Coldwater Plecos

[JunoStar]

Hi guys, newbie to the forum but not so much to fishkeeping.

Had Hippo, my common pleco cos just over 12 months (already shot up from 2.5" to about 7) and he's quite well settled in my coldwater tank with some fancy fantails I have.

Basically my Q is are there many other codlwater pleco's out there that any of you could suggest? I'd love to try and add another face to the tank but atm I just have the coldwater set up.

Thanks!

 

[smithrc]

no plecs are truely coldwater....

What you are calling "Coldwater" will actually be room temperature around 22 degrees - just below suitably temps for tropical fish....

 

[JunoStar]

Well you know what I mean! I still have a predominantly coldwater set up so any advice would be fab

 

[smithrc]

what i was saying is that your current setup isnt really suitable for your current plec - and definatly not any more expensive less hardy ones.

 

[JunoStar]

Well he's been in there over 12 months and never had any problems hun. Know of people on other forums who have similar set ups, just all with commons, obviously just looks like it's best I stick to what I've got till I can set up the tropical!

Cheers

 

[NEONCORY]

How cold is your "cold water set up" anyway?
I assume the tank is inside the house and not outside. And unheated so the temperature hover around the near the room temperature. Maybe heat up a little from the light(s).
Also your location weather and tank size influence the temperature.

I now have few unheated tank which hover around low 70'sF and I find my Corydoras Panda and Cherry Red Shrimps are doing good. Also have some Hill Stream Loaches in unheated tank also. So there are few fish does fine with low 70'sF but I don't have much info for the plecos.
I did read that bristlenose does not care much about the temperature from 75~80 and they might handle little cooler water say low 70'sF.(but don't take my word for it but please do little reseach.) But mine are in the tank with around 75~80F since they still need to grow and I know they will grow faster with warmer than cooler.
And I do have my Otocinclus(sp) in with Panda and Cherry Red Shrimps in the unheated tank but my Oto is not regular kind but so called Niger Oto and I find out that they prefer the cooler water to breed and one of the female is so round looks almost ready to burst. So they are in the unheated tank at the moment.

So if your "cold water tank" is around low 70'sF, there maybe a some pleco fit to your set up. BTW< I learned that Oto is in the pleco family recently.
But it probably you get more response if you post the temperature and size of your tank as well as other water parameter. Since they are so many pleco out there and some get really big for the typical sized tank. Also there water preference can be vary.

 

[xingumike]

rcsmith is right but if you insistent on muddling coldwater/tropical/subtropical then Chaetostoma spp are probably best suited provided you have large current in the tank

 

[JunoStar]

Cheers for your response guys. Though I'd hardly call it muddling, lil Hippo's thriving as he is, was merely a Q of wonderment over whether it was possible to add some more to the brood. Obviously not till tropicals up and running. All I needed to know really.

These are of course your opinions and I respect you for that.

Thanks again

 

[lilfishie]

hope you realise that commons grow to near 18" so need atleast a 5x2x2, and he may by thriving in the coldwater tank but it won't be doing his immune system any good

 

[JunoStar]

Yeah on the size front we did our research before we bought any...ironically the fisheries keeps em in cold too (hence why didnt think it was a prob and lukcily for us it hasn't been). How so on the immune system front? Not heard of that one before.

 

[lilfishie]

well i kept 3 bn plecos, 1 in a unheated with a few gupps the other 2 heated, the 1 in the unheated i found got more illnesses one which finally killed her, this was a few years back now but the ones in the heated tank never got ill even when other fish in there did. so i just assume that it somehow has an affect on there immune system

 

[JunoStar]

Fair enough! What sort of illness, if you don't mind me asking of course. Ours is always pretty lively, eats well, just so I know what to look out for possibly in future.

 

[lilfishie]

many things from mild whitespot to a terrible fungus that everntually killed her, i only wish now i had kept her tropical like the other two

 

[JunoStar]

Aw, sorry to hear that. Well I wouldn't like to go chaning him now after almost 18 mths but definitely info to keep in mind for the future.

 

[sargent_skank]

info for the future?? how about info for now?? let me spell it out for you. PLECS.....DO.....NOT.....COME.....FROM.......COLD.......WATERS......!!!!!.

THEY...ARE....TROPICAL....FISH

THEREFORE....THEY....SHOULD.....BE.....KEPT.....IN......WARMER......WATER!

what the hell is it with noobs and plecs, do you think just because the lfs say they are hardy you can put them in anything you like? oh yeah not to mention that they ALL eat algae and the leftovers from other fish!

i think i will try that with a plec neglecting fishkeeper. lock him/her up in a tiny cupboard, and feed him/her nothing but scraps, and make sure the heating is off in the middle of winter!