Jan replies:
The rules are different in springs, spring-fed streams, Hawaii, and Florida
(especially south Florida). Temperatures may not get cold enough long
enough. That's how local populations of plecos and sailfins get established
and probably one of the reasons they have not dispersed substantially
northward from South Florida despite being there for several decades now.
I know of one adult plecostomus that successfully inhabited a Louisiana
garden pond for almost two years. Apparently, winter temperatures were
tolerable the first year but not the second.
More info on plecostomus and sailfins here:
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpFactSheet.asp?speciesID=762
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