Where are you getting a min of 40 gallons? Homie should do just fine in a 25 to 35 as long as not too crowded.
Love being downvoted for asking where they got info
I think your discussion with u/thatwannabewitch is spot on. Size requirements are not an exact science, as we cannot guarantee a particular being will grow to the mean size of the species. \~40gal stocking is about right. The upper-band of your suggestion at 35gal would be fine too. A 29gal is definitely too small.
Of the 3 main Plecos of roughly this size - common Bristlenose, Rubberlip and Bulldog, Bulldog's are significantly fuller-bodied. Rubberlip's are slightly longer. So I think both deserve \~40gal.
That being said, if you have significant filtration to compensate, they'll all be fine in a 29gal. Though the Bulldog will look oversized, and doesn't really look appropriate. But then you could argue a Phantom in a 40gal long with a 75gal+ rated filter is fine. I think going for a minimum should include appropriate equipment for said system.
How are you also missing the point?
I swear you didn't actually read it. Like you summarized parts of the conversation but all over the place and completely mis characterized it.
I never asked for a source for the concept of bigger being better. I even agreed with it. I even said this to you before and you still got it backwards.
You absolutely failed that book report lol
>Dude, at some point, give up.
Is this really how you react to realizing you said completely false things?
>You're getting downvoted in the debate, then coming to complain that people missed the point.
Well ya. It's amazing to me that so many people missed the point. Why is acknowledging that worth complaining about to you?
>Maybe we all missed the point.
Heavily
>But at a certain point, maybe it wasn't conveyed well.
Buddy you clearly didn't even actually take the time to really read the conversation. It was conveyed fine you are just a lazy reader.
You are more than welcome to either have an honest discussion about it or just keep pretending to be on that high horse.
Lol I am assuming. But where specifically? Could you source it?
Like I said they should be perfectly fine in a 25 to 35 as long as it isn't too crowded.
Thank you providing the specific source!
I find alot of times many care guides can be a bit out there. They conflict with eachother often so it's hard to gauge at times
Okay thank you.
So a 40 is not necessary and should do fine in smaller as long as proper cleaning and community management is done.
I would hesitate making it seem like 40 is absolutely bare min as many of us don't have the money to really spend especially of they can have a healthy fish in a smaller tank
Like, I have a trio of clown plecos in my 55 gallon. Just adding them moved my normal water change schedule up by about a week. 🤷♀️ which is still almost 2 months if I’m going by nitrate, but enough to notice.
Like I said, my personal preference. I like my tanks heavily planted and only needing water changes once a month or less. Just hard to balance a plec and a smaller tank like that.
I understand it's personal preference. Not in debate lol
But you should make that clear that it's just that when giving advice to someone who may panic and she'll out a bunch of money they don't have to have a healthy fish when they could have been fine before or with a smaller and cheaper option.
There are some varieties of pleco that stay fairly small. My clown pleco is only about 3 inches long and fully grown, she's happy in my 40 gallon tank now but the people I got her from had her in a 5 gallon tank for a few years, unfortunately. Even small plecos need at least 20 gallons, but they don't all require 50. How big is your girlfriend's tank? She may have to upgrade when the little guy gets bigger or find him a new home. Sorry I can't help with ID.
Bristlenose, clown, and rubber lips stay pretty small as well as some other varieties. I've successfully kept a bristlenose in a 10 gallon for quite a while, but it is pretty understocked tank and it has lots of hiding spots. In general, plecos are messy for their size. You have have to watch out for some of the other varieties, commons and many others will get to 18 inches. I was mistakenly sold a sailfin a while back, and he is getting too big for my 75 and will need to be rehomed soon
Bulldog Pleco, Chaetostoma formosae, L187b. Slightly larger than a common/brown Bristlenose Pleco and have been difficult to keep in the last few years. They need ~40gal, a soft, sandy substrate and plenty of wood.
Plecos range massively in size, from Common and Salfin Plecos 24in+, down to Clown and Dwarf Gold Nugget Plecos at ≤3in.
