I recently ran into my kindergarten teacher. When I was in her class she had a 10 gallon tank with a couple of goldfish and a rather small common pleco. Well, she informed me that that small pleco is still alive and 2 feet in length. That would make the pleco 17 years old.
I say this only because I've heard some stories similar to this where plecos are kept in unheated waters and end up living for quite sometime. I'm always hammering into my customers the difference between survive and thrive, but 17 years is pretty close to a common plecos maximum lifespan. Just makes me wonder about the whole temp issue sometimes. Not that I'm going to start recommending them as goldfish tank mates, just saying.
I say this only because I've heard some stories similar to this where plecos are kept in unheated waters and end up living for quite sometime. I'm always hammering into my customers the difference between survive and thrive, but 17 years is pretty close to a common plecos maximum lifespan. Just makes me wonder about the whole temp issue sometimes. Not that I'm going to start recommending them as goldfish tank mates, just saying.
