Hi all,
This winter has been hard on my aquarium. It currently houses two 5-6" feeder goldfish, and one 5" common plecostomus. It's a 30 gallon tank with a 15 gallon planted sump. The room in my house where the fish are kept has been around 55 degrees F for a couple of weeks, as the outside temperatures haven't been above freezing in a while. The room can't simply be made warmer, as there is no heater in there.
A few weeks ago, I put a heater in the aquarium on the lowest setting. My tank was so cold that it stayed on constantly and warmed things up too quickly for my juvenile bristlenose plecostomus, who died from what I assume was shock. I removed the heater after this happened. Fast forward to today, and I see my big, four year old Common on his back (still breathing). Needless to say, he's probably a goner. The tank temperature is around 53 degrees F. I understand that plecostomus catfish are warmwater fish, but this particular one has gone through three winters like this previously without an issue.
The goldfish still seem healthy and active. Is there anything I can do for my plecostomus? Is he likely to snap out of his upside down nap if I warm the tank up again? In the event that my plecostomus dies, what other fish that are more tolerant of cold water can replace his job of being a janitor?
Thanks!
This winter has been hard on my aquarium. It currently houses two 5-6" feeder goldfish, and one 5" common plecostomus. It's a 30 gallon tank with a 15 gallon planted sump. The room in my house where the fish are kept has been around 55 degrees F for a couple of weeks, as the outside temperatures haven't been above freezing in a while. The room can't simply be made warmer, as there is no heater in there.
A few weeks ago, I put a heater in the aquarium on the lowest setting. My tank was so cold that it stayed on constantly and warmed things up too quickly for my juvenile bristlenose plecostomus, who died from what I assume was shock. I removed the heater after this happened. Fast forward to today, and I see my big, four year old Common on his back (still breathing). Needless to say, he's probably a goner. The tank temperature is around 53 degrees F. I understand that plecostomus catfish are warmwater fish, but this particular one has gone through three winters like this previously without an issue.
The goldfish still seem healthy and active. Is there anything I can do for my plecostomus? Is he likely to snap out of his upside down nap if I warm the tank up again? In the event that my plecostomus dies, what other fish that are more tolerant of cold water can replace his job of being a janitor?
Thanks!