New to the forum and had questions.

Bayareaplecofan

New Member
Sep 1, 2016
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0
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Bay Area
Hello everyone!

So I have a 10 gal. Was a gift to my girlfriend's kids. We started off with Guppies and a pleco. The 2 adult Guppies kept breeding over and over. So now we have fry that are a lot bigger. Maybe a little less then an inch each. As for the previous Pleco we had, he lived for about a year. Until our filter died and we got so busy. Our common pleco still survived for a good few months. W/o a filter. It was obvious how he died. The water was just terrible. The guppies managed to survive, some died off. We felt so bad we finally did a water change and a new filter. We bought a new Common Plec. Water is way better treated. We now have about 15 Guppies, 1 Algae eater and our Pleco named Caramel :)

I recently found this forum and I am glad I did. I had no idea we could feed Plecos veggies. I started off with a blanched carrot w/ a safety pin stuck in it so it floats down to the bottom. He seemed to like it. Last night we tossed in a mushroom and let it just float around. He absolutely loved it. He chewed all around it and went after it even though it was floating on top. Today, about 30 mins ago. I cut up a green bell pepper stuck the safety pin to weigh it down. He automatically went after it and is currently going to town on it. Loves it.

Is a 10 gallon way to small for a Common Pleco? We probably won't get a bigger tank being that this was only a gift for the kids. Also, how much light do these fish need daily? When to turn it on and when to turn it off. Is it common for a Pleco to have a part of his head sticking outside of the tank attached to the filter where the water comes down? Anyway, sorry about going a bit off. Just have a ton of questions and help :) looking forward to hearing from some of you.

Blessings :D
 

Bigjohnnofish

Global Moderators
Staff member
Apr 15, 2010
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Perth, Western Australia
yes a 10 gallon tank is too small to house a common pleco long term as they do get to 40 plus cm in size.... now the good thing for you is they dont grow that big over night... if your happy to trade your pleco in and get a smaller one when its too big for your tank i dont see a problem.....

they do make a fair bit of waste and you'll need to keep up with water changes...

light is something that isnt a set thing.... i generally give my fish 12 -14 hours a day light... but some people give them 8 hours or even less... the tank prob is getting some light from your house lights anyway....

as for sticking its head in the filter water return... some plecs do develop unusual habits... but it maybe also seeking more aerated water.... many reasons why it maybe doing this...