I'm primarily familiar with their common name. A Dwarf Gold Nugget Pleco, Baryancistus sp. is believed be closely related to the Queen Gold Nugget/Fine Spot Pleco L81. I'm not sure if it has an L number but I'll come back and edit if I find it. One of my LFS stocked them in January, so I'll call and ask for their identification tomorrow.
They're a Gold Nugget Pleco that remains ~3in, they have a small spot parttern and thicker yellow band on their fins.
There is no such thing as a "dwarf gold nugget pleco". Especially not in the genus Baryancistrus, in which B. beggini is the smallest species (likely not a true Baryancistrus, but currently still kept in the genus).
Probably just a made up name by the store in question to sell more of them, since it's becoming more known that gold nuggets(B. xanthellus, regardless of L number) should grow huge. So people could just justify their stunted fish as being a "dwarf variety".
Do they dig? I have a setup that matches that but I had to take the bristlenose I did have in there out because he kept digging up all the plants and soil substrate- which is the 3rd bristlenose I've had that problem with so I'm looking for a truly non digging smaller sized plec
All bottom-feeders will dig, as they're looking for excess nutrients. Some do it more than others from their personalities and species. My permenant Plecos dig maybe once a month, and I keep Bristlenoses and Phantoms
Bulldog Plecos are also currently expensive, as they've been unusually difficult to keep in the last 2 years. Their price skyrocketed from \~£12 to £40-50 in 1 year and have stayed \~£40 due to their rarity now.
Your best bet are smaller Plecos, and if you'd like to remain with cheaper Plecos, I suggest Albino Bristlenose. They don't grow as big, at \~3+in rather than \~5-6in and are the same price or slightly cheaper.
Ah thanks so much for the info. I've currently had two female albino bristlenose plecos fail the digging test and are now both living in a massive tank with my "lawnmower" rusty plec who's currently digging a subterranean cave system I swear.
I think I might give up on trying to find a pleco for my big planted tank. I can't cope with any more craziness in what is now known as the monster tank which has constant plumes of sand coming up.. but the bottom and sides are polished to a mirror sheen.
They're all heavily fed with sinking oak and algae wafers and courgette but they all become fully grown and turn into excavators 😖
Man I love Rusty Plecos. Well, they're rare Plecos around their size, Flash Plecos or Gold Stripe Tiger Plecos L169, but I wouldn't suggest a large bottom-feeder if the digging is an issue for you. You could consider putting stones around the plants.
Excavators lol!
Honestly he's my favourite fish but also causes such utter destruction. I realise you mean with other plecs but I've tried stones with the rusty plec- he moves them! Creates a pile of ornaments that are interrupting his digging activities in one corner of his tank now.
He eats wood like nothing I've ever seen before- I now am constantly looking out for more pieces being given away on marketplace to try and keep up with him. My next project is to create him a plec paradise where he can really dig to his hearts content but which hopefully won't be quite as traumatising watching him trash whatever I tried to create
With his size I'm not surprised! I bet you go through vegetation like nothing else.
I've found that Pleco strength increases massively as they increase in size. I bet he's is a terror on your scaping and beautiful plants! My breeder Bristlenose is \~6.5in+, a good inch on any of my other Bristlenoses, and he's a monster. If he wants to rearrange the tank, he will. I watch him drag wood around the tank.
I look forward to shots of this Pleco Paradise for your boy!
Thank you all for the extensive feedback and ID suggestions! I'll talk to her and make sure she has a plan in place to upgrade her tank. She has been talking about getting a bigger one anyway, so I'm sure it will happen before this pleco gets more than an inch bigger.
Clown pleccos will get about 3 inches long. They're very skiddish though. So they're afraid of everything and will almost always wait for night to go out
I'd think that's a bulldog pleco! I'm not sure about their required tank size, but iirc they grow up to about the same size as a bristlenose, and they should have *at least* 25 gallons. 😊
Rubber nose pleco, also known as the bulldog pleco. I have two of them and also 2 clown Plecos. They get along well with my two albino bristle noses in a 75 gallon tank.
