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Hey everyone, I've got what I think is a common pleco (though there's some discussion, because he's a bluish-gray instead of a browish color) - so the first question is, of course, what is he? Not great pics, he wouldn't cooperate and flare his fins out for me when I actually had my camera phone turned towards him.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/452889548_dbb2291ae7.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/452889526_14ec270988.jpg?v=0

The second question I have, is he is currently in a 55 gallon tank, but I'm thinking about removing him. He's around around 10-12" inches long, and when he swims around the tank he has a tendency to knock plants loose, rocks over, smack other fish around with his tail, pull airlines loose, etc. He's like a swimming bulldozer.

If he's a common pleco, I don't really see much of a point in trying to sell him, as I don't think anybody's going to want to buy such a large adult pleco unless they have a huge (100+ gallon) tank. So my second question is could I release him into a natural lake or swampy pond or would that kill him?

Listen! Do you smell that?

Looks like a common plec to me...but wait for others answers though.Cup i know have much more experience than me

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

He is a common plec, and no you should never release captive fish into the wild , since during captivity they get exposed to bacteria that other species carry and this could wipe out the local fish, even if he himself is a local species.

Its also highly illegal to release captive fish into the wild, and yes he probaby will have become complacent and unfit during his time incaptivity and will most likely be eaten as he will be a degree slower and stupider than other fish. He will also be territorially displaced , and as such may not be permitted to feed or rest even by his own kind.

Just keep him and keep looking for a home for him. You wont know until you try. Some folks want big plecs so that they can have algae control in with larger predatory fish that would eat smaller plecs or ottos etc. Try asking at your LFS. Thats really the minimum responsibilty of owning such a fish. Its your responsibility to find them good homes if you cant look after them. You cant just ditch them.Its illegal and hugely irresponsible.

Ask around, and be prepared to ask around in many places on many occassions.

Ok, no need for such hostility. It was just a thought that maybe I could release him into a "natural" environment and he'd be better off. Obviously, not a good idea.

I'm in no way being irresponsible by considering it, if I was irresponsible I'd have done it without even asking anyone about it or just thrown him out in the back yard to die. I -have- asked around and haven't had any luck in finding anyone to take him. I didn't particularly want him in the first place, I didn't buy him myself. He came with the tank and if I hadn't taken him he'd probably still be languishing in a very dirty 10g tank that the person I bought the 55g from had him in, and he's obviously better off where he's at now. He's just not right for my tank, and I'd like to find him a BETTER home. Sorry if I had a misguided thought.

Listen! Do you smell that?

Yes, you have a common pleco. If you had a big outdoor pond, the big plastic kind sold at various home improvement stores, you could keep him outside for the summer (provided you have plenty of shade, also). There is a LFS near me that has several huge plecos that they keep in a concrete pond, out back, during the summer months (along with the koi they sell) and bring in for the winter. Since it is tropical, he would most likely freeze if left out in cold weather. If this idea is not practical or possible for you, try placing an ad in the paper, or post a note at your LFS. Someone with a really large tank might love to have him.

Lol, its not a hostile response - its just giving you the honest biz. A mere statement of fact. If I was intent on being hostile I would be really very clear indeed about being so. I am not commonly hostile on fp , its not the place for it. Just giving out advice on the law and why the law is in place is all.

To be irresponsible would be to do it, thinking it, as long as it remains only a thought is not. No apologies needed, given, or accepted.

If I give you advice that steers you away from wrongdoing isnt that a good thing? No hostility should be inferred.

Irresponsibility infers lack of consequential care on the part of the guilty party. The mere fact that he is asking shows that he is expressing concern and therefore should preclude him from being the target of such harsh accusations. Yeah, for the experienced fishkeeper, it seems like a silly question to ask, but to the unenlightened, it’s a perfectly acceptable bump in the learning curve. The answer is no, though, regardless.

Nobody actually reads the text do they . There was no accusation of any kind there. Only statements of fact. He was no target of harsh accusations,at any point.That it was taken as such merely means the text was not read correctly. Never was any such accusation made. If in any doubt , read it again, I have not changed it since it was read, and edited only for spelling.

The usage of the word irresponsible was used clearly and in context. To assume an accusation from it is merely a mistake in english comprehension.

It is not an accusation to refer to certain behaviours as irresponsible in the context of my above entry. It is a supposition of the result of certain behaviours, and quite accurately so. That such behaviours have not as yet occurred, and especially since the context of said piece was deliberately intended to prevent the irresponsible behaviour before it occurred, in what way could it be considered an accusation?

Are we all clear on this yet? Cos its boooring.

Call around to local fish stores. you'd be suprised who would buy them. I have a store near me that pays a nice amount for the larger plecos. this guy had 3 that was over 12" long and he was selling them for like $35.

theres another place near me that pays $1 an inch or more sometimes depending on how it looks to them.

but if you had a pond in your yard, it would survive. my parents had one that reached 14 inches in their koi pond and they never had any problems with it in there.

but totally releasing, wouldn't advise for many reasons. one comparision, we had a guy up here in michigan who released a 14in Pacu into our biggest river up here. it was lucky that it didnt do alot of damage, but it scared the crap out of alot of people when it was caught. everybody thought it was a Piranha

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction