Need help feeding pleco

[lorindaleigh]

Last month I bought a 20 gallon tank from someone. It came with some fish and a 6 inch pleco. She called him an algae fish lol and told me that he just ate the algae. After doing lots of research, I figured out that my little guy (or girl) is a pleco. Since then I have tried to feed him 6 different typers of wafers, tons of vegetables and even a banana. He won't touch anything. I thought maybe it was the other fish bother him so I put up a divider and still won't touch the food. I've done the put it in and turn off all the lights for the night trick. That doesn't work. I have read that people have been able to drop a wafer into their plecos mouth. I can't get close to him. He swims away if I do. I'm not sure how to feed him. He stays in the same corner sucking the same areas of the tank so I'm not even sure how much algae he is gettng. He hasn't lost any weight. Any ideas on what I should do?

[fishorama]

Many plecs are nocturnal, keep feeding at lights out it, must be eating something. See the sticky at the top of the plec page for more foods. Can you post a pic so we can tell what kind it is, they have some different dietary needs. Do you have any wood in the tank, many like it, some NEED it.

[leeser28]

I wouldn't worry so much. I believe that when he's hungry he'll eat. If he looks healthy and isn't losing weight he probably is eating something and you just don't see it. Keep tossing in a algae tab. Mine loves it when I cut of a good sized hunk of zucchini (like a 3 inch long piece), skin it, skewer it on a fork and let it sink to the bottom of the tank. Last night and today he finished off almost the whole piece! I do also have a piece of driftwood in the tank for him to suck on, although I didn't for the first 6 years I had him and he was fine.

[lorindaleigh]

He won't eat any veggies. I have tried cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, peas, and spinach. I've tried them all blanched and non blanched.

Here's a pic:

http://app7.sellersourcebook.com/users/98649/pleco.jpg


I'm treating the tank with Jungle fungus tabs so I can't get any more until I do a couple more water changes so it doesn't come out greenish.

[pinkertd]

I'm not 100% certain, but I think he's a common pleco. I can't help you with his diet, they are supposed to like some veggies and wafers. And it is not uncommon that he hides when you approach the tank....that is typical pleco behavior.

[Blossom112]

common plec i believe .
he will eat when hungry like said above , drop the wafer in and vegies and just wait ........
when i have gotten new plecs they take time to eat .... when i get them from the fish store small you never know what they are fed my last ones werent eating anything and i waited 3 to 4 days then threw food in and they ate like pigs since then they devour everything i put in ,i find mine dont like the wafers .

he looks healty so he is getting something !!!
they will clean the bottom at night and eat poop too ......lol
Gl

[chloe_21]

hes a lovely common!
when they get bigger they dont seem to eat as much arnt as active. unforunatly my 2ft common just died, but he never used to do anything...hardly ever saw him eat lol i used to chuck in wafers at night and by the morning they were gone. so chuck some in and with a piece of cucumber and just leave him over night.
x

[lorindaleigh]

common plec i believe .
he will eat when hungry like said above , drop the wafer in and vegies and just wait ........
when i have gotten new plecs they take time to eat .... when i get them from the fish store small you never know what they are fed my last ones werent eating anything and i waited 3 to 4 days then threw food in and they ate like pigs since then they devour everything i put in ,i find mine dont like the wafers .

he looks healty so he is getting something !!!
they will clean the bottom at night and eat poop too ......lol
Gl

Thanks so much! I was so worried about him. I have gotta attached to him lol. My eyes got a little watery when you said he looks healthy. I was worried. I think I read too many horror stories.

[lorindaleigh]

hes a lovely common!
when they get bigger they dont seem to eat as much arnt as active. unforunatly my 2ft common just died, but he never used to do anything...hardly ever saw him eat lol i used to chuck in wafers at night and by the morning they were gone. so chuck some in and with a piece of cucumber and just leave him over night.
x

I was just thinking that the problem could be that I'm not dropping enough in. I also have 2 mystery snails and some mollies. They mollies will try to eat anything. What I have been doing is dropping on wafer on one side of the tank and another on the other side. The snails and the mollies usually go after one of them right away. I'm going to try to drop more in tonight instead of just a couple.

