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sloburn
02-16-2007, 01:33 PM
Ok so I have been thinking. Plecos are the vacume cleaner of the aquarium world. They are fairly hardy and they are invading the rivers and lakes of florida. So what do you guys think. If I had a heated pond and kept it around 70 to 75 even in the winter. How do you think a couple of Plecos would do? Also in a indoor pond

BekkoIsTheBest
02-16-2007, 01:44 PM
I have a 7" one in my pond with all my koi. I know they can harm the koi but its only 1 in 4500 gallons

cindy
02-16-2007, 02:32 PM
I don't know how to quarantine treatment a pleco.

As long as they have algae, they're fine but if they're hungry, they'll suck the slime coat off koi

KichiMark
02-16-2007, 03:44 PM
get a hi-fin shark instead :yes:

warrenrrrr
02-16-2007, 05:02 PM
I WOULD not put them with koi MAY suck out a eye ball (may).May cut the liner.May get a chill an get ick t an give to the koi .And you may not even see it in apond.Be nice leave it in the tank an give it some driftwood.

koiboy911
02-16-2007, 06:47 PM
I have them with all koi they are always good no problems like you guys said thats sucks...

Leekinneykoi
02-16-2007, 07:13 PM
Its too risky, they will eat slime coat, and get sick real easy transfering it to koi or goldfish, too many temp swings in the pond world.;)

koiboy911
02-16-2007, 08:12 PM
ok... i agree with temp swings but not the other for me at least

pastina
02-25-2007, 01:04 PM
pleco's can do damage to fish when they get bigger. sucking on koi or goldfish is not uncommon
yeah they are great for algae but not worth the risk.
they do sell dwarf pleco's, maybe thats a better option? temps should be more towards 75 with any tropical though. 70 might be a bit chilly

chopsui
02-25-2007, 05:51 PM
Its too risky, they will eat slime coat, and get sick real easy transfering it to koi or goldfish, too many temp swings in the pond world.;)

IMO a healthy koi should have nothing to worry about with a plec. Get a sick or lathargic fish and then yes you MAY have a problem.
With all the talk of green ponds and alge problems I would think few of us would have anything to worry about starving a plec.
Ick is the real problem. This is a South American tropical fish. Warm water. Not a good combo with koi IMO. Besides these fish are designed for fast water and loads of airation.
These fish will put such a strain on your filtration system it isn't funny. They poop, poop and dump more poop. With filtration being so important to koi health why add to the load?
What kinda plec are we talking about here? A common plec which can grow over 18 inches of poop machine?
I have a plec inside in my tropical tank that I have to feed Romaine lettuce because of the lack of alge.
I believe you will find after adding one of these you will regret it and find yourself trying to return it to pet stores that already have their fill of large plecs.

koinoir
03-06-2007, 10:57 PM
We live in Maryland and have had plecos in our pond for years. At the first drop of the water to 55 degrees, we pack them up and move them inside to our 100 gallon hospital tank for the winter. We find that the plecos keep the algae coating in our 3,500 gallon pond to a nice "crew cut."

We haven't had any problems with the plecos sucking the koi, probably because there is plenty surface area to graze in the pond. But we can't stress how important it is to bring them in at the first drop in temperature Because they will die quickly.

The first year, we were still building/finishing our pond, and the plecos tried to eat mortar that fell into the pond when we were doing the coping. Needless to say, they floated almost immediately, and were rock hard.

The second year, we bought 4 plecos about 1" long. By the end of the season, they had grown to be about 8". So far, we only have one of these guys left, and he's 18" and about 4 years old. His buddy didn't survive the move into the house this past winter because we probably left them outside past a safe temperature. At first he had a hump in his back, and then he just didn't make it.

We'll put him back in the pond when the water warms up reliably to 65 degrees.