Please READ: Any ignorant comments about tank size being responsible for fish growth will be deleted! We no longer own this Pleco! On Saturday 9-6-08 our Pleco sold for $20. He now enjoys a display pond in front of a boat store in San Diego. We purchased him at 2 inches and he was 8 years old when we sold him. The tank was only a 55 gallon but the combination of feeding him steamed broccoli and over filtering the tank (3 Eheims) caused him to grow and grow! ******** Q: How does how much you filter influence size? A: The cleaner the water the bigger they grow. The growth hormones sense that the fish is in open water and growth begins. Once the water is dirty, the growth hormones shut down. Its a survival process that happens when a fish strays off the main body of water or river. This also happens when there is a drought and the river levels are low. FYI: The #1 cause of death for Plecos is starvation. People think that Plecos can survive only on the glass algae. This is FALSE.