Plecostamus and ponds?

[PrideVEA]

I bought a plecostamus for a 20 gallon planter that I have as a small pond and it died a couple of days after getting it. Is it possible to have plecostamus as pond fish or do they need to be in an aquarium? I also have about six 1-2 inch goldfish that have done fine for several months in the pond. The only other things I have in the pond it the fountain with no filter and some plastic plants. I live in los Angeles just to give you an idea of the tempurature. thanks for any help

 

[Teelie]

Yeah until winter and then it depends how cold your pond gets. If it's below 66F then probably not.

 

[ryan]

I wouldn't advise it, although he could survive the summer. I should think the lack of a filter may have been his downfall. Plecs produce huge amounts of waste in comparison to most other fish and an un-filtered newly set-up pond like that may not have been able to cope, leading to high ammonia and nitrate levels causing the death of the Plec, Goldfish are quite hardy and may have been able to cope until the pond had finished cycling.

 

[Teelie]

I misread that.... yeah 20 gallons is not enough for even the Goldfish let alone a pair plus a Plec. I thought this was more of a true pond, as in 300+ gallons size which would be fine. Something that large is more forgiving.