Plecos Suitable For Hard Water

[freded]

My local LFS has got loads of nice plecos, including some lovely looking Golden Nugget Plecos (only £10 each). However, the guy in the store advised me that the Golden Nuggets preferred soft water and the tap water in our area is hard (8ph). He therefore advised me to give the Golden Nuggets a miss.

I was wondering if most Plecos prefer soft water or whether there were some that would be happy in the hard water in my area?

 

[Darkstar]

My local LFS has got loads of nice plecos, including some lovely looking Golden Nugget Plecos (only £10 each). However, the guy in the store advised me that the Golden Nuggets preferred soft water and the tap water in our area is hard (8ph). He therefore advised me to give the Golden Nuggets a miss.

I was wondering if most Plecos prefer soft water or whether there were some that would be happy in the hard water in my area?

Unfortunately none that I am aware of. However, many plecs are kept in water as hard as yours and do fine, whether you find that acceptable is up to you. The GN's are indeed best left alone as they are pretty hard to acclimatise and often don't make it, lasting only a few weeks in the purchasers tank before dying. Try another hardier plec.

If your being offered GN's for a tenner would I be right in thinking you've been going to Maidenhead aquatics on the A414 near St.Albans?

 

[RadaR]

My water is hard. Ive kept Bristlenose Plecs for years with no problems.

 

[freded]

My local LFS has got loads of nice plecos, including some lovely looking Golden Nugget Plecos (only £10 each). However, the guy in the store advised me that the Golden Nuggets preferred soft water and the tap water in our area is hard (8ph). He therefore advised me to give the Golden Nuggets a miss.

I was wondering if most Plecos prefer soft water or whether there were some that would be happy in the hard water in my area?

Unfortunately none that I am aware of. However, many plecs are kept in water as hard as yours and do fine, whether you find that acceptable is up to you. The GN's are indeed best left alone as they are pretty hard to acclimatise and often don't make it, lasting only a few weeks in the purchasers tank before dying. Try another hardier plec.

If your being offered GN's for a tenner would I be right in thinking you've been going to Maidenhead aquatics on the A414 near St.Albans?

Yes, that's the store I mainly use Can't fault the advice I've been given as the guy I spoke to me was very honest and recommended that I give the GNs a miss. What hardier plecos (other than common/bristlenose) could I get? Any that Maidenhead Aquatics currently stock?

 

[Darkstar]

Yes, that's the store I mainly use Can't fault the advice I've been given as the guy I spoke to me was very honest and recommended that I give the GNs a miss. What hardier plecos (other than common/bristlenose) could I get? Any that Maidenhead Aquatics currently stock?

I was there yesterday and they had a new shipment in although they were badly shipped and many of them died so I don't know exactly what stock they have in at the moment. I know they had 10 L14's delivered (as I was going to get one) but only 3 survived the journey unfortuntely.

They have some queen arabesques in which are lovely little plecs and if I remember rightly they're about £25 each or perhaps an L200 which they also have in stock at present...both of those do fine in my tanks and I've got the same water as yourself (as I'm about 3 minutes walk from that shop).

 

[freded]

Yes, that's the store I mainly use Can't fault the advice I've been given as the guy I spoke to me was very honest and recommended that I give the GNs a miss. What hardier plecos (other than common/bristlenose) could I get? Any that Maidenhead Aquatics currently stock?

I was there yesterday and they had a new shipment in although they were badly shipped and many of them died so I don't know exactly what stock they have in at the moment. I know they had 10 L14's delivered (as I was going to get one) but only 3 survived the journey unfortuntely.

They have some queen arabesques in which are lovely little plecs and if I remember rightly they're about £25 each or perhaps an L200 which they also have in stock at present...both of those do fine in my tanks and I've got the same water as yourself (as I'm about 3 minutes walk from that shop).

Thanks for the tips. I've been in the shop quite abit recently and noticed that they seemed to have lost quite a few of the Golden Nuggets that they got in. I'll probably go in the store tomorrow night and check out what they have got although am going to hold off getting a Pleco for a few weeks while my bank balance recovers from recent fish related purchases.

 

[nmonks]

There aren't many plecs that *prefer* hard water, but there are plenty that don't mind it. As a rule, you want to avoid the fish from the Rio Xingu or Rio Negro, as these are adapted to fairly soft and acidic water conditions. But the plecs from the lowland and coastal areas of Brazil and the Guyanas are very adaptable, and in some cases will naturally inhabit alkaline waters, even slightly brackish waters. So those are worth trying out at anything up to around pH 7.5, hardness 20-degrees dH.

From personal experience I have found Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps, Pterygoplichthys pardalis, Panaque nigrolineatus, and Ancistrus species 3 ('common bristlenose') to do perfectly well in the "liquid chalk" water of Southern England.

Really, with most Loricariidae the issue isn't water chemistry but water quality, and on top of that the correct diet. Especially when newly imported, these catfish might not have eaten for weeks, and they need care to get back into good shape. Once nice and plump, they're generally adaptable animals.

Cheers, Neale

I was wondering if most Plecos prefer soft water or whether there were some that would be happy in the hard water in my area?