Just fished him out of the Kio pond this morning

I just fished him out this morning. No easy task I might add. I'm so happy. He's my BIG baby. He's 13" long and his head measures 2 3/4" wide. I had to put him in my 47g tank for the winter.

Very nice!I have some of them too!

This was his second summer in the pond. When I got him two years ago he was only 4" long.

Nice! I bet he likes summer the most...

Yeah a pond is good for them and they get big fast in a pond.Since I don't have a pond I put mine in my 140g!

Yes they grow supper fast in a pond. All that algae they get to eat. The first summer he grew from 4" to 9". this summer he was 9" when I put him in it in June.

He's huge!!!

Nice big guy! Are you removing him all together or just bringing him in for the winter?

I'm looking forward to building my big deck pond but out here in VA, I will have to bring some of the planned fishies inside over the winters. Think I should be good to go with some Koi and Comets. But I do plan on a couple common plecs in there.

Yes he comes in every fall. The koi and goldies stay out there and go into a hibernation state. I even have fancy goldies that stay out there and they do fine. Most people think fancies can't be out in the winter but they can.

1st i was like ಠ_ಠ another 5" pleco but then when i saw the pic was like O_O

Hes a very pretty boy! Looks like he is quite happy and healthy too!

Yes Fern I call him my baby. I just hoping I can keep him alive in the house. Giving him zuccini every day. I have know clue what I will do with him when I bring him in after next summer. He will really be huge. He usually grows 4-5" in the pond over a four or five month period.

how big do these guys get in total?

humongous! I got rid of one at 28"

You could get a large plastic bin for him or even a kiddy pool would house him ok. You can run sponge or internal filters on it.
I think they max out at 2-3 feet, depends on how well they are cared for.
Try different fruits and veggis to see what else he likes, I have heard that lots of plecos like melons as well as a few other odd foods.

big boy or girl?

that thing is a monster lol.

Do you keep them in a big tank or a kiddie pool over the winter? I always imagine having a kiddie pool in the basement. lol

Right now for the winter he's in my 47 gal. community tank. Had to take all decor out so he would have enough room to move around.

Holy cow.

You mean Holy Pleco! LOL

highly recommend the kiddie pool for that monster or put the hot tub on low setting. (I actually had a friend who did that for a winter pond)

I've heard of the hot tub thing before. If you live in a nice climate area, that would be an interesting setup.