Plecos in the Pond?

[orandawhisperer]

We are thinking of going with a Pleco as opposed to other scavengers since they are more peaceful. However, we were worried it might get too hot in our pond (we are in TX where the water can get in the upper 80s and nearly 90 during the day). Is a pleco ok when it gets that warm?

Should we go with a big or small one? Thanks.

 

[koiguy1969]

i keep a peico in my pond and it has hit 90*f (in my first 450 -500 gal pond) without incident...but over that i couldnt say...but if the water hits under 50* you'll need to bring it inside for the winter.

 

[fishin4cars]

warm water is not a problem, they can handle 90 degrees without any issues, Cold water however will kill them. they need to be brought in before the temp gets below 50 degrees. I would start with one in the 4-6" size, real small ones are easily stressed, and VERY hard to spot and find if you need to get them out this winter. I would also consider adding two to your pond at this size to help keep up with the algae growth. large ones can be kind of expensive and they don't eat as much as the 6"-12" size do and not easy to ship eather. Be prepared they do get large and even a large one still needs to be brought in for the winter. Inside they do far better if you have a piece of driftwood for them to chew on and be sure and give them veggie based food during the winter. In the pond they don't need all this as they will feed on the algae and plant leaves as they start to decay.

 

[taherrmann4]

How big do the large ones get?

 

[fishin4cars]

I have one that is 22" and five or six years old, I've seen one that was close 30" and even heard of one that was close to 33" but I have not seen one that big.

 

[orandawhisperer]

Thanks guys. Sounds perfect!

 

[koidaddy]

Here is a pic of Nessie. She about 20" and has been in the pond for 4 years. She was the only survivor from my fish kill three years ago. I had forgoten about her untill I drained my pond and she was on the bottom. The temp outside at the time was in the 50's. I cant believe she survived. Here is a pic from 4' down.

 

[taherrmann4]

I would really like to get one of these but I have no where to put it in the winter..

 

[brad_A]

You do realize how much and how often they poop... right?

 

[koidaddy]

Just like koi.

 

[fishin4cars]

You do realize how much and how often they poop... right?

You do realize all fish poop in relation to size and how much they eat?
You can take mosquito fish and a pleco and a koi, and if they were all the exact same size, and fed the exact same amount of food, there would be equal amounts of poop in the bottom.

 

[mikeinpgh]

You do realize how much and how often they poop... right?

That is so funny. I had one in my old aquarium years ago. He was about 13" long and the poop would hang on and stick out almost 10". People would see him and ask, "IS THAT POOP?" LOL
Maybe that's why it seems like they poop alot, because it hangs on to them.

 

[brad_A]

Yeah, I have cichlids in a 125 tank with 1 pleco about 8 inches. Gravel vacuum is 90 percent pleco poop, I swear

 

[CountryEscape]

My pet shop guy says plecos do not eat near as much waste as they make. He's sold on snails, saying they consume much more algae (in an aquarium that is) per size than any pleco. BUT, plecos are fun to watch, and I have to believe the big guys in the ponds (I have one in mine, although I've not seen him since the water finally cleared ...) must do a lot of cleaning, even if they do poop a lot.