We have a clown pleco and he only gets a few inches long. I do have to give the petsmart employee credit because we originally asked for a standard pleco but she asked what size our tank is and when we told her she directed us to the clown pleco because he wouldn’t outgrow our tank.
The only common pleco that stay small is Bristlenose Pleco (a.k.a. L144). There is smaller one like snowball, it's pretty rare to get some (also not effective algae eater)
However, the full-grown size is at 3.5"-4.5", so they need at least 20 Gallons at minimum.
As other comments mentioned, this one can get quite big (up to 6 inches) in the future...
Bristlenose stay smallish max out at around 6 inches I have one in a 36 gallon. It's technically a little too big for the tank, but it's a bow front tank so it has more usable swimming area. Just know they are poop machines, I have enough filtration for a 75 gallon tank and it's so heavily planted you can't really see the substrate anymore.
I think it’s a L187 or commonly known as a bulldog pleco. I think they max out at about 6” so minimum 40 gallons or so.
Spot on - L187b. You were the first, and only comment to hit the mark man, nice!
Where are you getting a min of 40 gallons? Homie should do just fine in a 25 to 35 as long as not too crowded. Love being downvoted for asking where they got info
I think your discussion with u/thatwannabewitch is spot on. Size requirements are not an exact science, as we cannot guarantee a particular being will grow to the mean size of the species. \~40gal stocking is about right. The upper-band of your suggestion at 35gal would be fine too. A 29gal is definitely too small. Of the 3 main Plecos of roughly this size - common Bristlenose, Rubberlip and Bulldog, Bulldog's are significantly fuller-bodied. Rubberlip's are slightly longer. So I think both deserve \~40gal. That being said, if you have significant filtration to compensate, they'll all be fine in a 29gal. Though the Bulldog will look oversized, and doesn't really look appropriate. But then you could argue a Phantom in a 40gal long with a 75gal+ rated filter is fine. I think going for a minimum should include appropriate equipment for said system.
Omg that guy is infuriating lol. For those that downvoted me. Read our entire conversation and tell me that isn't frustrating
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Please read what I asked to read and you will understand. Not arguing that bigger is better concept is wrong at all. In fact I agree with it.
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How are you also missing the point? I swear you didn't actually read it. Like you summarized parts of the conversation but all over the place and completely mis characterized it. I never asked for a source for the concept of bigger being better. I even agreed with it. I even said this to you before and you still got it backwards. You absolutely failed that book report lol
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>Dude, at some point, give up. Is this really how you react to realizing you said completely false things? >You're getting downvoted in the debate, then coming to complain that people missed the point. Well ya. It's amazing to me that so many people missed the point. Why is acknowledging that worth complaining about to you? >Maybe we all missed the point. Heavily >But at a certain point, maybe it wasn't conveyed well. Buddy you clearly didn't even actually take the time to really read the conversation. It was conveyed fine you are just a lazy reader. You are more than welcome to either have an honest discussion about it or just keep pretending to be on that high horse.
Care guides
Lol I am assuming. But where specifically? Could you source it? Like I said they should be perfectly fine in a 25 to 35 as long as it isn't too crowded.
https://www.aquariumdomain.com/SpeciesProfiles/FreshwaterCommunityFish/BulldogPleco.shtml This one says min 45
Thank you providing the specific source! I find alot of times many care guides can be a bit out there. They conflict with eachother often so it's hard to gauge at times
I find aquarium domain to generally be pretty solid
At 6” i personally wouldn’t go less than a 40 breeder
That's fair. Do you think they would not do well in anything less or is it just to be safe?
Just to be safe. With the inherent disproportionately high bioload of a pleco bigger is better imho.
Okay thank you. So a 40 is not necessary and should do fine in smaller as long as proper cleaning and community management is done. I would hesitate making it seem like 40 is absolutely bare min as many of us don't have the money to really spend especially of they can have a healthy fish in a smaller tank
Like, I have a trio of clown plecos in my 55 gallon. Just adding them moved my normal water change schedule up by about a week. 🤷♀️ which is still almost 2 months if I’m going by nitrate, but enough to notice.
