First Pleco's... never see them, not eating algae

[Star_Rider]

is it is a bushynosed/bristlenose..they are a bit shy..
they prefer to feed at night or in low light.

the species may not develop the 'bristles' until they have reached an early mature age..the males have the pronounced bristles..while the females may not exhibit bristles at all.

if you have alge and are supplementing with wafers..they will consume the wafers first.

sometimes it take a bit for the bn to get comfortable...but in general..the BN is a good algae eater..

but regardless. you may sstill need to do some cleaning.

some tanks will produce algae faster than a single bn can consume it.

 

[jagarundi]

Get off your lazy butts and scrub your own algae!!!

Plecos should not be used as indentured servants.

So WHAT is the PURPOSE of these poop machines then? Please tell us, old wise one!!

 

[budrecki]

Fish are pets! They do not serve a purpose. It is YOUR job to clean the tank, change the water, and keep the algae at bay. There are no short cuts.

 

[NatakuTseng]

Bushynoses make great clean up crews, and they are perfectly happy doing so... I use them in any of my discus tanks to keep the tank walls and bare bottom clean and free of algea, they all do great, the fish are just simply suited for that type of thing, its what they do.

However I wouldn't sentence even the ugliest pleco to those tanks you have Jag.... overstocked is a mild term for that.

 

[mduros]

Not all plecos are the algae eating machines that fish stores tell you they are. I have two albino bristlenose that did a good job cleaning algae in my 55 gallon tank when they were young. They are older now and want to lounge around and make babies and enjoy the fruits of life, i.e. cucumber, zucchini, lettuce hearts, algae wafers... And that's fine. I have a clown pleco in my 29 gallon tank that I NEVER see. On water change day I move things around just to make sure he's still alive... He, unlike the bristlenose is not a big algae eater at all, he's very reclusive and nocturnal, needs to eat lots of driftwood, and prefers the rinds of the veggies rather than the pulp. Yeah, I was hoping he'd help the algae problem, but hey no one has to earn their keep in my tanks... I'm here to take care of them, not the other way around. Good luck, cleaning the glass only takes a moment once or twice a week.
Take care,
Mary.

 

[DeRo316]

Most exotic plecos dont eat algae, veggies and driftwood only. My gold nugget can be spotted on the glass once a month or so but mostly sticks on the wood or a cucumber.

Common plecos dont eat extra food on the bottom, they mostly scavenge for algae off rocks/glass tank ornaments. They grow very fast and will cover the bottom of your tank in crap. Pet stores convince you to get one to take care of algae just to sell fish. Save the time and money and just get a Mag-Float.

Bristlenose plecos are great at eating algae and dont get very big so they are good for common size tanks.

If you want something to eat extra food on the bottom get a bottom dwelling cat like a cory or something, depending on tank and fish size.

 

[Akysten]

I have a magnet scraper, but this accumulation is on the back behind the drifwood, the magnet won't go there because of the background/tubing. I'll get to it at the next water change.

 

[DeRo316]

Yea I have a lot of rocks/wood blocking parts of my glass, I usually just leave them alone. Those algae scraping brushes are good to reach those areas though.

 

[fishcatch22]

Fish are pets! They do not serve a purpose. It is YOUR job to clean the tank, change the water, and keep the algae at bay. There are no short cuts.

HERE HERE!! :clap: plecos are pets, not algae eating machines! I have my plecos just for the heck of it, 'cause I love catfish! if your going to get a pleco, get one because you love them, not for some cold purpose because you can't get off your lazy rear and clean off the algae yourself!

 

[ouiouigirl]

I had two plecos int he past, thinking they were going to get rid of the algae on rocks, wanted my rocks to look brand new, (that's before I realized that the waving pattern of the algea on the rocks itself looked pretty cool. well anyway, they did nothing with regards to the algae, they are nocturnal, therefore you never really get to see their ugly face, which for my friends was not cool since they were only intrested in the unusual looking fish, and they made gigantic poops, obviously not from the fiber in the algea, since we've established they did not eat any, matter of fact, I think the platties were doing a better job at cleaning the algae than the plecos. I had corry catfish too, same thing.
good luck, perhaps you have a light problem causing the algea.