Watch out for the Common Plec

Common Plec, originally uploaded by epredator.

We are new to the whole aquarium keeping hobby. It is way more complex than just sticking a fish in a bowl. It is also possible to make mistakes.
I was concerned that we were getting a lot of algae on the glass and rocks in the tank and that would upset the eco system.
So I went to a shop and asked to a plec. These little fish each algae. The thing was the Common Plec seems to be a bit of a monster. It turns out it can grow rapidly to over 0.5m which is actually bigger than out tank.
Luckily maidenhead aquatics take in over growing plecs. I felt very guilty rehousing out plec and the predlets were a little upset as they had seen him grow up (the past few months) however it seems that this is a very common problem.
So when getting fish, go somewhere like Maidenhead aquatics, they really know their stuff and would not have even had a common plec on sale to the average aquarium owner. 5 -6 a month get taken in.
So research, read, and ask a few experts. There a lots of Plec species, and they certainly do keep the tank clean but its all about balance.