Pleco fish in ponds - GOOD IDEA?

[Faebinder]

I have a dilemma... A friend has a 6" pleco in her aquarium. It's too small for him and I don't think he gets as much to eat as he should. She would love to have me adopt him.
If I put him in the pond he would have TONS AND GOBS of algae to eat.
I have many hiding places and I doubt I could catch him in the fall to let him overwinter in the house.
So -- let him (sort of) suffer in his current jail -- or let him have a magical (although perhaps short) life in the pond?
Pond ethics...

Zone 7b will have to bring it in every September and put it back out every May. 5 months of the year is not worth it. It needs someone more south.

 

[Patfish]

I have a dilemma... A friend has a 6" pleco in her aquarium. It's too small for him and I don't think he gets as much to eat as he should. She would love to have me adopt him.
If I put him in the pond he would have TONS AND GOBS of algae to eat.
I have many hiding places and I doubt I could catch him in the fall to let him overwinter in the house.
So -- let him (sort of) suffer in his current jail -- or let him have a magical (although perhaps short) life in the pond?
Pond ethics...

You could give him the magical home for the summer and donate him to afish store in the fall. I bet they would take a $40 fish for free.

 

[bagsmom]

You could give him the magical home for the summer and donate him to afish store in the fall. I bet they would take a $40 fish for free.

I'd be happy to bring him into an aquarium in the cold weather, but I don't think I could catch him in my pond. That's the worry. He would probably just die in there. I'd feel bad about that...
But dang, I know he'd LOOOOVE the pond.
Oh well, probably best to let him live in fish jail without switching anything up on him.

 

[Mmathis]

I have a dilemma... A friend has a 6" pleco in her aquarium. It's too small for him and I don't think he gets as much to eat as he should. She would love to have me adopt him.
If I put him in the pond he would have TONS AND GOBS of algae to eat.
I have many hiding places and I doubt I could catch him in the fall to let him overwinter in the house.
So -- let him (sort of) suffer in his current jail -- or let him have a magical (although perhaps short) life in the pond?
Pond ethics...

No, find him another home. IMHO, it would be cruel to knowingly put him through a death sentence. Plus, when he dies and starts to decompose, it's going to be when your pond/fish are at their most vulnerable......during winter.

 

[DutchMuch]

No, find him another home. IMHO, it would be cruel to knowingly put him through a death sentence

very true & i agree

 

[Terra Zen]

I watched in horror at the LFS the other day, as a pleco attached itself to a goldfish and sucked it's scales. I don't know. Plecos do a good job at algae eating, but they also produce a ton of waste, adding to the load in a pond or tank. Then there's the scale sucking thing.

 

[MitchM]

I have a dilemma... A friend has a 6" pleco in her aquarium. It's too small for him and I don't think he gets as much to eat as he should. She would love to have me adopt him.
If I put him in the pond he would have TONS AND GOBS of algae to eat.
I have many hiding places and I doubt I could catch him in the fall to let him overwinter in the house.
So -- let him (sort of) suffer in his current jail -- or let him have a magical (although perhaps short) life in the pond?
Pond ethics...

I have the same dilemma, bagsmom. I suspect many people do but don't talk about it.
I have 3 plecos that are all about 10" in size. I do not want them and no one else wants to buy large fish.
However, I purchased them so am committed to raising them in a healthy environment. I have one large aquarium they are kept in that I would rather shut down.
I also have a salt water blue tang that I have had for now for 19 years.
I would like to downsize, but that would be cruel to the fish.

This is why it is important for people to research the fish they buy before they make the purchase!

.

 

[Patfish]

I know it's hard to see in the picture but when I walked up to the pond, there is this one foot triangle that is cleaned down to the black liner. I see a trapdoor snail in this area and also saw Hoover my Pleco swim through this area. I don't know who cleaned it but dang it's nice. Hoover was 2 inches when I got him now he is 6 inches.

 

[Skellogg]

Hello Wood_Cat, what is your climate like? I am very curious about your plecos as I have a large pond in Portland, Oregon that I would like to introduce plecos into but I was not sure if they would survive or not. Any info would be great. thanks!!

Cody, how are your plecos doing? I live in Salem and just put mine from my indoor tank out into my pond. Hoping it survives. My pond is 5x5 and about 3ft deep with a lot of algae.

 

[DutchMuch]

Cody, how are your plecos doing? I live in Salem and just put mine from my indoor tank out into my pond. Hoping it survives. My pond is 5x5 and about 3ft deep with a lot of algae.

5x5 is WAY to small for a pleco.

 

[Mmathis]

5x5 is WAY to small for a pleco.

Huh? It does sound like small for a pond, but why is it too small for a pleco?

 

[DutchMuch]

Huh? It does sound like small for a pond, but why is it too small for a pleco?

Plecos (well, common pleco's) can reach up to 2ft long.
2ft long, in a five foot long pond....
Not very roomy?

 

[DutchMuch]

 

[Witznd]

Great advise from everyone! I have a garden/hobby pond with koi and goldfish. I placed one pleco in the pond 2.5 years ago, never saw him so got another 1.5 years ago and never saw this guy either - I thought they had died or something got them. On Saturday I was removing some leaves and somehow caught one of these guys and he is beautiful and about 10 inches long. Since Saturday morning I have seen him each time I've gone to the pond and found his partner late yesterday. I built rock caves in the center of my pond and I guess they've been hiding there but I am shocked that so much time went by without a sighting.
My pond is about 12'x12' and 3.5' in the center - cement and slopes. Apparently these guys do well with the cold winters which is great news. How big do you think they will get? They were about 1.5" when I got them.
I have seven various goldfish, two koi, about 16 babies, two pleco's and four frogs that live here. I'm hoping the frogs stay and survive the winter. I made two winter homes for them, one inside the pond and one outside. I'm open to any ideas and suggestions.

Thank you,
Cathy

Hi Cathy,
so now it is 2021 and I do hope you read this. I am in North Idaho and my 10 Gold fish and 1 koi that live in our 4'x6' by 3' deep black plastic pond survive our harsh, cold winters...3 years now. This Spring we added a 10" Pleco to the mix and I am not sure if I should take him out or let him weather the winter with his friends. We don't heat the pond in the winter. How have your Pleco's done after all these years in the winter?

 

[Faebinder]

Hi Cathy,
so now it is 2021 and I do hope you read this. I am in North Idaho and my 10 Gold fish and 1 koi that live in our 4'x6' by 3' deep black plastic pond survive our harsh, cold winters...3 years now. This Spring we added a 10" Pleco to the mix and I am not sure if I should take him out or let him weather the winter with his friends. We don't heat the pond in the winter. How have your Pleco's done after all these years in the winter?

Take that poor thing out of the pond before it dies from cold. I don’t think it can survive below 50 F.