# Pleco in a Ten Gallon - When to Remove?



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Bought a bristlenose pleco (juvenile, can't even tell if it's a he or a she yet), less than an inch long. Tank is high tech, heavily planted, with a large colony of red cherry shrimp, pond snails, and MTS sharing the bottom and walls with the pleco. He has his own cave right in the middle of the tank under some Mopani driftwood. BNP's can grow to 4" long, I believe.

How big can I let the pleco grow to before I give him away?


----------



## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

The Bristol nose is a dwarf breed is it not. So it may not ever see 4 inches that being what it is if the bio load it creates never compromised the water quality why move it. 
If u said it was a common is say bad idea all around , pleco's are dirty poppers and male lots of waste but if there are only shrimp an snails itay not get so bad.
I could be wrong on the size of the pleco so check on that but either way is say you have time (atleast 1-2 year's) just by how iv seen mine grow.


----------



## Brian757 (Sep 24, 2012)

The bristlenose should get around 5-6".
I currently have one bristlenose pleco, roughly around 1.5". Am expecting another one, albino bristlenose around 1". They will both be in a 90Gal.
Just got rid of my common pleco that was around 8".

@Gizmo: If I were you, I would keep him until he gets a bit bigger than 2". They are not nearly as waste productive as the common plecos. Just keep an eye on him. Use your best judgment to decide whether he/she has enough room or not. They do not move much. Hence not requiring a terribly large amount of room. But after around 2", I would say relocate. 3"+ just seems like a bit much for a 10 gallon.


----------

