Hey, can i put a pleco with a goldfish?

[Goldfish loach boy]

I am planning on buying a 20 gallon with my goldfish, can I put a pleco with it, rubber ,plecos only grow to about six inches, so, can I, I do weekly 70% water changes, thank you

 

[Koopamaster]

It can be done, but a lot of people have trouble in the long run with plecos and goldfish, as several people have said mature plecos will begin to suck on the goldfishes side. But I'm not sure if this will happen with rubber lips.

 

[Koopamaster]

All the accounts I read were of common plecos.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok, thanks, will brittle nose or rubber lip plecos do better?

 

[foster53]

Goldfish require cooler water than plecos are comfortable in.

 

[Cynic]

In almost all cases eventually the Pleco will develop a taste for goldfish slime and then you'll have issues.

 

[foster53]

The favorite food of fish, is fish.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Out of necessity I had to put a pleco in with two comets. They have been together contentedly for eight months now. The albino pleco even eats the floating goldfish pellets with them. He he sits on the glass with his mouth at the surface waiting for a pellet to come along. (He gets algae wafers and fresh veggies too). The pleco is about the same size as the larger comet.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Out of necessity I had to put a pleco in with two comets. They have been together contentedly for eight months now. The albino pleco even eats the floating goldfish pellets with them. He he sits on the glass with his mouth at the surface waiting for a pellet to come along. (He gets algae wafers and fresh veggies too). The pleco is about the same size as the larger comet.

Ok, so comet goldfish are quite different from fancies, do you know if it will do that good with a black moor?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Ok, so comet goldfish are quite different from fancies, do you know if it will do that good with a black moor?

Not sure, but my neighbour keeps fancy goldfish such as pearl scales, orandas, moors etc and she has bristle nose in there doing a mighty fine job of keeping the glass and ornaments pristine.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Thanks, I'll hopefully get a bristlenose or a rubber lip soon, thanks

 

[Mumma.of.two]

One fancy goldfish (especially a moor) will completely stock a 20g. Whether a pleco would attack, eat or live peacefully with it is beside the point. The tank is going to be too small to accommodate the large amount if waste produced by the two. You could probably get away with the white clouds you've been talking about because they are small and don't produce much waste but they will probably end up as food as your goldfish grows.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I concur with most of what is being said here, 'Loach; I too wanted a catfish to mix with my goldies so they can eat whatever was left in the gravel...but from all accounts, catfish -- aside from the tropical water/cold water differences the goldfish and cats thrive in -- will learn to suck the thick slime coat off of the goldies so I decided against it...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

And, Mumma makes the unavoidable point -- as we have been discussing -- regarding your Moor and the room/space it needs to live a comfortable, healthy life...

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok, so pleco + Goldie= trouble, thanks, I appreciate the help, I would have bought the pleco otherwise, thanks

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Ok, so pleco + Goldie= trouble, thanks, I appreciate the help, I would have bought the pleco otherwise, thanks

No worries; I mean, it's still your call, but I'm just sharing with you what I have been told and why I decided against it...

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Thank you, I really want a pleco, like bad, I think they are the coolest things in the world, but I would rather not have my moor suffering , I would rather not have the pleco and have my moor be happy, thanks

 

[jbimflyer]

Sometimes you don't know unless you try for yourself. I was told that I would not be successful in putting Cories in with my 2 Goldfish, but that was not the case(so far anyway). I have had the pandas(5) in with them for almost a month now and they are all getting along great. It's like the Goldies are glad to have them there. One of my main concerns at 1st was the conflict in sleep schedules Lol, but I've seen the goldies sleeping during the day anyway, and the cories also. Then at night I sit there in the dark and watch the whole community swimming all around the tank like crazy. Ofcourse I had to add a heater to keep the water temp from dropping down into the 60s like it had been, but the goldies are ok with 70-72 degrees.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Well, I live in el paso tx( western tip of Texas) so the temperature probably doesn't drop that low( the tank is unheated) so will the pleco be ok in unheated water?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

There's a reason why cories are not a good idea for a goldfish tank. Goldfish get big. Big fish = big mouth. Goldfish will eat or attempt to eat anything that even remotely looks like it will be the right size to fit into its mouth. Eg: a cory. Many small fish end up as goldfish food this way. The problem with cories is they have spines in their gills. These spines will cause them to get stuck in the gold fish's mouth. It can cause injury or death for one or both fish. Same reason why cories don't belong in most cichlid tanks.