# How do I get rid of a too-big fish



## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

I'm getting tired of replanting my tank every few days because my pleco is too big for my tank. He rearranges the substrate significantly. Any ideas on where or how to find him another nice(r) home? He's about 12" long, in case you wanted to know.

-Dustin


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Your LFS might be willing to take him, but then again, probably not. There are millions of big plecos out there. I don't know anyone who ever went shopping for a monster pleco. You're probably going to find that there isn't a good solution to your problem. If it really must go, find a humane way, and do a better job of fiding species appropriate for your size of tank next time.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Ask your LFS if they will take him. Probably won't give you any money but it will still go to a good place. If they won't take it, see if they wil let you post a flier putting it up for adoption. While most people don't go shipping for big fish, there is are certain people out there with the bigger is better mentality.


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

Funny, lfs here pay good money (or give good store credit) for larger plecos.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Local fish club?


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

or pan-fry it Sorry, I know that is mean but I couldn's resist


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Most stores will take them in if they have room, and if they're in good condition.
After that, chances of them finding a good home are iffy.

I just wish they would stop selling the gentle giants to start with. They really are nice fish, and don't deserve the predicament they often get into with cramped quarters. It's not their fault they get big, but it is the stores fault for offering them so regularly, even though they know most people can't accomodate them in a very short time. My old guy Moses moved up to my 125 gallon, lived to be well over 15 years old, and measured about 18" when he died.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Pan fried pleco? I looked in my cookbook and couldn't find a recipe for that........ lol

Last night my wife was eating a plate of salmon next to the fish tank. She looked over, thought for a minute, and said "think they mind?" It was kinda funny.


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Heh.

I work at an LFS, and I can tell you that if they have the room, it is likely that they will take your pleco off your hands. It is unlikely that you will get much credit for it, if any.

However: We never sell them. Even though they get fed, they generally just waste away. As sad as it is, no one really wants them.

I tend to discourage people from buying plecos on the basis of two things: they get large and they rarely eat algae, despite being a suckermouthed fish.


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## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

With a very sad heart, I scooped George (just a random name) and placed him in a bucket for the ride down to the LFS. They have a 200 gal display tank right in the front of the store with some other large plecos and other large fish (oscars?). They gave me $10 in credit, which didn't ease my pain all that much, but it did allow me to walk out of the store with some plants that I had been wanting to try. 

I only wish I had a bigger tank to put him in. And now I fear for the day that my other (3") pleco outgrows his home. 

Man, I've had the big guy for over 7 years now. I had him before I met my now-wife, before I had my kids, before I had graduated from college, etc. He'll be missed.:-({|= 

-Dustin


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

$10 ??? Good for you (and the pleco). I'm kind of surprised they took him. Chances are that he'll be there for quite a while.

Don't forget that you'll have a huge shift in the parameters of the tank now that your 'elephant in the living room' is gone.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Aww, I know you do get attached to them, and that's another problem with the stores selling them so readily. People just don't realize how big they can get, and the time comes before you know it.

You couldn't have done much better for him, considering he has a nice big tank to lounge around in and that they gave you a credit.
Our old store used to have a 550 gallon tank, and they used that for all of the outgrown Pacus, Pleco's, Balas, and things of that nature. They never even tried to resell them, but sort of had a haven for the poor fish who outgrew their tanks, and could have come to a very bad ending.

If you're anything like me, once old Moses passed, I swore to nothing bigger than a Bristlenose or Clown Plec, even though I probably do have the room for others. Small is good.


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## snake (Dec 13, 2005)

You may want to contact water garden stores. we sometimes catch big plecos in cast nets at a large powerplant lake in San Antonio and give them away to neighbors to put in their ponds.


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