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I have a pleco that I believe is one of the species referred to as a common. I know that some get to be only 8 or 9 inches and others get to be over a foot and even 2 feet long. This pleco was recently moved out of a 20 gallon into my new 55 gallon. He is now 8" long and about 1.75" wide at his fullest part. I think he is at least 3 or 4 years old and has been in the 20 gallon until recently. I have no idea if he is fully grown or not... or if he was stunted in the small tank.

My plan is to keep him in the 55 until I can find a suitable new home, but now I have grown kind of attached to him and am wondering if he would be ok in the 55 if he is done growing. How long does it take for them to get to their full size and how can you tell if they are stunted? I would never buy a common pleco myself, but now that I have him...what should I do?

Even if he is a bit stunted (which he likely is--a 20 gallon really isn't suitable), 8" is still a pretty respectable size, meaning your water parameters were fairly good, and he only stunted slightly. Does he look proportionate (body-parts-wise)? As long as you make sure you maintain the water quality of your new tank, I see no reason your plec can't live out a long, healthy life in his new 55 gal.

He should be fine in a 55 gallon even if he was stunted. You may also have a pleco that only gets to about 8 inches. If you can, get a picture up so someone may be able to ID it for you.

I just put some pictures of him online if it would help identify exactly what kind he is.

http://home.comcast.net/~molanic/55g.htm

Definitely a P. pardalis. She looks like she's in fairly good condition. They usually dont grow past 10", so I wouldn't be too worried. Btw, nice lemon tets.


[span class="edited"][Edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles 2004-09-10 01:51][/span]

Mo I must congratulate you on the quality of your photos they were of a professional quality. They show the fish wonderfully well done.

http://www.greenspersonalprinting.com/

Excellent pictures MO! Might I ask what camera you used? I'm in the market for a new one

I looked up the species on planetcatfish and that certainly looks like the right one. Glad to know he won't be getting to be 2 feet big! I would like to keep him as long as he doesn't seem cramped at all. I would be willing to give him up to a bigger better home if I ever find one that I trust will not kill him. I like little fish in a big tank better, makes me feel like I'm giving them a mansion instead of a cramped apartment

My camera is a Canon S1 IS and I do love it. It probably isn't the best for taking close-ups though because it doesn't really have a macro mode and doesn't focus well close-up when using the zoom. What I do is have it zoomed out all the way and put the lens right against the aquarium glass. It then is able to focus as long as the fish are at least an inch back from the glass. I think having bright lights on the tank helps to. I have around 2wpg with 6500K compact fluorescents and it really brings out the fish colors. It is enough light so that I can set the camera to have an ISO of 200-400 and let the camera set the aperture and shutter speed. That makes the fish seem not too dark, but also not blurry as long as they don't move quickly. I do adjust the white balance on the camera though so that it doesn't have a yellow cast to the pictures. The camera doesn't have alot of mega-pixels, but I chose it because of it's other features...knowing that I would never be making very large prints. I love taking shots of plants and animals..they make much better subjects than people.