The Puffer Forum

Are there any types of smaller plecos that do well in brackish water?

I've been told (keep in mind I said told, not actually tried) that common plecs can survive in mildly brackish waters.

This is incorrect. Please do not keep a FW fish in BW.

No kind of pleco tolerate salt. Plecos are South-American fishes, and the wild they live in soft water with a PH below zero. Many, many pleco has been killed by people using aquarium salt. SW mix will do the same.

A while back I was searching for some sort of bottom feeder to clean up my Ceylon puffers messes, but I was very disappointed to find that there is not a catfish, or bottom feeder that can handle brackish water -- well let me correct that, none that are small enough to keep in a hobbyist aquarium. I think there may be a catfish out there that might tolerate brackish water, but as I recall, it gets rather large.
I'd be very happy to find something, but I don't think there is anything so I will have to depend on my good old vacuum to suck up the messes that my Ceylons make.

I live in houston, Tx and I've read where people have pulled large plecs out of the tidal marshs in near Galveston Bay. I have no clue how long they were there, but if they had been living there for some time then it shows that they are at least some what capeable of adapting to various degrees of salinity. Of course they could have been dumped in there at a lrge size and cought shortly after. who knows.

I have heard of plecos visiting the marshes around there occasionally. Emphasis on the visiting part.