Pleco Questions

Logy

Logy

AC Members
Sep 27, 2006
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North Bay, Ontario
I have 2 Plecos. They are each housed in thier own 20 gallon tank with a few other fish. One of my pleco's is common (I know I'll take heat for that). I plan to upgrade to a 55 when I move into my new place in May. I've fed my common pleco algae wafers for the longest time until I read the thread about supplimenting thier diet with blanched veggies. How should I go about introducing my pleco do the new type of food. Every night I add a piece of blanched cucumber and a wafer and he shows no interest in the cucumber and goes to work on the wafer. Should I just not give him the wafer? Will he starve himself or figure it out? My 2nd pleco is a Bristlnose Pleco. I added him to my 2nd 20 gallon tank and I've barely seen him since. I know he's alive. I've added algae wafers nightly and some blanched cucumber...but I never see him come out to feed and often in the morning the cucumber and wafers are untouched. I have a piece of driftwood in the tank and have noticed an abundance of pleco poop....soo is he just grazing the wood? I hear it's good for roughage..but I didn't think it had any nutritional value for them. I'm just concerned because Pleco's have quickly become one of my fav fish.

Thanks in advance,
Logy
 
Bristlenose first: They LOVE to rasp on the wood, but they are predominately nocturnal IME. They also feed heavily on algae. Try coming down at night and see if he's sucking on the glass surfaces, rocks, decorations, etc. (use a flashlight and point it off at an angle from the tank. I have luck with this.

You Common Pleco: Don;t give him a wafer for 2-3 days and just blanch a cucumber and leave it in for 2-3 days at a time (replace after 2-3 days witha new piece), and sink it to the floor witha weight. I use a hairclip from my wife and clamp it on the veggy and a rock. He'll go the wafer, and they can easily go w/out food for 3 days once in a while with no problems whatsoever. ;)

FYI - Mine wont eat celerey or lettice. Only the squash-type veggies.
 
I would replace the common with another bristlenose. Better alage eaters when they get older (common's need far too much veggie matter to be a good algae eater when large). Plus a 55 gallon still isn't large enough, while a bristlenose will still do a good job in a 55 gallon.
 
like you, I started off feeding my plecos only algae wafers. I realized that it was bad to only feed algae and threw in a blanched zucchini, which he wouldnt eat. I bought seachem entice, dipped the zucchini in that and it STILL wouldnt eat.

One day, i forgot to feed him/her the algae wafer, only to realize that next day he had eaten the whole zucchini slice instead.

So, my advise to you is to either starve him to the point of eating. (3-4 days max)

or...... place the algae wafer into the cucumber slice. That also worked for my picky opal-dot plecos.
 
I have some iceberg lettuce that I'll try the pleco's on. My friend had a 112 gallon tank I can give the common to if he indeed outgrows my 20 and 55, which he probably will in time. In the meantime I'll enjoy his company...as much as one can enjoy the company of a pleco. Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll ween the common off of algae waffers for a while and throw a variety of veggies at him. I'll also put the flashlight into play and see what I can find. I'll update you on my success or failure =p

Thanks again,
Logy
 
Ya, I think Iceberg is just for roughage. I have some blanched pieces of cucumber in the tanks at the moment.
 
My plecos like raw zucchini better too. I also use the fork to hold it down.

I almost never see my BN plecs, unless I sneak up on them in the dark. If I move fast or turn on a light, they dive for cover. Mine are all males, and it's just in their nature. I'm sure a female would be a bit more visible.
 
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