Plecos In Cool Water?

[Conqueror]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if it's OK to keep a pleco in an indoor tank without a heater? I have a 20g tank on my kitchen counter, and I don't have enough outlets to plug in a heater there. I kept a goldfish in it, which was obviously fine since they are fine down into the 60 degree range, but will a pleco be OK in there? I keep my house at 73 degrees or so.

Thanks,

CQ

 

[smithrc]

how would you feel in a house without heating.... fine during the warm spells - cold when its not... constant temp fluctuations will result in suffering of the fish and the eventual death...

You can affod to buy fish - spend £2 on a 4-way.

 

[00mitomk]

totally agree and tbh plecos are far too kl to suffer

 

[nmonks]

There are subtropical loricariid catfish, but you'd need to know what you're looking for and purchase accordingly. Standard plecs are tropical, and so not suitable for coldwater tanks, at least not all year round.

On the other hand, there are plenty of subtropical algae eaters. Garra species are often subtropical, and virtually all of those hillstream loaches are. It shouldn't be difficult to find one of these for your coldwater tank. There are lots of subtropical fish out there -- gelius barbs, sunfish, weather loaches, mountain minnows, paradise fish, Chinese gobies, rosy barbs -- to name but a few. Setting up a subtropical tank is fun and very worthwhile. Provided your house got no cooler than 15 C (59 F), these would do well in an unheated tank, and probably better than in a tropical aquarium.

Cheers,

Neale