is NOT my work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5T1RUeQNtA


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Trust me when I say: you should get rid of the pleco. Do not release it into local water ways , they will ruin ecosystems, try seeing if a petstore will take it, local aquarium, or if you can find a monster fish keeper that can take it. As a side note I've been told pleco tastes just like north american catfish so you can skin and fry him.
The common pleco (if it doesn't die of starvation/poor water quality first-which they usually do from unacknowledged owners-not saying you're one- but bettas, goldfish, and plecos are probably the 3 highest mortality fish in the hobby from inproper care)) will grow to 24"+ and needs 300g+ tank to deal with diluting its bioload as well as giving it enough swim room/natrual algae growth to eat. You guy/gal isn't eating plants yet but he may start to, my sailfin wouldn't let me keep anything in the tank plant wise so I had to use an aquaponic system to help with nitrates (grows plants separate from the tank but pushing tank's water through it via pump (or in my case canister filter)). Also they are monstrous poopers and will clog filters with their [censor] (they can have strands of turds over 3x the length of their bodies). I bought the most powerful ehiem canister filter on the market and my at the time 13" long leopard sailfin pleco (they max at about 18") stilled clogged that up! I had to re-home him to a group that keeps several very large fish tanks and had experience keeping plecos already, I believe they used sump systems for their filtration. 
As a side note if the fish is very skittish it sounds like it dos not have a good hiding spot, large driftwood it can hide under or big cave decor it can fit and turn around in would help, somewhere that it can be in the dark and hidden. But it won't stop knocking plants loose, they're just big bulky fish that push through everything, they come from parts of rivers that typically don't have underwater plants, just muddy bottoms/banks and fallen trees, see video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqgjgN7HIig


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

They had some huge plecos at our local aquarium (not a tank, a zoo for fish). Do you have an aquarium like that?


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

SheCaMo said:


> So my husband brought home a common pleco..
> just put him in my 75g planted tank


That tank is way too small for a common pleco. They reach up tp 24 inches in length. I just measured our 75G tank from front to back, and not including the thickness in the glass it's just a tad over 17 inches.

A 24 inch fish cannot turn around in a 17 inch space. You would need a much much larger tank for that fish to be able to comfortably turn around without tank glass in the way. Not to mention the bio-load... too much for a 75G tank.


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## SheCaMo (Jul 26, 2014)

Thank you all!
Sorry for taking s long to write back, but things have been busy.

First; I never wanted this Pleco! My Husband felt sorry for him, seeing him stuck in a tiny 20g tank at his Co-Workers house, so he scooped him up and brought him home! He thought it was the best for the fish and by the time I got home, "Jaws" ( that's what my husband named him) was already swimming in my Tank. He was bought at Walmart as a tiny baby with the promise he would never outgrow a 20g tank.. Yeah, go Wally World
So he calmed down.. a lot, but still I don't have the adequate room or set up for this fish, and he will be moving into his new home on Sunday ( 200g tank for now, they are in the process of setting up a bigger one).

I would have never hurt this fish, and was joking when I said we are going to have a catfish fry 

So and here a few pictures of him and the tank he is right now ( my 75g)


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## SheCaMo (Jul 26, 2014)

and 2 more


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

He has no real place to hide from the light and feel safe, the tank is rather empty. He has his 'camo' colors on since he feels too exposed. If you have some large rocks or any leftover wood just pile them on/around the large wood piece in there to give him a dark aree (mini cave/archway) to stuff his head in and he'll calm down even more (and color up normally).
I'd have some serious words with the spouse about adding a new fish to the tank without talking with you first (worst case it might have brought a disease and wipe out the rest of the fauna.. or eat/destroy all your plant) but I tend to be a pessimist so I assume the worst can/will happen in such a situation.


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## SheCaMo (Jul 26, 2014)

Oh Aurora trust me.. I did have some serious words with him, that's why the fish is leaving on Sunday morning. 

I know he has no place to hide and I feel bad, but he will have plenty when he moves. He is under a piece of driftwood ( the only one I had home) right now, I will take a picture when I get home.

Im still in the process to set this tank up, so yes it looks empty and unfinished


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

He's going into a 200 gallon tank? That's awesome! That's 99.9% better then where most common plecos his size end up. I just hope your husband helps out with the water changes.


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## SheCaMo (Jul 26, 2014)

MikeG14 said:


> He's going into a 200 gallon tank? That's awesome! That's 99.9% better then where most common plecos his size end up. I just hope your husband helps out with the water changes.


Hahah.. yeah that's a good Joke.. my husband does not do a darn thing with the Tanks..lol..

And yes He is going to a 200g. Thank fully. I do feel bad for him but it was better than the 20g he couldn't move at all


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

SheCaMo said:


> Hahah.. yeah that's a good Joke.. my husband does not do a darn thing with the Tanks..lol..
> 
> And yes He is going to a 200g. Thank fully. I do feel bad for him but it was better than the 20g he couldn't move at all



For the 200g tank, since it sounds like you'll be doing all of the care-giving... I highly recommend the Python Water Changer. In my largest tank I went from taking 45 minutes to an hour for 1 water change to doing it in roughly 5 to 10 minutes. That Python is worth every single penny and then some.


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## SheCaMo (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm not setting up a 200g tank!!..lol.. a friend of mine is taking him for her tank!

Im having my handsfull with my 75g, 36g 2x 10g and a 3g.. no no.. no more tanks.. also my house is 2 old for a big tank like that.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

_If_ (hopefully he doesn't) the pleco starts eating all the plants in his big home (or you have no plants and get sick of the nitrates=water changes) give a look into aquaponics. If you have a sump pump or canister filter its quick and easy to set up an aquaponic system and grow your own herbs, veggies, even fruits (I' recommend a green house for space for fruit trees.. can do strawberry towers inside though) people have even grown corn and potatos with these, and the plants help with the nitrates. The system (there are several variations) keep the plants separate from the fish but cycle the tank water through both.
Having the aquarium side of the hobby down its easier going into aquaponics (you understand the nitrogen cycle and water parameters for the fish so you won't have fish die off.. common for people in aquaponics with no aquarium background).


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

SheCaMo said:


> I'm not setting up a 200g tank!!..lol.. a friend of mine is taking him for her tank!
> 
> Im having my handsfull with my 75g, 36g 2x 10g and a 3g.. no no.. no more tanks.. also my house is 2 old for a big tank like that.


Ah! LOL I didn't catch that before. Still, if you don't have a Python for the 75G and the 36G, I highly recommend one or another similar product. I didn't know how much I needed it in my life until after I got it. ;-)


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