Cold water pleco

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phaedraeos

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Dec 29, 2006
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I'm trying to find a pleco to live with my goldfish. Right now there's a heater in my tank and I keep the temp at about 74 degrees, but I'm hoping to take it out when I move. However, I'd keep the tank heated for the right plec :)

75g, 4 fancy goldfish, 2 dojo loaches, golden barbs, and zebra danios. I'm willing to feed any diet (wood, meaty, greens), but I don't want to put the temperature over 74 degrees. Any suggestions besides a common hypostomous or gibbiceps? There's some sort of rubbernose in there now that I got from petsmart, but I think he's going in a different tank soon. He's only about an inch long.
 
none is the simple answer.
However there are a few plecs that can survive colder conditions. H. plecostomus, L. pardalis, H. punctatus etc would be your best bet, and they are probably plecos you are not interested in. The reason they are common is because of they are hardy and inexpensive, and it is the hardy part that makes these plecs more in suit with what you want. These are all quite large plecs too. Dojo loaches dont do amazing with no heating, as they are tropical fish, although i think that would be hit or miss.
 
I think that the coldest my tank would get without a heater is 70 degrees. However, as I said before I'd be quite happy to keep the tank heated to 74 degrees if I found a pleco that would thrive in that temp. I don't plan on upgrading the tank after this, which is why I'm not really looking for a gibbiceps or common hypostomous species.
 
davo;766619; said:
none is the simple answer.
However there are a few plecs that can survive colder conditions. H. plecostomus, L. pardalis, H. punctatus etc would be your best bet, and they are probably plecos you are not interested in. The reason they are common is because of they are hardy and inexpensive, and it is the hardy part that makes these plecs more in suit with what you want. These are all quite large plecs too. Dojo loaches dont do amazing with no heating, as they are tropical fish, although i think that would be hit or miss.
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Dojo aka weather loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) aren't what I would consider tropical and they do fine without heating. They can actually be found living wild in the great lakes, specifically Lake Huron.
 
sandtiger;766759; said:
Dojo aka weather loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) aren't what I would consider tropical and they do fine without heating. They can actually be found living wild in the great lakes, specifically Lake Huron.
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They are not at all tropical and as Sandtiger mentions We do actually find them regularly in the Saganaw watershed of Lake Huron. They are not in the Lake it's self but are frequently found in the Saganaw River and associated tributaries.
 
I wouldnt put any plecos with goldfish. They will eat scales off of goldfish. A snail or a loach like others have said would be better. also you could try orf they will eat algae if that what you are looking for. combine orf and snails and you cant go wrong. besides plecos dont really like the same water conditions as goldfish do. jmo
 
Plecs are tropical, better get something else. I also think that goldfish do not do well in a community, they are too messy at tropical temps.
 
stonecat;766825; said:
I wouldnt put any plecos with goldfish. They will eat scales off of goldfish. A snail or a loach like others have said would be better. also you could try orf they will eat algae if that what you are looking for. combine orf and snails and you cant go wrong. besides plecos dont really like the same water conditions as goldfish do. jmo
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IME and IMO this only happens when plecs are not properly fed, they turn to other fish as a last resort. Plecos are like cattle, they like to grave constantly. Sadly, most people don't feed them at all or mearly toss in a few wafers every so often. I have kept several species of plecs over the years and never had the problem of them eating slime coat.
 
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