What to do with my Common Pleco

rommel39

rommel39

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Feb 7, 2004
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I have a common pleco in a 20 gallon tank, he's a little over six inches now and I realize that he's going to outgrow the tank soon. I'm not so sure that I want to take him back to the pet store where I got him, because some of the fish that die there are left in the tank and grow algae all over them. What should I do? I definitly do not want to "put him down" or take him back to the store. Please help, thanks.
 

Lotus

Lotus

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Aug 26, 2003
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Check if there is a fish club in your area, and whether anyone there would want him.

Or, you can advertise in a freebie paper and see if anyone wants him. It's better to put a nominal price if you do this, just to discourage sickos. :)

Aquabid.com often has bids for pick-ups, if you want to try that.
 

Violet

Violet

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Jan 24, 2004
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Great ideas Lotus. There is a fish hobbiest I know here where I live that has helped my out a lot. I work at a pet store and so many ppl are just going to flush the fish. He has taken and saved so many fish. He even took fish that came in an order by accident that we couldn't keep. I think that is your best bet, a fish club, because you know the people in it will really care about the fish or they wouldn't have joined. Listen to Lotus!!!! Lol.
 

Lotus

Lotus

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Aug 26, 2003
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I realize you are just spoiling for a fight, geoffgarcia.

Here is a thread you can read: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12131&highlight=releasing+AND+wild

I know a lot of people buy fish without really knowing what they need and how big they grow, or having been given false information at the LFS. If you don't care enough about your fish to make a commitment to look after them for their entire lifespan, at least make sure you give them to someone who is willing to give them what they need :)
 

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geoffgarcia

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Oct 22, 2002
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not looking for a fight at all....
I was just under the impression that most fish that are problematic to an environment are simply not sold in those states (snakeheads, piranha, etc)

the majority of aquarium fish would simply be eaten by larger fish in public waters...or not survive the condtions/change in ph/temperature, etc....

I dont believe in a "commitment" as I'm a fisherman, and go through 3 dozen LIVE fish a weekend as bait, not to mention the dozens of goldfish/guppies I buy as feeders for my meat eating fish...so the loss of one mollie or pleco to a bass isn't going to make me a bad person IMHO

Also, note this thread deals with a pleco...the most problematic fish sold in stores are plecos, which grow rediculously fast and are typically tossed into 10 gallon tanks.

If the post was dealing with a snake head, alligator gar, piranha, or something that would tend to get a little larger while still being fairly hardy then I might have offered other advice....
 

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ashleigh

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Jan 8, 2004
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wow and here I had unclenched. Ever hear of a cane toad? invasive species do not have to be agressive- they simply have to have an adaptation which makes them successful in a particular environment. Sometimes these adaptations do not become evident until it is too late. That's why Quaker Parrots are colonizing North America, the great lakes are choked with mussels,and snakeheads are populous enough to make the news. I don't really if you are a bad person, or what youe worldview is on these matters. Irresponsability is costly.
 

TurbineSurgeon

TurbineSurgeon

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Feb 27, 2004
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If it was an alligator gar, it might be alright to release it since they are native to here. A lot of species have been released into environments that are not their own and have wreaked havoc. Some are even "less threatening" on the surface as a plecostamus. Do a Google search on calerpa in the Mediterranean, Cryptocorynes in Texas, water hyacinth, kudzu... the list goes on.
 

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ashleigh

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Jan 8, 2004
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yeah, well, pigeons and sparrows didn't take off right away either, the point is no one knows how an introduced species is going to take hold, so don't do it.
edit- oh, and it's illegal. I don't know if anyone mentioned that.
 

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wayne

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Oct 22, 2002
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Go to Florida Geoffgarcia - see if you can find about plecos in the waterways there..... I don't know what they've displaced though.
What about if somebody pops a nonnative fish in the river... it's small, inoffensive, likely dies in the winter but carries a nice virus that kills all the bass in 3 or 4 states? Still inoffensive?
 

dethjam316

dethjam316

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Mar 24, 2004
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very good point, wayne. there is a domino effect when an invasive species in introduced...sometimes they bring diseases, sometimes they fill a niche better than a species that evolved there, causing a species to go extinct in part of its native terrain...it's just best to avoid whenever possible. yeah, a pleco wouldn't survive a winter in, say, maine. but it might survive long enough to introduce bacteria or some tropical fish disease into a population that has never seen it. it's not for the sake of the single fish in question-- it's for the sake of the ecosystem at large. it's just not a good practice...don't throw anything at me for saying this-- but it's better to euthanize an unwanted fish than to release into the wild. besides, even if they won't pay you for it, an LFS will almost always take an unwanted fish for free.
 

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