# Coldwater pleco food??



## rfraser11 (Jun 20, 2015)

We're relatively new to keeping fish. We have a 25ltr tank with two goldfish, a snail and a "sucker fish", its some sort of plec. Our last plec died a couple of weeks after bringing it home, and I'm now wondering if the food the goldfish have plus the algae in the tank isn't enough for it? Both the dead one and the replacement are from pets at home, they didn't give any info on food, but I will go back and ask. I was just wondering if someone here might point me in the right direction?


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Hi rfraser. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the reason your fish died was probably because the tank is far too small. ([email protected] are rather notorious on giving bad advice about tank size and on many other issues too.) Basically, goldfish and plecs are both high waste producers, and fish waste contains ammonia which is highly toxic. In a small tank, the levels of ammonia and its by-product, nitrite, will quickly build up to deadly levels. Some fish might be tough enough to survive, but it will still cause them long-term damage and shorten their life spans, while less hardy fish will die 

If your goldfish are fancy goldfish, they need a tank of at least 150L. If they're commons, they need even more space. You also need to find out what kind of plec it is. Most of them need heated tanks, but it wouldn't be the first time [email protected] have sold tropical fish to go in an unheated tank! Also, some types of pleco can grow huge. Unless you have one of the very few pleco species that is OK in cooler tanks and doesn't grow massive, your best bet it to return it.

With regards to food, I can't advise without knowing what kind of pleco it is, but again, I doubt that the food is the main issue at this stage - it sounds much more like ammonia poisoning.

If it's at all possible to get your goldfish into a larger tank, or even a filtered pond if they're commons, then that's their best hope of surviving and living out their life spans. In the meantime, I'd do a 50% water change right away to lower the toxin levels, and get hold of a liquid test kit with tests for ammonia and nitrite (not the all-in-one test strips as they're inaccurate). Once you have these readings, post them up here and we can advise further. (You need to have your own test kit as you'll be needing to test daily for a while - a one-off test at the shop won't be sufficient, and the shop staff often won't tell you all the data you need, but will fob you off with "It's fine" or "Just a little high" when really it might be off the scale!)


Edit - I'd also stop feeding until you have the test results, as the more you feed, the more waste will be produced. Fish can quite happily go for several days without food, and the increased toxins from feeding more will do far more harm. Even once you have them in a big tank and have got the toxin levels down to zero, you should only be feeding a small pinch once a day, despite what many shop staff/labels on fish food will tell you (they want you to buy more food!)


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## rfraser11 (Jun 20, 2015)

Wow, thanks for the info. This the label in the shop...


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## rfraser11 (Jun 20, 2015)

Sorry its a bit blurry! Says "butterfly/ Hong Kong plec" "grows up to 5cm, requires good fast flowing filtered water, not suitable for ponds." 

I'll defo have a look for the test kits you mentioned and see about a larger tank.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I'm guessing probably one of these? http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/beaufortia-kweichowensis/ If so, it's technically a loach not a pleco, and not the easiest fish to take care of. They need very clean, well oxygenated, fast flowing water, which makes them less than ideal companions for goldfish, and definitely not in a small tank. They also should be kept in groups. I'd take it back tbh.

A good test kit is the API master kit - it contains everything you'll need for a good long time. Around £20 from Amazon or ebay, and definitely worth the money.


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## rfraser11 (Jun 20, 2015)

Thanks for all the advice. I'm a bit annoyed with [email protected] really, as I specifically asked about tank size and compatibility. Its my little boys tank, so I'll look into upgrading it to a larger tank etc. Thanks again


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

No worries. [email protected] is far from being the only pet shop to give bad advice, but it does have a bit of a reputation for it. The best thing to do is go online and research, research, research before you buy. I learned this the hard way myself!

Good luck with it all!


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