Why is it that common plecos should not be placed with goldies? I am wanting to know this so that I can give a decent reason to people other than "just cuz".

I've read that common plecos get huge and they end up sucking goldfishies slime coat and doing damage to their scales.

In the pleco world, different subspecies are adapted to different conditions. These conditions include water currents, available foods, water chemistries and a few other very important environmental factors such as temperatures. Since each subspecies originates in different areas they each have specific needs and capabilities.

Common plecos have adapted to eating pretty much anything. This includes fish (live, sick or dead), algae and cellulose from driftwood and even bugs/larvae. For the most part, a common that has access to plenty of plantmaterials and algaes will remain docile and not have a go at fish (unless very sick or dead or they bother it). If a hungry emaciated common has acces to a slow swimmer ir a sickie, it will most certainly attach itself to the side of the fish and start sucking away the highly nutritive slime coating (removing scales in the process). There are a few more bad apples in the common bunch than can be considered safe. To house them with fancy (slow swimming) goldfish is to be tempting their natural habits of "cleaning-up" the stragglers. Commons are great tankmates for pretty much any other fish there is except goldfish. Again, there are some bad apples out there that just don't like tankmates and will attack for no other reason than to shoo them away (territorial attacks). This is especially true if you were to attempt keeping two males in the same tank. If you have ever held a pleco in your hand, you will see that they are full of rough skin and spikes in their fins. A territorial attack from one of these guys (they can get 2 feet in length) can prove fatal to an inquisitive goldie with just one blow in the right place.

All in all, common plecos are best left alone when it comes to looking for a "janitor" for a fancy goldfish tank. There are a few too many possibilities for disaster.

Rubberlip and bushynose plecos are adapted to eating vegetative materials. In their natural surroundings, there is a plentitude of algaes and plants to eat. This has caused them stay away from foraging for sick and dying fish to supplement their diets. Basically, they've had an endless salad provided to them so they never had to adapt to eating meat when the salads run dry. This is precisely why they make wonderful janitors for goldfish tanks.

As with all plecos, special care must be taken to provide them with hidey holes and a variety of foods derived from plants and algaes. They cannot subsist for long on tank algae alone (unless youve got 1 plec in a 500 gallon tank).


So, does that help explain a little bit?

Paul

Great response, Paul

I once put a common pleco in with a tank a guppies, and it hoovered half of them up on the first night. It certainly had a taste for fish :angry: I learned my lesson the hard way.

After I lost my guppies, I called my nephew who had given me the pleco, and he said "oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, he is a fish eater". Kind of late ... as you said, he was a bad apple, all right.

some people have these experiences with the plecos and some have not. it depends on the owner and experience really. if you want, you could buy a common pleco and test it. ive had my pleco / GF today for half a year now, no sucking at night or any aggressiveness. just remember to give the pleco plenty of space and hiding holes/caves.

Common plecos are often quite peaceful when young, but can become more aggressive when they get older. They get very large and their appetites increase along with the size. Also, as they age, they tend to become omnivores.

I would recommend a bristlenose or rubberlip as a companion for goldfish, since they remain small (4 inches or so) and remain vegetarians.

It is just easier to prevent problems, then to have to deal with a problem later IMO

Heh, I must admit, I keep a common pleco with goldfish. But, I will never keep them with fancy goldfish. They just swim too slow.

This guy's name is Kruschev. He resides in my 55 gallon with a 9-10 inch comet, a 6 inch shubunkin, some cories and a dojo. He is quite the peaceful fellow.




I must repeat, common plecos should never be kept with "fancy" goldfish!

Paul

I have 2 commons in a 30 gal tank,that I've had for at least 5 years! I know thats awful,but when I bought them they were really tiny.,first I had no idea how big they got & 2nd,No clue that two should not be housed together.They have been with everything from neon tetra's,to what's with them now--Angelfish.They are both between 10 & 12 inches I would guess.That is ridiculous I know. I have to say though in all the years I've had them-they've never went after another fish to hurt it-no matter how fast or slow the fish have been. My Angels move very slow,& have no fear what so ever . When I got my 75gal.,I did try to put them in there cause I felt so bad that they were in such a small tank.I put one in & he started freaking out! For two days,he was going balistic! I really thought that he was missing the other,so I then added him too. For a week,these two fish acted like they were losing it.If you walked past,they'd fly into the sides of the tank,etc.I finally took them both,and put them back where they were before,and they settled immediately. It was so weird.....Like they were glad to be home again! I adore my two..They don't even fight with each other.Once in a while you see a little nudging at feeding time,but that's it-and you should see these two "Hovering " at the top with their huge mouths sucking up those tiny little Blood Worms! I still feel bad....I know they should be in a bigger tank,but I did try.I'm hoping to find the right person to take them.My one LFS would take them & I'm actually thinking about it-but then I worry about who would buy them. I really think I've had them closer to 7 years...I'm so attached....

Here's my two. The 2nd one is on the wood...you have to look real good.

I think Sharon touched on a really important point when she talked about her two hovering the blood worms. I think you can prevent a lot a problems by feeding the commons well. Then they aren't hungry and are not looking for food, such as the slime coat on the other fish.

I think a lot of people neglect to feed their plecos and they resort to harrassing other fish out of necessity.

I once had a common that I kept by himself in a 20 gallon tank. He was probably about 8 to 10 inches long. He had a weird accident and died. He got tangled up in some java moss overnight, and when I extricated him, he had a wound near his gill and he didn't survive it.

Like Sharon, I was very attached to him and I just felt awful about it.

Thats too bad about your pleco... your right, that is indeed a freak accident.

Sharon, your commons have some very striking patterns to them. Mine is just kind of blotchy and not really striped like that. But he changes color with his moods too.

I recently brought one of my common plecos to my favorite LFS (the best ive ever seen and its right down the road). Right when I brought him in, the owner (cool guy), took a look at him in my "fish transport cooler" and said, "I've got a good little pond right over here for him to live in". I was very pleased when I saw it cause it was at least 200 gallons! I know he's gonna like it there.

Ah man is that a dream come true or not? That's really cool Paul,Next Batch of Chewy's coming your way,maybe I'll ship one of mine ---he'd love a pond...I'm surprised with Fla. having all those Plec's living in their Canal's and such,that they'll even let you take a chance of putting a plec in a pond.

A few years back, I had a huge pleco. I called around and found a business that maintained aquariums for businesses. Often those types of aquariums are quite large. They were willing to take the pleco for me for one of the large tanks that they maintained.

It is worth a try .