L340 - keeping them a little colder?

[ramond86]

Hi, I am new to the forum and have a question regarding my L340 Mega Clown Pleco's (3X).

When I bought them at my LFS they told me they would do fine in the water parameters/setup I specified:

Large 220G community tank with lots of rockwork and driftwood, sand substrate
PH: 6.8
Temp: 24C / 76F

The fish have been in the tank for 2-3 days and seem to be doing OK. They are hiding and difficult to find which I guess is normal in a tank my size. However, while looking up more info on them they are specified to need slightly warmer water than the water I have (26 degrees celcius).

Is there anybody that knows if they can do well in slightly colder water than the suggested temps? As the aquarium is very big, it might be quite expensive to raise the temp by 2 degrees, but on the other hand I want to provide my fish with a proper environment.

Any input appreciated, first-hand input based on experiences appreciated even more!

Thanks, Ramon

[pmarinho]

If i were you I’d raise the temperature to at least 26 degrees as recommended. I have never had this species in my tank but I think you might have troubles to feed then at this temperature.

[Bas Pels]

While many fish can, or should, have a cold period, fish from the Amazon better do not.

24 C is rather cold for them. In most cases too cold

[ramond86]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will have to see if I can move these guys to a different tank, rehome them or get an additional heater (my current heater cannot seem to increase the temperature above 24 degrees at full power due to water volume).