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About Karen Fields
Expertise
I own and maintain a large number of tanks with many various tropical fish species. During my fishkeeping past I have learned a lot of the myths and truths about tropical fish care. Currently I keep a wide range of species and have a lot of experience in; Severum cichlids, gouramis, platies, goldfish, bettas, tetras, paradise fish, Angelfish, Corydoras catfish, and many others as well as a couple of years with brackish water. If you have a question on tropical fish keeping I`ll be sure to answer it in the simplest way I can, and if I don`t know the answer, I`ll research the answer for you. Happy fish keeping!

Experience
I have experience in setting up fish tanks, what to feed certain species, compatible species in my experience, cleaning the tank,
and all around tropical fish care. I also have learned the truth of many of the myths of tropical fish keeping in the past.
Happy fishkeeping!

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Freshwater Aquarium > plecostamus.

Freshwater Aquarium - plecostamus.

Expert: Karen Fields - 11/7/2009

Question
We have a tank with 2 large goldfish and have high nitrites we were told to turn the heater off can the plecostamus live in cold water?

Answer
Hi Cathy,
Plecos can actually do okay in cooler water. But I would keep the heater turned on due to the colder winter months approaching, but maintain a temp of about 72 to 74F. Goldfish can thrive well in this temp and so can the plecostomas.

For the high nitrites, sounds like your aquarium's biofilter has not established yet. I bet your aquarium needs more time to establish or 'cycle' and the best thing to do is 30-50% water changes to reduce the nitrite level and relieve some stress on the fish. Until your aquarium cycles, this is the best thing to do to help your fish through since nitrites are stressful.

I hope this helps! Have a good weekend!
Karen~

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