Goldfish and plecos are some of the most kept fish in the aquarium hobby and you can find them in every pet store. The real question is can they live together and be healthy?
Pleco and goldfish compatibility
This question is a little harder to answer because plecos are a gentle fish that will get along with your goldfish just fine.
They just have slightly different needs for living conditions. Now there is enough overlap that if you are careful you probably can make it work.
Temperature
For starters, goldfish tend to like cooler temperatures than plecos. Goldfish tend to like the temperature between 68-75 degrees f and plecos tend to like it 75-82 degrees f depending on the type of pleco.
I would suggest staying away from some of the fancier plecos because they tend to be sensitive to water parameters. Fancy plecos also like the temperature on the higher end.
Food
The nice part is that goldfish and plecos have similar diets. Both are omnivores so they can both eat plant matter and protein if it is provided.
If you are going to provide processed protein food for your fish, always look at the ingredients to make sure it gives a specific protein like bug protein or tilapia. If it says fish meal as the first ingredient it probably is a low grade food.
Water quality
Both goldfish and plecos are known for poop factories. They produce a lot of waste and so they need frequent water changes. I would suggest doing 25%-50% water changes weekly. This will help your fish stay healthier and live longer.
Do plecos attack goldfish?
Plecos are fairly friendly fish and don’t actively hunt or attack fish. This includes goldfish.
Plecos are scavenger fish. They are like vultures or hyenas. They will look for easy food that doesn’t fight back or run away.
They will definitely eat other fish but only if it was dead first. So if you see your pleco chowing down on a dead fish in your tank something else killed it or it died of other causes.
There is no need to worry even if they wanted to hunt or attack your goldfish (which they don’t) they don’t even have the body structure or the skills to hunt fish.
Plecos are for the most part are a peaceful fish. They will not go out and attack your goldfish.
That being said plecos are a territorial fish, especially the males. Plecos are a cave dwelling fish so they will find a cave, tight space, or a decoration to hide in.
So while they won’t go out and bully or attack your goldfish they will defend their special space from other fish.
Can goldfish kill pleco?
Goldfish are not an aggressive fish. They don’t hunt other fish or try to keep a territory so they have no real killer instincts. They don’t even really have the ability for the most part to defend themselves. They are descendants from carp and are very dependent on their size for protection.
Your pleco has no fear of being killed by your goldfish.
Can goldfish eat plecos?
As mentioned above goldfish are not hunters so they won’t go after your plecos and try to eat them since they are not a predator.
That being said it might accidentally happen. Goldfish have very large mouths and are always scavenging for food. So if they suck in with the pleco in the way and it’s smaller than the goldfish’s mouth then they might get swallowed.
So the easiest fix for this is to make sure that your pleco has at least a little size on it. 4 inches plus should make it a lot harder for this accident to happen.
Tips for keeping goldfish
One important thing to remember is that goldfish start out small but get very large. They need a lot of space. It is suggested that for your first goldfish, you need 20 gallons and for every additional goldfish you need an additional 10 gallons. Also the bigger the footprint of the tank the better.
Goldfish are big eaters so make sure you feed them enough. They are also experts at begging for food so don’t feed more than what they can eat in a 2-5 minute period.
Because Goldfish are such big eaters they also produce a lot of waste so it is vital that you do frequent water changes. I suggest 25%-50% once a week.
Goldfish are kinda clumsy of a fish so it is also suggested that nothing you keep in your tank be sharp. Sharp objects or decorations are an easy way for your goldfish to hurt themselves.
Plecos and goldfish can be great fish tank companions if you are careful. Your goldfish and plecos won’t attack each other. This peaceful fish is one of my favorites and I hope to see it in your tanks with goldfish.
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