Royal pleco care

[Pleco]

Hi FF,
Another thing about caring for fish. I want to get a panaque, they look so cool! I heard they grow to 9 inches, and need a lot of driftwood. If thats wrong plz tell me and could I stick him in my 29 gallon? Also could I fed them zucchini? They are about 2 inches in the store.

[lohachata]

first off ; they can reach 15"+.....second , they need lots and lots of algae wafers along with other foods...
and YES , they need plenty of driftwood to munch on...it aids in the digestion of their food.....
you can feed them zucchini , but why would you ? it has very little real nutrition......feed them foods that are good for them...

[Pleco]

But could I put him in my 29 gallon?

[lohachata]

you could put it in a 2 gallon if you wanted to...but for how long..at 2" he will be fine in a 29...but will you be ready to accommodate his growth needs ?

[Pleco]

Well what tank size would they need eventually...and how long do they usually live for?

[MarinneSmith]

a royal needs 125 Gallons as a minimum

[lohachata]

there are many species of "ROYAL" Plecos...some will reach over 20 inches in length...but the majority of them will reach about 15" or so..
and as i said before...they need lots of driftwood and lots of food...you will also need some major filtration as they do produce a lot of waste....

[Pleco]

I think I will settle for some more Bristlenose plecs.