bn pleco temperature vs cory temperature

[bizaliz3]

Ok guys....so I have been seeing a lot of posts lately about bn plecos NOT being appropriate with angelfish (or other warmer water fish) because 80 degrees is too warm for them. My research has been conflicting. One random site said a max temp of 77 for bn plecos! But almost every other site had a max temp of 79-80. Planetcatfish (which I have been told is a respectable site) says 79.7 degrees is their max. I realize that even if the max temp is 79.7, that means you would be keeping the bn pleco at the top end of it's range with angelfish and that is frowned upon..

WELL...my question then is this....why are ANY cories suggested as tank mates for angelfish (or other fish that like temps around 80 degrees) Because even the cories that are considered warm water cories have max temps around 78-80 degrees. And who DOESNT have cories in their tanks with angels? I mean come on! LOL

So why is it ok, and suggested by the stocking experts, to keep warm water cory catfish at the top of their range (by suggesting they can be kept with angelfish), but not bn plecos? I mean...people suggest warm water cories for people with angels all the time! What is the difference? They both have the same max temp!!

Please enlighten me!! Thanks!!!

edit: one example would be the duplicareus cories....I have seen them suggested MANY times to people as warm water cories that they could keep with angelfish. Planetcatfish says their max is 75.2!!! How is that a warm water cory? Although other sites give the duplicareus a top range of 78-79! So who is right???????? either way...I have not seen any cories with a max temp above 80 degrees...so keeping them with angels is the top of their range. Why is that ok but a bn pleco at the top of it's range is not?

 

[el337]

I thought about this a bit more after our chat and then revisited the angelfish temp range on fishbase and it has them at 75-86F. While we always try to aI'm for a mid point, I'm thinking 76-77 is still ok for angels and would also allow them to be kept with BN's and warmer water corys that have a max at 77-78? If angels were kept with other fish that would be completely fine in higher temps that are 80+, then that wouldn't be an issue but maybe angels have a bit of a wider temp range than we were keeping them in?

I'd definitely like to read about others' experiences and thoughts on this though! It's a good question so thanks for creating the thread!

Edit: By the way, I keep my tank at 78 with my angel and sterbaI corys.

 

[bizaliz3]

You are probably right...the angels could go at temps a little lower than 80. That just seems to be the temp most people pick/suggest for angels!! Even still....77-78 degrees is pretty much the top end for plecos and warm water cories....(personally I wouldn't go lower than 77 with the angels...but that's just me!!)

I keep my main tanks at 78 degrees. My spawning tanks at 80 degrees and my fry tanks at 82 degrees.

TexasDomer How about you? what do you think about this? To keep it simple: I see warm water cories suggested for folks with angels....warm water cories with the same max temp as bn plecos. So what is the difference in your opinion?

 

[Anders247]

Now, I may be wrong but with cory species, the temp ranges can be a bit off sometimes because the temp range is often confused with the spawning temp range.
Some cory species will only spawn in cooler temps, which happens one season in the year, the rest of the year it is warmer.

Further research shows that the area in which C. duplicareus is from shows that it gets 28-30 Celsius (up to 86 Fahrenheit) in that small area.

 

[Coradee]

Now, I may be wrong but with cory species, the temp ranges can be a bit off sometimes because the temp range is often confused with the spawning temp range.
C. duplicareus will only spawn in cooler temps, which happens one season in the year, the rest of the year it is warmer.

Further research shows that the area in which C. duplicareus is from shows that it gets 28-30 Celsius (up to 86 Fahrenheit) in that small area.

I don't know where you got that info from but my C.duplicareus spawn all year round regardless of temperature.

 

[Anders247]

Really? I saw it on planet catfish that they spawned in 74 Fahrenheit.
Well, now that you are here, what is your opinion on the temp needs of the warm water cories vs BN plecos?

Edit: I should have worded the previous post differently, I meant to say a lot of cory species spawn in cooler water, since the planet catfish does not say they only do, just that they did.

 

[bizaliz3]

Does anyone have an explanation for this? Why are warm water cories, with the same temperature range as bristlenose plecos, suggested for warm water tanks that house angelfish, yet bn plecos are suddenly frowned upon?

 

[Sarah73]

I have never heard angelfish and bn pleco not going in the same tank. Where did you hear this? I always suggest bn plecos with angels

 

[bizaliz3]

Where did you hear this? I always suggest bn plecos with angels

I heard it right here on fishlore from our stocking experts. Ive always suggested them too!!! And I keep them with my angels. I've been on this forum regularly for over a year-and-a-half and it hasn't been till very recently that I've seen those stocking experts saying that you shouldn't keep bristlenose plecos with angels due to temp requirements. Huh??

