Is 3 too much?

[99SH]

I currently have 3 plecos in my tank. 2 common and one gibby. One common is about 7-8", the other is about 4-5", and the gibby is about 3-4". The tank is a 90 gallon. Am I asking for trouble?

BTW, I drop in 8 algae tablets a day, in the hopes they don't have to compete too much. Is that enough, or not enough?

 

[Orion]

I think the rule of thumb on plecos is one per square foot of tank bottom. However, I am not sure at what size this is suposed to apply to, put with your common, I know it dosent apply to that one.
I would say that that they are all ok for now. I think that mabey having 3 full grown plecos might be a little much for a 90 and you will probably see some aggresivness twords each other. But keep in mind that this is at full grown size. For now they should all be ok.

 

[catfishmike]

if only plecos yes if other fish no.either way you are asking for trouble.like said by orion you may experence some agression.mostly from the gibby cause once it grows that will be the main competitor for food in your tank and gibbys get the largest too.they clock in at 12-18"on avarage and up to 24".the rule one pleco to 1 sq.foot is dumb cause then you are assured to have agression and more poop than you know what to do with.plus plecos can disturb a tank looking for a nice place to rest.they will thrash around untill they have vacated the area of any other fish.one algae tab per fish is more than sufficent at least for me.one algae tab for my 7" pleco.he can leave ten inch poops with one tab.

 

[Brobro]

3 plecos? that must be a lot of poop!

i would take at least one out, maybe even 2. keep you favorites,as the others you can return to the lfs

 

[Wormo3188]

Guys, dont forget to ask what types of plecos they are, cause they could only get to be 4-5 inches long and then stop growing, in which 3 wouldnt be a problem.

 

[catfishmike]

you didn't catch the first line huh?

 

[lil_mikey69]

Guys, dont forget to ask what types of plecos they are, cause they could only get to be 4-5 inches long and then stop growing, in which 3 wouldnt be a problem.

In the first line he said two were common, which get huge, and one is a Gibby. But I dont know what that is. But I really dont think youd want that many large plecos in a tank.

 

[Wormo3188]

Ah, I didnt know if he ment they were common, or just he didnt know what type they were, whoops, sorry.

 

[Angelfish]

I'm interested, what plecos only grow to 4 or 5 inches long?

 

[catfishmike]

there are many plecos that stay fairly small.most from the ancistrus family get to abou 6 inches these are the bristlenose plecos,one of the better alage eaters.clown plecos only get to about 5 inches.there are the famous zebra plecos which top out at about 4 inches.ottocinclus stay 3 inces or less.farowellas get to about 6 inches an are an odd but nice additon to any tank.there are many more you can check out at www.planetcatfish.com

 

[Angelfish]

What would I do without you catfishmike?! Thanks for telling me, Ive been interested in clown plecos for a while but didnt want to get one as I thought they would grow as big as a common pleco that wouldnt fit in my tank.

 

[catfishmike]

wow thanks i feel like i've done some good now.i'm just glad to help

 

[Angelfish]

Glad to be helped =) Although now I have to search around town to find a clown pleco, I dont recall ever seeing one, I think its joining the terqouise rainbow fish in the "in my dreams" category.

 

[SLO-Dean]

I have 3 plecos in my 55gal.
1-Common, 1-Chocolate, 1-Brisltenose

They are all under 4" though, and have planty of room. I'll move out the Common or take it back to lfs when it gets around 6" as that will be too big for my community.
They have taken care of my algae growth and now my glass is clean. I like the common as he is not as shy as the Bristlenose who scatters for a hiding place whenever there is movement outside the tank.
I have a pretty large bottom dwelling group with those and my Loaches and Cories.

 

[animal lover]

I have 4 common plecos, 2 in a 10g and 2 in a 25g is that tooo many for the 10...they seem happy cause they look like they are playing they chase each other around the tank when not eating... I add wafers for them every couple days so I'm sure they are getting enough food.I plan on getting a larger tank in December when I relocate but for now I don't want to separate them can someone tell me if they will be ok till then cause I don't want them to die...thanks in advance for any help.....

 

[jaws2]

i have a common that i think will never grow it looks like he hasnt grown in 2 or 3 months