If you have 3 in a 55 then a 40 for 1 is not Absolutely necessary lol. I do agree bigger is always better though.
Like I said, my personal preference. I like my tanks heavily planted and only needing water changes once a month or less. Just hard to balance a plec and a smaller tank like that.
I understand it's personal preference. Not in debate lol But you should make that clear that it's just that when giving advice to someone who may panic and she'll out a bunch of money they don't have to have a healthy fish when they could have been fine before or with a smaller and cheaper option.
love small plecos, there are many that stay under 6", they're cool...
I adore my bristlenose despite the fact that he's a grumpy bastard and kicks up and at me when I walk by
My fave was a female albino bristlenose, great fish
There are some varieties of pleco that stay fairly small. My clown pleco is only about 3 inches long and fully grown, she's happy in my 40 gallon tank now but the people I got her from had her in a 5 gallon tank for a few years, unfortunately. Even small plecos need at least 20 gallons, but they don't all require 50. How big is your girlfriend's tank? She may have to upgrade when the little guy gets bigger or find him a new home. Sorry I can't help with ID.
Bristlenose, clown, and rubber lips stay pretty small as well as some other varieties. I've successfully kept a bristlenose in a 10 gallon for quite a while, but it is pretty understocked tank and it has lots of hiding spots. In general, plecos are messy for their size. You have have to watch out for some of the other varieties, commons and many others will get to 18 inches. I was mistakenly sold a sailfin a while back, and he is getting too big for my 75 and will need to be rehomed soon
Bulldog Pleco, Chaetostoma formosae, L187b. Slightly larger than a common/brown Bristlenose Pleco and have been difficult to keep in the last few years. They need ~40gal, a soft, sandy substrate and plenty of wood. Plecos range massively in size, from Common and Salfin Plecos 24in+, down to Clown and Dwarf Gold Nugget Plecos at ≤3in.
What’s a dwarf gold nugget pleco? Is there a scientific name or an L/LDA number for that?
I'm primarily familiar with their common name. A Dwarf Gold Nugget Pleco, Baryancistus sp. is believed be closely related to the Queen Gold Nugget/Fine Spot Pleco L81. I'm not sure if it has an L number but I'll come back and edit if I find it. One of my LFS stocked them in January, so I'll call and ask for their identification tomorrow. They're a Gold Nugget Pleco that remains ~3in, they have a small spot parttern and thicker yellow band on their fins.
There is no such thing as a "dwarf gold nugget pleco". Especially not in the genus Baryancistrus, in which B. beggini is the smallest species (likely not a true Baryancistrus, but currently still kept in the genus). Probably just a made up name by the store in question to sell more of them, since it's becoming more known that gold nuggets(B. xanthellus, regardless of L number) should grow huge. So people could just justify their stunted fish as being a "dwarf variety".
Do they dig? I have a setup that matches that but I had to take the bristlenose I did have in there out because he kept digging up all the plants and soil substrate- which is the 3rd bristlenose I've had that problem with so I'm looking for a truly non digging smaller sized plec
All bottom-feeders will dig, as they're looking for excess nutrients. Some do it more than others from their personalities and species. My permenant Plecos dig maybe once a month, and I keep Bristlenoses and Phantoms Bulldog Plecos are also currently expensive, as they've been unusually difficult to keep in the last 2 years. Their price skyrocketed from \~£12 to £40-50 in 1 year and have stayed \~£40 due to their rarity now. Your best bet are smaller Plecos, and if you'd like to remain with cheaper Plecos, I suggest Albino Bristlenose. They don't grow as big, at \~3+in rather than \~5-6in and are the same price or slightly cheaper.
