Cold Water Pleco?

[chilli-spice]

hi all
i went to my local pet shop 2 weeks ago and saw labelled in with the goldfish "cold water pleco"
i asked about them and what they were and was told "just a pleco love" i asked what type of pleco and they said "a pleco is a pleco"

i have googled and googled and all sources seem to say that all plecos are tropical??? is this true???
because i was in yesterday and they were still in with the goldfish and still alive.
i bought one and he is in my cold tank looking ok.

but im a bit troubled as to wether i am doing the right thing leaving him there.
since all i can find says that all plecos are tropical, is it wrong leaving him in there? but then, i also dont want to cook the little thing by putting him in my tropical tank...
tried to get a pic, but he hides and i cant catch a pic lol. hes a fast little thing tho!!!

thanks in advance

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

So long as the temperature doesn't drop too much it'll be ok, the lower end of the pleco temperature scale is crossed with the goldfish.

I have a common pleco in a cold water tank and he's been in there for about 16 months.

 

[Skins]

My sister had a pleco in with her goldfish and was fine until winter came and she never put the room heater on.

Keith.

 

[ian]

sounds a bit like a hillstream loach, these are sub tropical, however the are not a plec, even though they look plec ish.

 

[elisew]

hi all
i went to my local pet shop 2 weeks ago and saw labelled in with the goldfish "cold water pleco"
i asked about them and what they were and was told "just a pleco love" i asked what type of pleco and they said "a pleco is a pleco"

i have googled and googled and all sources seem to say that all plecos are tropical??? is this true???
because i was in yesterday and they were still in with the goldfish and still alive.
i bought one and he is in my cold tank looking ok.

but im a bit troubled as to wether i am doing the right thing leaving him there.
since all i can find says that all plecos are tropical, is it wrong leaving him in there? but then, i also dont want to cook the little thing by putting him in my tropical tank...
tried to get a pic, but he hides and i cant catch a pic lol. hes a fast little thing tho!!!

thanks in advance

Firstly, I think it`s wonderful that your lfs give you such detailed info and obviously care about fish very much.....NOT!!

I have a clown plec in one of my tanks where the temp is at 22C, he appears to have no bother at all but I would be more concerned that IF the plec you`ve seen is a common plec, not only 'would the temp be ok?' but what size your tank is?

 

[chilli-spice]

thanks everyone

its a pet shop, so i guess it's to be expected. i asked if there was anyone who knew but there wasn't.
it annoyed me to be honest, i mean, if they are selling something, they should know what it is that they are selling!!!
i probably shouldn't have bought him, with not knowing more information, even after googling, but he was so cute i couldnt resist lol.


i shall have a look and see if he is a hillstream loach.
kind of difficult because i haven't really seen him since i put him in the tank

hmm, yeah, common plecos do get quite big and definitely too big for the tank he's in - nice excuse to buy a bigger tank just in case though hehe.

 

[chilli-spice]

hmm, have just google imaged and i dont think he is a hillstream loach.
could be (and probably am) wrong though.
he doesnt look like he has any yellow on him and he doesnt really have any spotty bits either.

he is a dull brown colour with some black on him. not patches, or spots. not really lines, but it could be described more as lines than anything else
would be so much easier if i could get a picture of him!!!
he is really fast though and spends most of his time attached to the underneath of an airstone i have in there.

i dont suppose it matters what type of fish he is now that i know he is ok in the cold tank ))

 

[fishnovice]

hmm, have just google imaged and i dont think he is a hillstream loach.
could be (and probably am) wrong though.
he doesnt look like he has any yellow on him and he doesnt really have any spotty bits either.

he is a dull brown colour with some black on him. not patches, or spots. not really lines, but it could be described more as lines than anything else
would be so much easier if i could get a picture of him!!!
he is really fast though and spends most of his time attached to the underneath of an airstone i have in there.

i dont suppose it matters what type of fish he is now that i know he is ok in the cold tank ))

Try googling common pleco. They can live with goldfish in unheated tanks in a warm room indoors. Commons are lovely active friendly plecos. The only problem is they grow too big -but so do goldfish! If you have goldfish and a common pec best to start saving for a 6ft tank!

 

[chilli-spice]

googled "baby common plec" and looks like that's what he is.
poopers
lol

is there a way to acclimatise him and move him to the tropical tank in the meantime?
just that the tropical tank is near enough 4ft so would be better until i can get a tank big enough for him
with xmas just been, a washing machine needing replaced and a little boy with a birthday coming up, it will be a while until i can afford a 6 foot tank is all.
ahhhh what did i doooooo. lololol.

but what if he is a hillstream loach? can they live in a tropical tank?
don't want to cook him by mistake lol.
or is it too late anyway now that he has lived in the cold? if i tried to move him to the warm tank would it harm him?

sorry everyone for all the questions

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

googled "baby common plec" and looks like that's what he is.
poopers
lol

is there a way to acclimatise him and move him to the tropical tank in the meantime?
just that the tropical tank is near enough 4ft so would be better until i can get a tank big enough for him
with xmas just been, a washing machine needing replaced and a little boy with a birthday coming up, it will be a while until i can afford a 6 foot tank is all.
ahhhh what did i doooooo. lololol.

but what if he is a hillstream loach? can they live in a tropical tank?
don't want to cook him by mistake lol.
or is it too late anyway now that he has lived in the cold? if i tried to move him to the warm tank would it harm him?

sorry everyone for all the questions

lol you can wait and get a larger tank; it don't have to be right now. He'll be fine for a few months!

 

[ian]

Can you get a pic of him, we may be able to ID him for you.

 

[chilli-spice]

cool, am glad he will be ok for a while
i say he, but who knows, could be a she and im giving her a complex

i shall try and get a picture again when he decides to come out again - im surprised how much he is out to be honest. he is visible a lot of the time, just he is usually stuck to the front of the tank which doesnt make it easy for a picture because its his underside - or would a picture of his belly help?

 

[ian]

yeah, any pic is better than no pic.

you'll deffo be able to tell if it's a Hillstream from it's belly.

 

[Davo86]

There is no true species of cold water pleco, some will survive in the cooler temps but none will thrive.
As said any "cold water pleco" is likely to be one one of many rather specialist species known as hillstream loach

 

[chilli-spice]

shall get a picture later today. he is hiding from me at the moment lol. soon as my son is in bed and the fish comes out i shall get snapping


after its been figured out if he is a loach or a plec. if he is a plec and he wont thrive in the cold, can i put him in his own tank and slowly heat the water up? maybe using a heater do it a couple of degrees a day? would that be better than leaving him as a coldwater fish?