if you have a pleco that is being picky about eating, here are some things you can try to tempt them to eat:
1) the old standby: rub garlic juice on their food
2) Grind your favourite fish food to bits. You can add any kind of fish food and even ground, dried vegetables. Separate an egg white from the yolk. Mix the egg white and fish food. Paint the resulting mixture on a flat rock or driftwood. Let it dry rock hard. Place it in the tank. The dry egg white will only dissolve very slowly in water. Your happy loricariids will eat away since this mimics their "natural" foods.
you can also use method 2 for feeding pleco fry. the egg white gives them some extra protein
this method neglects to mention to be a little frugal with the fish food and maybe to try using a mortar and pestle to grind up the food into a powder. dont leave it in chunks
3) grow some algae in a tub on some chunks of rock (slate is specifically mentioned)/driftwood. it takes about a week to grow, but it seems to have a good effect on the appetites of wild caught plecos.
both methods 2 and 3 are attempts to mimic a plecos natural feeding methods. i tried method 2 last night, as my new L-239 hadnt eaten in about a week and was looking pretty hollowed out when i reintroduced him to the 10 gallon tank yesterday (he will be moving into my 55 community tank in a couple of weeks). he had to be treated for parasites and was not a happy camper. im going to repeat the food/egg on a rock to keep him eating. as a side note, L-239s seem to like to eat primarily after dark and only when it is quiet. when i went to bed last night, there was no evidence that he was going to attempt to eat anything. but this morning i found the rock completely bare and the pleco on the rock looking a bit fatter
do not give up hope on your picky pleco.
as i mentioned before, if you are trying method two, really grind up the food into a powder. i tried mashing stuff up with a spoon, leaving the food in chunks, but i noticed this morning that some had fallen off the rock and made the tank cloudy.
1) the old standby: rub garlic juice on their food
2) Grind your favourite fish food to bits. You can add any kind of fish food and even ground, dried vegetables. Separate an egg white from the yolk. Mix the egg white and fish food. Paint the resulting mixture on a flat rock or driftwood. Let it dry rock hard. Place it in the tank. The dry egg white will only dissolve very slowly in water. Your happy loricariids will eat away since this mimics their "natural" foods.
you can also use method 2 for feeding pleco fry. the egg white gives them some extra protein
this method neglects to mention to be a little frugal with the fish food and maybe to try using a mortar and pestle to grind up the food into a powder. dont leave it in chunks
3) grow some algae in a tub on some chunks of rock (slate is specifically mentioned)/driftwood. it takes about a week to grow, but it seems to have a good effect on the appetites of wild caught plecos.
both methods 2 and 3 are attempts to mimic a plecos natural feeding methods. i tried method 2 last night, as my new L-239 hadnt eaten in about a week and was looking pretty hollowed out when i reintroduced him to the 10 gallon tank yesterday (he will be moving into my 55 community tank in a couple of weeks). he had to be treated for parasites and was not a happy camper. im going to repeat the food/egg on a rock to keep him eating. as a side note, L-239s seem to like to eat primarily after dark and only when it is quiet. when i went to bed last night, there was no evidence that he was going to attempt to eat anything. but this morning i found the rock completely bare and the pleco on the rock looking a bit fatter
do not give up hope on your picky pleco.as i mentioned before, if you are trying method two, really grind up the food into a powder. i tried mashing stuff up with a spoon, leaving the food in chunks, but i noticed this morning that some had fallen off the rock and made the tank cloudy.
