pleco?

Looks like a Common Plecostomus to me. I've never heard of them doing this but, they are probably eating the slime coating from the goldfish. If so, it is very harmful to the goldfish. Chinese Algae Eaters do this but, as I said, I've never heard of plecos doing it.

Thanx I have removed them.
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Common plecos require a fairly large aquarium and heavy filtration - unless you have something 75 gallons or better (I would go so far as to say 125 + -- so a tank 4-6 feet in length at minimum), I would be looking for a new home for them. However, a better photo and information as to their current size would be helpful in being certain that is what they are.

fish monger said:

Looks like a Common Plecostomus to me. I've never heard of them doing this but, they are probably eating the slime coating from the goldfish. If so, it is very harmful to the goldfish. Chinese Algae Eaters do this but, as I said, I've never heard of plecos doing it.

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Yes, that is exactly right. It's not very common, but you do hear about plecos doing it occasionally. It's a rare occurrence, nonetheless. However, that doesn't stop people from shouting that you can't keep plecos with goldfish. That's like telling people not to swim because you might drown.

ive read that plecos can do this if they have a poor diet. Supposedly, once this behavior starts it will always be.


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Ya, their have been reports of plecos doing that to goldfish because of them being hungry. The goldfish have some algae on their slime coat which is the reason why they do it. They aren't fatal for your goldfish, so its alright if you put them together. But remember, if they do that, feed them!

I don't know about algae growing on the goldfish, but I think it will ultimately be fatal for the goldfish, either directly or indirectly. Separating the fish is the best course of action.


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I know that algae won't grow on fish, but the pleco will most likely do that to a goldfish because of the algae that sticks to its slime coat.

I have read that they do it for the protein. Though its all speculation, I think. I don't know of what slime coat is comprised.


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Thanks for all the replies. At the end it was fatal the two goldfish died later that day after I took the plecoes out. I don't know if the plecoes was the cause or if it was their age or maybe both. The goldfish were about ten years old.
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I think is was age. That's pretty nice of you for caring for them that long. I used to have a goldfish tank, but the fish all died because of filter failure while I stayed the night at a friends house.

It was our first fishes we got they were pretty big
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10 years is old, but goldfish are said to live for up to 25 years.


Fish are not going to die in one night because of a filter failure. If that were the case, I would have lost all my fish after hurricane sandy, as I had no power for 4 days. Almost all of my fish survived, with no filter, no aeration, no plants, no nothing.

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Their are some filters that don't work as good as others you know that right? I got my filter used and was in good condition, not the best, but good enough. Was planning to buy a new one as I haven't seen this type of filter before a few days later but it happened. Either way its in the past so we both shouldn't make a big deal about it right?:roll:

Non functioning filters all work the same...

It would just be a shame for anyone to be worried that their fish will die overnight without filtration.



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Kuddos 2 U said:

I used to have a goldfish tank, but the fish all died because of filter failure while I stayed the night at a friends house.

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This was quite a story - the goldfish survived more than 4 months without a filter after an earthquake.

New Zealand earthquake: 2 goldfish survive 134 DAYS without food or tank filter | Mail Online

True story. We had a small pond outside our previous house a long time a go. Any way. We had about five goldfish in it. The pond was in front of the house. One day we started to notice they were dissapearing. So we watched and tried to figure out what's happening to them. Then we saw one of our neighbours dogs outside and we went to look what he was doing. The dog was eating our goldfish but. But at that moment we saw him take one we caught the dog pried open his mouth and took the goldfish unharmed out of his mouth. It was a little stressed of course. So we took the remaining three that was left and put it in a tank two of the three died but the one that was in the dogs mouth survived. It died the other day it lived for ten years.
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