Does pleco eat fresh vegetables ?
- Thread starter emmz
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I feed my plecos sweet potatos, potatos, cucumber, zuchini, spinach, and skinned peas. I don't cook any of it, just cut it up and drop it in. A lot of vegetables float so you will need to find a way to sink them. I use the lead weights that are found on plants. Or you can purchase a vege clip from your LFS. The first few times you give them vegies thay may not touch them until they learn it's food.
head over to your LPS and grab yourself a "Veggie Clip." It's a smaller version of what you'd use to keep the potato chips bag closed and has a suction cup so that it can placed anyone in the aquarium. I'm not too sure about what veggies to stay away from, and would be interested if anyone knows. My fish seem to enjoy zucchini the most. I have a small bag of sliced ones that I keep in the freezer and put one in the tank every 5 days or so for a treat. I've been told it's important to remove the veggie after a few hours and am not sure why... haven't done it myself to see what happens.
I don't have a pleco, but I do have a whiptail cat, some loaches and some snails that really enjoy potato. I am going to try a peice of apple tonight and see how that goes over.
my plecos enjoy all sorts of plant material, from lettuce to apples to rutabegas. keep in mind even the primarily hebivorous plecos need some bloodworms or brine shrimp on occasion, as well as algae wafers.
The only veggies you should avoid are the ones your fish won't eat (you'll find this out through trial and error). The reason you should take the veggies out after a while is becuase they start to decompose.
I have left a peice of potato in my tanks for up to 24 hours and the fish and/or snails eventually finished it off.
My gold nugget loves cucumbers, and I dont even have to take it out because the africans finish it all, even the skin.
If you've got a planted tank, you've probably also got a couple of the weight strips laying around somewhere. I've found they're an excellent way to hold veggies to the bottom of the tank. On zuchinni slices I just poke one end thru the slice and bend it over, then stick the other end into the gravel.
Lettuce I just roll up a bit and crimp the strip on.
Peas, however, are a nuisance. I use frozen peas, let them thaw, then nick the outer case and just squeeze out the inner section. Trouble is, too small to fasten to anything, too light to stay put in the tank. The otos' end up pushing them all over the tank, usually under driftwood and into plant stems, and then the snails get too much of it. Still trying to think of a solution for that...I'm guessing pleco's, being more robust, snarf peas nearly whole.
Lettuce I just roll up a bit and crimp the strip on.
Peas, however, are a nuisance. I use frozen peas, let them thaw, then nick the outer case and just squeeze out the inner section. Trouble is, too small to fasten to anything, too light to stay put in the tank. The otos' end up pushing them all over the tank, usually under driftwood and into plant stems, and then the snails get too much of it. Still trying to think of a solution for that...I'm guessing pleco's, being more robust, snarf peas nearly whole.