Can small goldfish, rosy red minnows and a Plescostumus coexist in a bowl?

Question

The man at walmart told me to get a goldfish bowl and put a small plescostumus (sucker fish), a small rosy red minnow and two small goldfish(the 28cent variety) in the bowl. Within days the rosy red went belly up. A week later the goldfish went black and died.

Only Levithian aka the plescostumus survived. Can anyone tell me if they can coexist together, and can the tiny minnows and goldfish live tin that bowl? Can the plesco live in a bowl my himself?

Answer 1

No! First of all, a bowl is only big for one, at the most two comets. (A comet is the 28 cent variety of goldfish.) Rosy red's NEED a filter to survive, and at least two other rosy reds to keep them comfortable. And usually, Rosy reds will die because goldfish cause ammonia levels in tanks to soar thus killing the rosy reds. And a plecostomus needs a tank too, because they can grow quite large, mine is over 22 inches long!! (That's almost two feet!!) So instead of getting a common plecostomus, get a bristlenose pleco, a rubber-lip pleco, or a butterfly pleco. They only get to be about 5 inches MAXIMUM. The butterfly pleco, also called the Borneo Sucker, or a Chinese Hillstream Loach, is my personal favorite. Here is a picture of one...

http://www.berryring.com/USERIMAGES/sewe...

..although the coloration on this one is quite rare as well as the pattern.

The only unfortunate thing about Hillstream loaches, is that even though they eat algae like the plecos, unlike the plecos they may not be very compatible with semi-aggressive or very curious fish. And goldfish can sometimes be aggressive. Also, rubber-lipped Plecos are very frail and tend to die easily. So here are your two choices:

a.) purchase an at least 10 gallon-TANK (with a filter and an aerator) not a bowl, and put in a bristlenose Pleco (also called an ancistrus) along with three FULLY GROWN minnows and a comet (cheap goldfish,) Risking the lives of your minnows as they face death by ammonia or death by being eaten. This risks a lot and on my opinion is quite unnactractive compared to:

b.) purchase an at least 10-gallon-TANK (with a filter and an aerator) and put in all of these fish (they are all inexpensive and beautiful)

3 fancy-tail guppies, 2 mollies, one dwarf gourami, 2 platies, and one Chinese Hillstream Loach.

OR: 5 fancy-tail guppies, 3 glass catfish, and a chinese Hillstream Loach

with some nice plants and rocks, either would work. However, guppies, platies, glass catfish, mollies, and gouramis require a heater.

So if you, I would go with option b. Option a is unsafe for your minnows, and plecos are often unhappy without a heater. But in option b, you get a variety of very colorful fish just for spending a little extra money on a heater.

p.s. next time don't go to wal-mart, instead look up a petsmart or local aquarium near you in the yellow pages, im sure you have one!!! PetSmart sells a variety of freshwater tropical fish like guppies and mollies!

Here are some pics:

Glass catfish: (they're see-through!!)

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/image_fish...

Mollies:

http://proprphotos.com/portfolio/animals...

AND:

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/preview...

Platies:

http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Fisheries/Con...

Dwarf Gourami:

http://www.aquatecaquariums.com/images/f...

Bristlenose Pleco(this is just the gold variety there are black ones too!)

http://foro.acuarios.es/attachments/ecos...

Guppies"

http://www.tropicalfishforum.net/photopo...

Some more guppies :-)"

http://www.thehomeaquarium.com/images/gu...

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

a plescostumus gets way too big to have in a bowl

Answer 3

I don't think this is a joke which I hoped it was.

Feeder goldfish can grow well over 2 feet (fish don't grow to the size of the tank contrary to popular belief)

All those fish need real filtration and a real tank. Most pleco's grow to be well over a foot with the exception being about 3 varieties (clown plecs are the most common)

You need a real fish tank if you want to keep any of those types of fish, and a proper sized one too. You also need to cycle it (build up beneficial bacteria) so the fish aren't poisoned by there wastes.

Also those fish need very different conditions.

Please research before you buy any creature and don't list to the people at wal mart. They will be closing all there fish departments within 2 years (And for a good reason)

Answer 4

Firstly, don't really trust that someone at Walmart knows what they're talking about (or any pet store, really, they usually just hire random teenagers).  Do some research yourself on the net.

Secondly, the only thing that can survive in a bowl (note:  I didn't say thrive) is a betta, because they have a special organ that allows them to breathe from the air.  I don't agree with keeping even a betta in a bowl, though.  Their lifespan will definitely be shortened by it.