[chloe_21]

I was just thinking that the problem could be that I'm not dropping enough in. I also have 2 mystery snails and some mollies. They mollies will try to eat anything. What I have been doing is dropping on wafer on one side of the tank and another on the other side. The snails and the mollies usually go after one of them right away. I'm going to try to drop more in tonight instead of just a couple.

its always worth doing. if hes alive then thats usually a good sign lol he ust be eating something if hes not lost weight....so maybe he will just eat when he wants.
good luck and keep us updated.

[inkyjenn]

if he refuses to eat you can try this: pick out your favorite fish foods (algae wafers, flake, whatever), crush/grind it into a powder (plastic bag and a rolling pin work well if you dont have a mortar and pestle). separate and egg yolk from the white; throw away the egg yolk. mix the egg white and powdered fish food together with a little garlic juice. paint mixture onto a rock and let the egg white COMPLETELY dry (about 24 hours). toss in the rock just before or after lights out.

a lot of plecos will take to this method; it imitates their natural methods for feeding, but is a lot faster than growing algae on rocks in a bucket. you can slowly wean them off of this method of feeding after a week or two by leaving the rock in the tank and dropping the food directly onto the rock. the fish learns to associate the rock with dinner.

[leeser28]

if he refuses to eat you can try this: pick out your favorite fish foods (algae wafers, flake, whatever), crush/grind it into a powder (plastic bag and a rolling pin work well if you dont have a mortar and pestle). separate and egg yolk from the white; throw away the egg yolk. mix the egg white and powdered fish food together with a little garlic juice. paint mixture onto a rock and let the egg white COMPLETELY dry (about 24 hours). toss in the rock just before or after lights out.

a lot of plecos will take to this method; it imitates their natural methods for feeding, but is a lot faster than growing algae on rocks in a bucket. you can slowly wean them off of this method of feeding after a week or two by leaving the rock in the tank and dropping the food directly onto the rock. the fish learns to associate the rock with dinner.

Wow - that's really neat, I've never heard that.

[excuzzzeme]

That does sound like a good idea!

Your Pleco is a common and will outgrow that tank. You will need at least a 4ft tank for him. If you are not able or will be unable to meet his housing needs start considering to re-home him. He can grow quite long. Failing to get him into a larger tank will cause stunting which is a health hazard.

As far as food goes, mine like yours, will not eat any veggies. He will eat the Hikari algae wafer. I do not feed mine everyday as he "cleans up" all the uneaten fish food in the tank as well as eating the algae. I also give him sinking cichlid pellets as he seems to thoroughly enjoy them. They are Hikari Cichlid Gold, small pellets. At feeding time I have seen him compete with the Oscar and the convict! He was a rescue and I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. I only know what I have found that he seems to like.

[stezatois]

you could also try rubbing the wafers with a clove of garlic.

mine love nori, i just clip it into the algae clip.

you could also check out the inverts section for snail jello recipies, mine all love those.

[BadFishPa]

My plecos take a beating from my cichlids but they still swim to the top to snatch floating pellets from the surface of the water.They will find food lol

[Turbosaurus]

That's a cool trick with the egg whites- how very clever!

I wouldn't be worried yet. Give him a little time to settle in. My commons will eat EVERYTHING that goes in the tank, but they are very very skittish even though I've had them in the same tank for 4 years. I can't imagine how much more scaredy-cat they'd be if I just moved them. Try putting in food in the tank at lights out when the other fish go to sleep. As others mentioned he will be active at night and his tank mates won't get to eat it all before he gets there.

If I feed the fish when its dark in the room and only the tank lights are on then sit back away from the tank for a moment (so the fish can't see me) the plecos will come out and eat with the other fish. As soon as they catch any movement outside the tank they dive for cover. Back away from the tank and sit still for a while with the room lights off, he may be more likely to come out and eat with the others.

Also, I notice you are looking for a cave for him, something natural looking. In my tanks I have lots and rocks and driftwood. Its prettier and my plecos each have their own spot on the underside of a piece of wood or between rocks. They don't need something enclosed on all sides to feel comfortable, just a secluded spot. The driftwood is good for them too.

