Tank Girl
Aquarium Advice Freak
I TOTALLY understand how you feel about your pleco, but they should not be kept with goldfish ever. They might seem fine when you're watching them but the trouble usually happens after the lights are out at night. Maybe you could have a separate setup for one of them?
A side story on this kind of thing. A few months ago, I bought a very pretty goldfish at PetSmart. It was mislabeled as a large ryukin. At best, it was a medium fantail, but it had these long flowing fins that were just lovely. They wanted $49, which was ridiculous. The orandas were much bigger and they were only $35. Anyway, they had a pleco in there with it and that poor goldfish was miserable. It always watched the pleco and stayed as far away as it could. My son works there and said the goldfish almost never moved out of the corner. After a few weeks I couldn't take it anymore - I figured either someone would buy it and it would die in an ammonia filled bowl or the pleco would do it in. So I overpaid and brought it home. After quarantine I put it in with a chubby little ryukin that I have. That little fantail did a complete 180 when he saw the other fish! He went from stressed and hanging in the corner to playful and swimming everywhere. I've had a lot of goldfish, and I've never seen a reaction like that. Those two are inseparable now. It has become one of my favorite fish; I get happy every time I look at it.
A side story on this kind of thing. A few months ago, I bought a very pretty goldfish at PetSmart. It was mislabeled as a large ryukin. At best, it was a medium fantail, but it had these long flowing fins that were just lovely. They wanted $49, which was ridiculous. The orandas were much bigger and they were only $35. Anyway, they had a pleco in there with it and that poor goldfish was miserable. It always watched the pleco and stayed as far away as it could. My son works there and said the goldfish almost never moved out of the corner. After a few weeks I couldn't take it anymore - I figured either someone would buy it and it would die in an ammonia filled bowl or the pleco would do it in. So I overpaid and brought it home. After quarantine I put it in with a chubby little ryukin that I have. That little fantail did a complete 180 when he saw the other fish! He went from stressed and hanging in the corner to playful and swimming everywhere. I've had a lot of goldfish, and I've never seen a reaction like that. Those two are inseparable now. It has become one of my favorite fish; I get happy every time I look at it.