How would a small (max 3-4") fair in a 5.5 gallon?
I haven't gotten one, but the thought just came up. Especially since I heard they love brown algae. I also do have a spare 75 gallon, so if need be he can be plopped in there/we'd either have a lid for it by then or I'd just drape a towel on top of it to keep him from jumping out.
Honestly, the smaller variety of pleco (Bristle Nose/ Clowns) need tanks 20g+. The larger and most common pleco (the Common Pleco) needs 55g+. I have one here that was only 2", and she's now a little over 6". They grow quick. I would say you could pick one up that is small, and switch over to the 75g in a few months. Pleco's are really dirty, so a small 5.5g tank would worry me with ammonia. But it's up to you. My pleco came here sharing a 10g tank with another pleco. I rehomed one, and kept the other.
One might work in there for a few months, but that's just not enough space long-term to house any species of pleco. Even the small bristlenose pleco can get about 5 inches long. I think a ramshorn or pond snail would be a much better choice for algae control in your small tank. Now if you just want to add a pleco to your 75 gal, that would be fine (well depending on what is in it).
5.5 gallons is too tiny! Hehe, just saying.
Plecos have been known to grow nearly 2 feet long. Some get even larger. Regardless of tank size, a pleco will grow. And grow. And grow. And then die from too much ammonia production.
Hey, as long as you have that 75 gallon, why not just keep the pleco in there and not even bother with the 5.5 gallon tank, which is teeny tiny. It would be easier just to keep it in the 75 gallon and let him shoot through growth, rather than risk him getting stunted in the 5.5 gallon.
Also, remember that plecos like warm water. In the 70s. They are tropical. And do not do well with goldfish. I know this by experience ;)
Good luck!
EDIT:
I don't think you need to worry about a pleco jumping out of the tank. And even if it did, a towel wouldn't help, it would just strangle the fish and get it tangled up. Take a few large storage bin lids and place them over top, weighing them down with some hardcover books.
Last edited by PaintingPintos; 05-27-2012 at 03:54 PM.
5.5 gallons is too tiny! Hehe, just saying.
Plecos have been known to grow nearly 2 feet long. Some get even larger. Regardless of tank size, a pleco will grow. And grow. And grow. And then die from too much ammonia production.
Hey, as long as you have that 75 gallon, why not just keep the pleco in there and not even bother with the 5.5 gallon tank, which is teeny tiny. It would be easier just to keep it in the 75 gallon and let him shoot through growth, rather than risk him getting stunted in the 5.5 gallon.
Also, remember that plecos like warm water. In the 70s. They are tropical. And do not do well with goldfish. I know this by experience ;)
Good luck!
i know they will grow grow grow.
reason being that im on the thought of bottom feeders is my algae issue.
if i didn't have an algae issue then it wouldn't cross my mind to add a roommate for Spike.
TYVM for the advice everyone
I don't think otos would be an any better choice in Spike's tank.
I think I might just have to clean clean clean until my car gets out of the shop and I can drive myself to Petco and get a Neitre snail instead of having to rely on hubs to take me everywhere.
It's easier and more efficient in most cases to just manually remove algae. Most algae eaters produce huge amounts of waste as they constantly graze and I think in smaller aquariums the benefits of their algae eating is outweighed by the unsightliness of your substrate and the added bioload they bring.
In a day of grazing, my three otocinclus could cover half the bottom of a 75x45cm tank with poo. Plecos are even worse.
I think a small snail or two sounds like the way to go in this instance.
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