[lorindaleigh]

if he refuses to eat you can try this: pick out your favorite fish foods (algae wafers, flake, whatever), crush/grind it into a powder (plastic bag and a rolling pin work well if you dont have a mortar and pestle). separate and egg yolk from the white; throw away the egg yolk. mix the egg white and powdered fish food together with a little garlic juice. paint mixture onto a rock and let the egg white COMPLETELY dry (about 24 hours). toss in the rock just before or after lights out.

a lot of plecos will take to this method; it imitates their natural methods for feeding, but is a lot faster than growing algae on rocks in a bucket. you can slowly wean them off of this method of feeding after a week or two by leaving the rock in the tank and dropping the food directly onto the rock. the fish learns to associate the rock with dinner.

That is an awesome idea! I'm going to try this tomorrow. Thanks!

[stezatois]

agreed on the wood being good for them. Chomping on the wood aides their digestive system.

[lorindaleigh]

That does sound like a good idea!

Your Pleco is a common and will outgrow that tank. You will need at least a 4ft tank for him. If you are not able or will be unable to meet his housing needs start considering to re-home him. He can grow quite long. Failing to get him into a larger tank will cause stunting which is a health hazard.

As far as food goes, mine like yours, will not eat any veggies. He will eat the Hikari algae wafer. I do not feed mine everyday as he "cleans up" all the uneaten fish food in the tank as well as eating the algae. I also give him sinking cichlid pellets as he seems to thoroughly enjoy them. They are Hikari Cichlid Gold, small pellets. At feeding time I have seen him compete with the Oscar and the convict! He was a rescue and I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. I only know what I have found that he seems to like.

I just bought the tank last month on craigslist. It came with the pleco. Im not in the positon where I can get a bigger tank at this time. It is 20 gallons. What is the max size of a pleco in a 20 gallon tank? All of my fish can be considered rescues as well. I got the tank and it was fifthy. She told me that only monthy water changes were needed and she showed me how she did hers. By scooping out the water wtih a bowl! This is my first tank and even I had the common sense to know better. They had all kinds of fungus diseases going on and fin rot. The one molly had a bad case of the shimmys. She would even shimmy when eating. One wondershell cured it!. They are looking very healthy. One molly has a small spot on his face from where the columaris was. I think its a scar. :( When I first got Mr Pleco he wouldn't move at all. Now as long as im not near the tank he will swim back and forth in it late at night. I love watching him do flips. I have been planning on getting a bigger tank but wont be able to do so until March. Do you think he will be ok until then? How many gallons would a 4 foot tank be?

[leeser28]

My humble opinion is that he'll be fine until March. I have a 40 gallon breeder which is 36 inches by 18 inches. I think a 55 gal would be about 4 foot long. I think you are doing a fantastic job and obviously care, that in itself is a great start for these poor guys you saved.

[lorindaleigh]

That's a cool trick with the egg whites- how very clever!

I wouldn't be worried yet. Give him a little time to settle in. My commons will eat EVERYTHING that goes in the tank, but they are very very skittish even though I've had them in the same tank for 4 years. I can't imagine how much more scaredy-cat they'd be if I just moved them. Try putting in food in the tank at lights out when the other fish go to sleep. As others mentioned he will be active at night and his tank mates won't get to eat it all before he gets there.

If I feed the fish when its dark in the room and only the tank lights are on then sit back away from the tank for a moment (so the fish can't see me) the plecos will come out and eat with the other fish. As soon as they catch any movement outside the tank they dive for cover. Back away from the tank and sit still for a while with the room lights off, he may be more likely to come out and eat with the others.

Also, I notice you are looking for a cave for him, something natural looking. In my tanks I have lots and rocks and driftwood. Its prettier and my plecos each have their own spot on the underside of a piece of wood or between rocks. They don't need something enclosed on all sides to feel comfortable, just a secluded spot. The driftwood is good for them too.
Thats a good idea. I didn't think about making an area for him with just driftwood adn rocks. I was going to build my own rock cave but I was worried that I woudlnt do it right and it would fall on top of him or other fish.

[lorindaleigh]

Thanks. :)

[inkyjenn]

i learned the food trick from other pleco owners with finicky plecos. it worked like a CHAMP for one of mine who was so starved, his belly was concaved into 4 portions :/ hes now a fat happy booger who actually comes out when the lights are on to grab wafers from the cories :D

[Bajanfish]

he looks healty so he is getting something !!!
they will clean the bottom at night and eat poop too ......lol
Gl

Common misconception perpetuated by uneducated LFS salespeople, they don't eat poo and I don't know of any fish that does.