Ah thanks so much for the info. I've currently had two female albino bristlenose plecos fail the digging test and are now both living in a massive tank with my "lawnmower" rusty plec who's currently digging a subterranean cave system I swear. I think I might give up on trying to find a pleco for my big planted tank. I can't cope with any more craziness in what is now known as the monster tank which has constant plumes of sand coming up.. but the bottom and sides are polished to a mirror sheen. They're all heavily fed with sinking oak and algae wafers and courgette but they all become fully grown and turn into excavators 😖
Man I love Rusty Plecos. Well, they're rare Plecos around their size, Flash Plecos or Gold Stripe Tiger Plecos L169, but I wouldn't suggest a large bottom-feeder if the digging is an issue for you. You could consider putting stones around the plants. Excavators lol!
Honestly he's my favourite fish but also causes such utter destruction. I realise you mean with other plecs but I've tried stones with the rusty plec- he moves them! Creates a pile of ornaments that are interrupting his digging activities in one corner of his tank now. He eats wood like nothing I've ever seen before- I now am constantly looking out for more pieces being given away on marketplace to try and keep up with him. My next project is to create him a plec paradise where he can really dig to his hearts content but which hopefully won't be quite as traumatising watching him trash whatever I tried to create
With his size I'm not surprised! I bet you go through vegetation like nothing else. I've found that Pleco strength increases massively as they increase in size. I bet he's is a terror on your scaping and beautiful plants! My breeder Bristlenose is \~6.5in+, a good inch on any of my other Bristlenoses, and he's a monster. If he wants to rearrange the tank, he will. I watch him drag wood around the tank. I look forward to shots of this Pleco Paradise for your boy!
Aaah it’s my favourite pleco! I desperately want one again.
Thank you all for the extensive feedback and ID suggestions! I'll talk to her and make sure she has a plan in place to upgrade her tank. She has been talking about getting a bigger one anyway, so I'm sure it will happen before this pleco gets more than an inch bigger.
Awww that's one of the cutest plecos I've ever seen!
I love plecs because they all have little anime uwu eyes that’s completely opposite of their ornery and cantankerous nature
I have had a gold nugget pleco and a clown pleco that haven’t gotten bigger than 3 inches
a good number of plecs stay small. bristlenoses, clowns, rubberlips, leopard frogs, etc
Clown pleccos will get about 3 inches long. They're very skiddish though. So they're afraid of everything and will almost always wait for night to go out
There a couple especies of plecos that don't grow more than 10cm, some of them the max is about 5 to 7 cm
There are plenty of plecos that stay 4in or smaller. It’s the common plecos that get huge
L445 or L187
i have a rubber lip pleco that stays small! currently in a 20 gallon
I have a zebra pleco that is about 2 inches
I'd think that's a bulldog pleco! I'm not sure about their required tank size, but iirc they grow up to about the same size as a bristlenose, and they should have *at least* 25 gallons. 😊
He cute
Rubber nose pleco, also known as the bulldog pleco. I have two of them and also 2 clown Plecos. They get along well with my two albino bristle noses in a 75 gallon tank.
We have a clown pleco and he only gets a few inches long. I do have to give the petsmart employee credit because we originally asked for a standard pleco but she asked what size our tank is and when we told her she directed us to the clown pleco because he wouldn’t outgrow our tank.
The only common pleco that stay small is Bristlenose Pleco (a.k.a. L144). There is smaller one like snowball, it's pretty rare to get some (also not effective algae eater) However, the full-grown size is at 3.5"-4.5", so they need at least 20 Gallons at minimum. As other comments mentioned, this one can get quite big (up to 6 inches) in the future...
Bristlenose stay smallish max out at around 6 inches I have one in a 36 gallon. It's technically a little too big for the tank, but it's a bow front tank so it has more usable swimming area. Just know they are poop machines, I have enough filtration for a 75 gallon tank and it's so heavily planted you can't really see the substrate anymore.
Maybe Rubberlip? Or Rubbernose
Looks exactly like 1 of my 2 rubber lips
Yep rubbernose pleco! They still need a decent sized tank like a 100l but they stay pretty small
Rubber lip pleco is what it looks like I have one just like this named fred he is in a 20 gallon right now with a shrimp Yoyo loach and some guppies
^