# pleco for coldwater aquarium ??



## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

I just got what seems to be a clown pleco, the room temp is like 70 deg, is this warm enough for a pleco to stay healthy ?? the pleco was purchased to eat the algae

I want to keep the tank room temp as I am thinking of getting some native fish like sunfish, etc.

thanks


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## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

The clown pleco prefers at least 75+, there are other cold water alage eaters out there that would be a better choice for your set up. The name isn't coming to me at the moment but they are out there.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

the water is way too cold for any fancy pleco.

the only pleco known to inhabit colder waters is the common pleco...not the gibbys or the sailfins....these: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=88

and I believe some of the rubbernose plecos.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

the cold water pleco, is that what is sold in most of the stores ??
usually black ??

My tank is 90 gallons, how big do you think it will get ??

thanks guys.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I think so.....its usually just named pleco or common pleco...doesnt have too much pattern, and should go for no more than 5-6 bucks.

though mind you.....they grow to 18" monsters.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

do they grow fast ??
will they grow to a monster in a 90 gallon tank ??

thanks


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

they are not the slowest of growers, and they will reach their max size. Though it would take about 2 years for that.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

trailblazer295 said:


> The clown pleco prefers at least 75+, there are other cold water alage eaters out there that would be a better choice for your set up. The name isn't coming to me at the moment but they are out there.


Can I get a listing of the cold water algae eaters, thier high/low temps, and pH range? Thanks.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

bluegill said:


> do they grow fast ??
> will they grow to a monster in a 90 gallon tank ??
> 
> thanks


I find that common and gibby grow fast. Within a year if you take really good care of it, it could reach almost one foot IME based on a friend who raised some recently.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

AquariAM said:


> I find that common and gibby grow fast. Within a year if you take really good care of it, it could reach almost one foot IME based on a friend who raised some recently.


+1

and I think that 90 gal is enough space for a full grown common.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Hitch said:


> I think so.....its usually just named pleco or common pleco...doesnt have too much pattern, and should go for no more than 5-6 bucks.
> 
> though mind you.....they grow to 18" monsters.


Those common one can grow to 24"+. I have a gibby that is just over 18".
If you can keep the temp to a minimum of at least 72 deg it would be much better IMO


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

Some do, but the common one I was talking about is P. pardalis. Which has a 15" SL and a TL of 18-19"


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

guys, I just got a golden Algae eater, the guy at Al's said it is quite comfortable with the goldfish at 70 deg F,
so far it is doing fine, the other pleco dropped dead after 3 days. Are the plain pleco comfortable at 70 deg F ??
any other small algae eaters that are not as aggressive as
the golden chinese algae eater ??
this little fella sure seems aggressive.

Are there regular fish other than gold fish that are sold in stores that tolerate cold water ??
that are from the tropics ??

thanks


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

bluegill said:


> guys, I just got a golden Algae eater, the guy at Al's said it is quite comfortable with the goldfish at 70 deg F,
> so far it is doing fine, the other pleco dropped dead after 3 days. Are the plain pleco comfortable at 70 deg F ??
> any other small algae eaters that are not as aggressive as
> the golden chinese algae eater ??
> ...


Not really in a big way.. You can do white cloud minnows. They'll be fine. I'd want to figure out why your pleco dropped dead.

Golden Algae eaters are stupid evil fish that once large will not eat algae and will attack other fish.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

bluegill said:


> guys, I just got a golden Algae eater, the guy at Al's said it is quite comfortable with the goldfish at 70 deg F,
> so far it is doing fine, the other pleco dropped dead after 3 days. Are the plain pleco comfortable at 70 deg F ??
> any other small algae eaters that are not as aggressive as
> the golden chinese algae eater ??
> ...


What kind of goldfish do you keep?


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

the fancy tails and a dozen shiners or native minnows(baitfish)


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

AquariAM said:


> Not really in a big way.. You can do white cloud minnows. They'll be fine. I'd want to figure out why your pleco dropped dead.
> 
> Golden Algae eaters are stupid evil fish that once large will not eat algae and will attack other fish.


I thought it was the 70 deg temperature ??
no ?? do they(pleco) die right away if it is too cold ??


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## snaggle (Feb 19, 2010)

Fish may not die right away if they are too cold, but will suffer and be active.

Comon Plecos and golden algea eaters are both agresive fish, comon plecos eat algea until they are around 4" then need more of a meat diet.

You can try doing a search here for your needs, http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/search.php

Also as far as I know it is illegal in ALL of Canada to colect and keep native fish with out a permit. Also most Canadian Native fish will require a chiller to keep alive for any length of time.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

bluegill said:


> the fancy tails and a dozen shiners or native minnows(baitfish)


Fancy tails like Ryukin or Oranda? These fancy goldfish do better in temperature of 74F to 78F


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

sorry, it is the fantail as in this site

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/goldfish/FantailGoldfish.php


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

You can do Florida flag-fish at room temperature. They stay small and are decent algae eaters. A room temperature tank is perfect for dwarf sunfish!