Any other fish, goldfish included, will die quickly in a bowl.  Without a filter, they don't get enough oxygen in a bowl.  Without a heater, the water temperature might not be right (fish need a certain temperature range to live, depending on the species).  And with such a small amount of water, the water gets so dirty so quickly that they are poisoned in their own waste.  Bowls just don't work.

Answer 5

Well in a bowl that is crazy!!! plecos can coexist with goldfish but minnows and goldfish someone is gonna die and in a bowl!!! goldfish grow 2 FEET LONG and plecos get 1 FOOT LONG and then they'll need a 40 GALLON TANK do you know how large that is! Please do yourself a favor and don't listen to people who sold you those fish and especially not walmart they know nothing about fish and they just wanna make a sale and now that everyone is gone the pleco can't still live in that bowl he now needs to be in a 29 gallon tank with a few other fishes that are very hardy something like guppies

Answer 6

The employees at wal-mart will do anything and say anything to sell, I don't believe in keeping fish in bowls, it is cruel because they swim in thier own filth and do not get oxygen replenished in thier water. I would suggest that you invest in a 10-20 gallon tank. If you keep the bowl, you'll be wasting your money.

Answer 7

I never buy my fish at wal-mart, unless if it's something you know will live for quite an amount of time. ( like Betas and Plecos)

I would recommend on going somewhere that pretty much sells pets, like Pet-Co or Petland. Or even a place that just sell tropical fish and saltwater fish. Just one Goldfish can survive for a long time and can grow more than you can imagine, if you keep it nice and healthy and clean the tank once a week. And Plecos can grow a few feet and he's going to get bigger and bigger so your going to need at least a small tank.( and get bigger and bigger tanks as you go) And if you want get some more fish,i would recommend on researching about them first.

Hoped this helped! =]

Answer 8

Umm they really do need a real tank and a filter to keep healthy. I do have gold fish and a plescostumus in the same tank but I make sure to change out the filter cartridge and clean the tank on a regular basis. If you do have goldfish and other fish in the same tank (other then an algae eater) then they will beat each other up. The plescostumus might be able to live on his own. I think they sell special food for plescostumuses.  

Answer 9

First and foremost...dont listen to a man from Walmart.

Plecos grow to be up to 18 inches.  They are popular and they really need a tank of 75 Gallons or more...but you can keep a small one in a 29 Gallon Tank or more until it starts to out grow your tank.

The Goldfish was doomed to begin with.  Common, "feeder", comet Goldfish can grow to be 2 feet long and they dont grow to only the size of bowl they are in.  They are best in ponds...but can live with a minimum of 50 Gallons per fish.

Fancy or Fantails grow to bout 8 inches and are chubby little critters...at least 20 - 29 Gallons for one and about 10 - 20 gallons for each additional one.  Goldfish also need great filtration and a large surface space...they are "dirty" fish...opportuntic eaters...therefore more waste.

The minnows are hardy fish and can live in smaller tanks without issue, but not a bowl.  Need at least a 10 Gallon with a small school...they will stay up top.

Also most of these fish actually can do well together...but in a much bigger tank. Plecos, Goldfish, and minnow are adaptable to each other...as the Goldfish get bigger your minnows may disappear...but in a large school they are safer with fantails.

Get ya 29 Gallon aquarium, adopt out your Pleco when it gets too big for your tank...and get some tropical fish.  Goldfish are cold water and would not do so well in a tropical.  It can work for a while..as I have saved a "feeder" goldfish and put him in a 29 gallon with other fish and he thrived...to the point I put him in my 55 Gallon tank.  Him and my Kissing Gourami stayed together and were buds always staying next to each other in the tank.  When the Goldfish reached 8 to 9 inches I adopted him to a pond.  

Do some research and rethink outside of the bowl.

Walmart is not the best place to buy fish...in fact they are getting rid of all the fish in the near future and downsizing that department.  However, you can find some good fish at some Walmart stores that actually take care of their tanks...and I have seen some good setups with great care on behalf of people with knowledge in these departments.  On the other hand...the people there come and go and not the best for advice on fish...considering about 90% of the people I have dealt with there have never had an aquarium.  I was lucky with my Walmart for a while before they nixed the department and fish.  They lady, who retired, and the guy, who moved departments...have aquariums and took care of the fish there.

Petco, Petsmart, and local petstores are better sources for knowledge, but research what they tell you and get more than one opinion.  1 inch/1 gallon is a crock and very misleading....just a fore warning.  When you hear this and you will ask them how can a 10 inch fish live and thrive in a 10 gallon aquarium that is only 20 inches long and 12 inches wide...they suppose to sit on the bottom and move little?

Best of Luck!