After doing a bunch of research I'm finding that even the warm water cories that are suggested to be kept with angels have the same Max temperature as bn plecos. So what's the difference?

I feel like I can never help people with stocking anymore because it's constantly a temperature issue. And I'm trying to figure out why there's contradictions going on....specifically with warm water cories and bn plecos.

 

[Anders247]

Aha.... so doing further research, warm water cory species come from a place that year round stays about the same temperature, so will be fine permanently in higher temps. Whereas bristlenose plecos come from southern south America (Paraguay, Argentina, etc.) which is a more temperate area, so they are not OK year-round in higher temps. There's your explanation.

 

[bizaliz3]

Aha.... so doing further research, warm water cory species come from a place that year round stays about the same temperature, so will be fine permanently in higher temps.

But they would still be at the top of their range year round.....isnt that frowned upon?
And why would they even have a "range" if their temps are consistent year round? Just curious...

 

[Aquaphobia]

I hope it wasn't my thread that started this! Aren't there several types of BN anyway? They all come from different parts of the Amazon (and it's a BIG river system!) so it stands to reason that each has its own niche and preferences. I'm sure the whole thing hasn't been thoroughly explored and documented for each species and where it lives and whether it migrates either. The temperature range is probably just from where the species was found and doesn't cover seasonal changes or other areas where the fish might be found, but hasn't been seen by humans yet

 

[bizaliz3]

I hope it wasn't my thread that started this!

The temperature range is probably just from where the species was found and doesn't cover seasonal changes or other areas where the fish might be found, but hasn't been seen by humans yet

No you're thread a while back had nothing to do with why I started this thread. But your thread does also hint at the fact that this is relatively new info on fishlore....

The more I noticed warm water Cories with the same Max temperature as bn plecos being suggested to be kept with angels I felt it was contradictory....

Why do people speak so matter of fact about what fish can and can't be kept at certain temps if there is such a grey area?

And Anders just said that warm water cories have the same temperature year round...so why would they even have a temperature range? And why are different sites that people say are respectable sites have conflicting info with one another?

I just don't get it! Lol I'm not saying anybody is right or wrong, I just don't know why it is spoken about so matter-of-factly.

 

[Aquaphobia]

Zeitgeist?

 

[bettafanatic]

No you're thread a while back had nothing to do with why I started this thread. But your thread does also hint at the fact that this is relatively new info on fishlore....

The more I noticed warm water Cories with the same Max temperature as bn plecos being suggested to be kept with angels I felt it was contradictory....

Why do people speak so matter of fact about what fish can and can't be kept at certain temps if there is such a grey area?

And Anders just said that warm water cories have the same temperature year round...so why would they even have a temperature range? And why are different sites that people say are respectable sites have conflicting info with one another?

I just don't get it! Lol I'm not saying anybody is right or wrong, I just don't know why it is spoken about so matter-of-factly.

I got in the same argument with someone not long ago about oto cats and pygmy cory cats. The person was saying pygmy cats were ok In warm water and the oto weren't but they have the same temperature ranges within 0.2 degrees. He was even using planet cat fish as a "reliable" reference but that reference is where I saw them having the same temperature range.

 

[bizaliz3]

I got in the same argument with someone not long ago....

I just want to clarify that this thread is in no way meant to be an argument! Just a friendly discussion! But I hear ya!

 

[Anders247]

Here's what I mean by this.....

Warm water cories are from the Northern area of South America, and have about the same temp for most of the year, except for winter, when it obviously gets cooler. That's why they have a temp range, albeit it is misleading.

The BN pleco from southern south America has warmer temps only in summer, and it's cooler most of the year there.

@. On your 'argument' with someone else..... normal species of otocinclus need cooler water, same with pygmy cories, not sure why they think pygmies are warm water. But some species of otos can be in warm temps, like O. vestitus (I believe).

 

[TexasDomer]

The only warm water cories I recommend are C. aeneus or C. sterbai, both of which can handle warmer water according to FishBase. I can never remember the others so I don't check their upper limits and don't recommend them so I don't give wrong info.

 

[Anders247]

C. adolfoi, acutus, gossei, duplicareus, haraldschultzi, oiapoquensis, seussi, and splendens are the others.....
I got this list based on what Coradee had listed in her care sheet, and some others she has recommended for warm water tanks.