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

It is legal to keep baitfish if you have a fishing license.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

BillD said:


> It is legal to keep baitfish if you have a fishing license.


I have a fishing license


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

Darkside said:


> You can do Florida flag-fish at room temperature. They stay small and are decent algae eaters. A room temperature tank is perfect for dwarf sunfish!


where can I find them in the GTA ??


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

bluegill said:


> where can I find them in the GTA ??


What sunfish? 

http://maps.google.ca/

Type in BLUFFERS PARK TORONTO ONTARIO go to satellite mode. Look closely toward the bottom of the park there are four little ponds seperated by a metal walkway. Sunfish there.

Type in DON VALLEY BRICK WORKS TORONTO ONTARIO
Satellite mode. There's a parking lot, then some industrial-ish buildings on the right. Look north of the parking lot you will see four ponds one after the other and a maze of paths. The first pond has a huuuge sunfish population that readily swarm for flakes. They like to hide under the suspended walkway.

You're most likely to find them in the Don Valley Brickworks. They're very humanized there and I doubt someone, hypothetically, should they be inclined, would have a hard time catching a few.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

thanks for the info on sunfish, I am a fisherman, usually, the sunfish I incidentally catch are big, too big for my tank, so I will go there and give it a try


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

It's illegal to keep native species of sunfish.

The sunfish Darkside is referring to are either Enneacanthus spp or Elassoma spp. Elassoma, usually called pygmy sunfish, are native to Florida, and IIRC, have recently been moved into a family of their own. They are tiny fish, a few cm in size. Enneacanthus are native to the eastern seaboard of the US as far north as NJ IIRC. They are sometimes called banded sunfish and get to about 8-10cm, IIRC.

From all this IIRC you can see that I'm too lazy to look it up, but you can.

I've seen Enneacanthus at Menagerie a few times. They can probably order some for you. People in Europe breed both these genera, so you don't have to try to get wild fish.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

bluegill said:


> thanks for the info on sunfish, I am a fisherman, usually, the sunfish I incidentally catch are big, too big for my tank, so I will go there and give it a try


Net don't line catch. Too much stress. Just plop a net in the water. Walk around for 1/2 hour to let them get used to it, come back drop a bunch of flake in the water, when they swarm, WHAM and pick the nicest one. Hypothetically, of course. I mean, I'm not suggesting that you actually DO this


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

bae said:


> *It's illegal to keep native species of sunfish*.
> 
> The sunfish Darkside is referring to are either Enneacanthus spp or Elassoma spp. Elassoma, usually called pygmy sunfish, are native to Florida, and IIRC, have recently been moved into a family of their own. They are tiny fish, a few cm in size. Enneacanthus are native to the eastern seaboard of the US as far north as NJ IIRC. They are sometimes called banded sunfish and get to about 8-10cm, IIRC.
> 
> ...


possesion limit is 30 with a fishing license for a native sunfish


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

AquariAM said:


> Net don't line catch. Too much stress. Just plop a net in the water. Walk around for 1/2 hour to let them get used to it, come back drop a bunch of flake in the water, when they swarm, WHAM and pick the nicest one. Hypothetically, of course. I mean, I'm not suggesting that you actually DO this


re Don Valleybricks

is this pond good to take kids to ??, the one mentioned in the east toronto ??
is it a park ??


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

bluegill said:


> re Don Valleybricks
> 
> is this pond good to take kids to ??, the one mentioned in the east toronto ??
> is it a park ??


I guess its a park. I don't see why you shouldn't take kids there. There's always fish to see if you bring food. Some trails. They kinda suck because it's reclaimed land from brickworks and it's just sort of a bowl but it's not bad. It's peaceful.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

bluegill said:


> possesion limit is 30 with a fishing license for a native sunfish


That's dead fish in your fridge or freezer. The laws were changed recently to make it illegal to keep live sunfish, and restrictions on keeping bait fish are in place.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

bae said:


> That's dead fish in your fridge or freezer. The laws were changed recently to make it illegal to keep live sunfish, and restrictions on keeping bait fish are in place.


so what about it sitting in a tank in a boat ??
what about having it in a moving vehicle towing a boat with a 
holding tank ??
WHat about a live fish, that is in a bucket that you are taking home ??


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

Just use common sense. Likely no one is going to care if you have a blue gill in your aquarium.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

You are not even to keep Bait over a certain length of time.

bad idea keeping native fish. 

Why there are so many nice tropical fish out there.

Hmmm.....I wonder if i lived in Africa could I keep cichlids or would it be illegal?


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