shih-tzu mom

Hi: All, I have a 40-gallon-cycled tank and i will have 3-2-inch goldies in it [i-goldie at the moment] and i was wondering if a pleco or two is suitable for the tank and f/w or tropical and is there a pleco that can live happy in a coold water tank. The water is room temp-and pH-7.5 ammonia-0-nitrate-5-nitrite-0 any help, please and thanks would be appreciated bella

KyWildFish

The only real tank mates for goldfish other than goldfish are Garra Pingu Pingu which can be hard to find. I have had success with Otos, but most people on here would advise against using them for algae control.

Plecos are tropical and need warmer water than a goldfish which can survive almost freezing temperatures. The goldfish is also a huge waste producer and makes the water chemistry harder on other fish.

Also, the Nitrite and ammonia readings are concerning. You should have no Nitrite or ammonia at all in a tank. This means the tank is not cycled and the fish are swimming in poisonous waste byproducts. Having any readings of those two waste products is a sign your tank isnt cycled.

gremlin

Which type of goldies are going in this tank? The goldies will eat some of the algae that grows. Depending on what temp you keep the water at, you can look at the plecos on planet catfish and see if any of them like the temp range. I have sailfin plecos for my pond, but they are in the house for the winter. Since your tank is in the house, you might be able to better control the temp and not let it drop below 70 degrees Farenheit. 70 - 72 is the lowest most plecs will like. Fancy goldies like warmer water than the comet, common, and shubunkin goldies do. If you decide on a pleco, you could go with one of the smaller varieties and have the tank range between 72 - 76 (warmer in the day and cooler at night if possible). That should be ok for the fancy goldies. You can check and see which of the smaller plecos can tolerate that temp range. The concern with plecos is that they have a large bioload the same as the goldies do. You may try cories. I think they would do ok in that temp range and they would not add quite as much of a bioload as the pleco.

Lucy

Bella's tank is cycled:
ph = 7.5
Ammonia = 0
NitrIte = 0
NitrAte = 5

Shawnie

all my goldies kept the tank clean and never needed any clean up crew...I think peek will do that job well