Can a common pleco survive in my fishtank?
I’m not sure what 18-21 degrees C is in F, but Common Plecos shouldn’t be kept in any tank smaller than 55 gallons or so. They grow to over a foot long and need plenty of room to do so. If not given the room, they will be unhealthy and will not live long. If your tank is over 75 degrees F or so, Cory catfish would be fine. However, they will not eat algae. To be honest, there really aren’t any fish out there that fulfill the idea people have in their heads of the ideal algae eater. Most grow too large, and many stop eating algae altogether anyway once they reach a certain size. You are better off just manually wiping the algae off. If you keep up with it, it really shouldn’t become a problem. Unless, of course, your tank is overstocked and you have excess nutrients in the water. Hillstream Loaches are just generally not a hardy fish anyway, and should only be kept by the most experiences fish-keepers. Good luck to you.
