Aquarium Saga — Getting a Larger Tank

My pleco  Aristotle is growing like a weed, so I found a used 55 gallon tank & stand for $100 on OfferUp and am going to buy it next week.

 

It comes with a stand, a hood and lights plus some decorations, so it’s a heckuva deal.  Brand new, the setup would easily run me $600 to $700. All I may need to get is a bigger heater (a $20 purchase) and more aquarium gravel ($30) and I’ll be set.  The seller will give me her two filters: all I need to do is buy new pads for them.

 

I’m 99% sure Aristotle is a sailfin pleco, so he will grow to between 11 and 13 inches in length over the course of the next decade or so.  He’s 6″ long right now.  He has tripled in size since I got him a few months ago. (In the wild, they have been known to grow to 19 inches, but that’s exceedingly rare in aquariums, thankfully!)

 

If/when he gets too big for the 55 gallon tank, I will either have to rehome him or get a 100 gallon tank…neither of which I want to do, so I hope he slows down and takes his time!

 

He’s a very peaceable fellow. He doesn’t bother the other fish at all but he looks like a whale in comparison to the others because he’s wide-bodied and flat on his underside. When he moves around, it draws my attention, kinda like the Goodyear blimp passing by. (I don’t know if he’s male or female: I just decided he’s Aristotle, so I refer to him as male.) (But he’s probably a female! Females are wider-bodied than males and more docile. That fits Aristotle’s description to a T. Drat!)

 

I look forward to seeing him in a tank nearly three times larger than the one he’s in now.  He won’t look cramped in there…at least, not for several years, with any luck at all.

 

I’ve had aquariums several times in my life. Only once before have I had a 55 gallon one. I loved it.  Watching it is extremely relaxing.

 

I’ll be able to get some more fish, too. And another snail or two. (Lisa is crazy about the snails.)  I will for sure get another small school of neon tetras; they’re tiny and they will look like aquatic fireflies in a big tank. The six I have right now would get lost in a 55 gallon tank, so I need to get them some buddies.

 

I’ll stick with the two aquatic frogs I have. I may get several ghost shrimp and see how they do.  I don’t have any seriously aggressive fish, so they should be fine. I have a list of small fish that usually do fine with all but shrimp fry (babies), which can be as small as a comma or a period.

 

Lots to learn!