# Poorly plec



## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

hey, i have a regular pleco that im not sure what species it is...anyway it doesn't seem to eating and is this normal for the first week??


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2008)

due to stress yes, sometimes fish wont eat for a while. plecos are nocturnal, they do most their eating at night, so you probably dont see when it eats. now, the problem is, non of your tanks are big enough to home a common pleco, they get 18-24 inches, and rather fast. you should return this fish and get a pleco more suitable for your tanks, such as bristlenose, rubbernose, bulldog...


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

i have realised this, at the moment it is housed in a 55 gallon and i will be getting a bigger tank when it comes nearer.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2008)

i work in the aquarium business and hear that all the time. the problem is you can never predict future problems. you should never buy fish that will out grow your aquarium with out having a bigger tank ALREADY setup, or in the process of being setup... there are thousands of fish that can live their whole lives in the tanks you already have.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

well if i do get in trouble then i could always move him to my nans 125 gallon tank.


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2008)

Even a 125g isn't big enough for these guys. They can reach 2 feet long. A 125g isn't 2 feet wide so it wouldn't be able to turn around.  Common plecos shouldn't be sold in the aquarium hobby.....very little people have the means to house them properly.


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