outdoor plecos

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ccclifford

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Sep 8, 2005
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can 1 gold fish and a pleco be pond mates? plz answer!

:help: I was wondering if i could mix a plecostomus with a male gold fish. I have lots of algea for them to eat. I have a 5-7 gallon outdoor pond with 5 long and big pieces of grass so would it be ok?
 
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I do not think so (unless you live near the amazon. :)

Plecos are tropical and IMO most out-doors are too cold.
 
neither of those fish can live on just the algae and five blades of grass (?) in your pond. even an indoor tank of that size would still be waaay too small and the fish are not compatible.
a goldfish needs at least 30 gallons to grow to full size and be healthy. likes water to be around 70, but hardy species for ponds can handle being outside during the winter.
a common pleco will grow to 2 feet, needs 65+ gallons, and has to have water 78-82.

if you want something in your "pond", get a water lily and a ceramic frog. putting any creature in there is cruel, because nothing will have a healthy life in it. plus, don't you realize that the winter weather is going to kill all the algae anyway?
 
my goldfish is fine because the pond is like 3-4 long and in the shallow part about 1 foot deep and in the deep part is fine because its like 2 feet deep. and greg is like 6 inches long.
 
ya but the fish will eat the algea anyway they can survive through winter so thats weird. i'll just put in another gold fish like the little white ones.
 
ccclifford said:
my goldfish is fine because the pond is like 3-4 long and in the shallow part about 1 foot deep and in the deep part is fine because its like 2 feet deep. and greg is like 6 inches long.
Click to expand...

where do you live? ponds only 2 ft deep usually freeze over, pending location and climates.
 
I'm no expert on this, so I'm just gonna throw my two penneth worth in here, but if the pond had a heater in wouldn't that surfice for the plecos needs ???. I am assuming from the dimentsions of the pond that its way more than 5-7 gallons and the pleco would be fedwith something other than algae i.e. hand fed some kind of appropiate food.

Not that I'm in a postition to try this myself but its something I've often wondered about to, surely the logic and theory behind it is sound providing you could keep the pond heated to an acceptable temp all year round ?
 
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he lives in canada. he would need something along the lines of a hot tub heater to keep it warm in the winter. one bad snowstorm that knocks out the power and the fish is dead. plecos need their water to be about 78-80, goldfish don't like it that warm. any way you try to solve it, they are not compatible species.
 
I wouldn't recommend anythin in addition there.... but then again which one and what size is this pond.... who knows...
http://aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56946
http://aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56942

ccclifford, being that you live in Canada... I sure hope you have a tank that you can put George in for the winter.... or he just won't make it.... with a pond less than 2 feet deep, it's going to be hard to keep from freezing ol' George. As I stated before in the other threads, you should really think about expanding that pond before you think about adding fish to it.
 
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