Golden Nugget pleco wont EAT

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Aug 2, 2007
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Hi i bought a golden nugget pleco yesterday, and it is around 2 inches long. but it wont eat. he never goes down to the bogwood, he stays on the side of the tank or on the side of the filter box.

What should i do?
Would it die if it doesnt eat?

Thanks
Jonathan
 
Give him some time, he will get more comfortable in the tank in another day or two. Are there places for him to hide in the tank? The bogwood is a good start, they need that. Might I suggest a piece of black PVC pipe from Lowes or Home Depot, perfect for hiding. Nuggets are very sensitive to water quality, make sure to keep your water super clean. They enjoy veggies like squash and cucumbers clipped to the side of the tank, perhaps that would persuade him to eat. Peeled peas are also a treat. Some suggest blanching the veggies with garlic for extra flavor. The biggest challenge for L-18 is to keep them eating in the long run, and again the water quality. Best of luck and keep us posted. They are beautiful fish. 8) Michelle
 
They are very fragile. How long was he at the LFS? What are you feeding it? If possible, put it into its own tank for awhile with the lights out. See if you can get some live black worms or if not, try some frozen blood worms. That might help.
 
he can also hide in a cave, under a piece of wood. i have no idea how long he has been in the lfs. i've tried algae wafers - not interested in it.
Tried a slice of boiled cucumber, not interested yet.
Do they eat blood worms aswell? I thought they were only herbivores, or are they omnivores?

It does have a sunken in belly a bit, but i couldnt resist lol, also they gave me a discount, so i thought i'll give it a go.

cheers for the replies
 
Well if he has a sunken belly then there might not be much hope for him! I wouldn't of bought him.

My Pleco just started eating what I was giving him, he didn't eat anything I gave him for a month but he also did not have the sunken belly. If he has a sunken belly I'd get the lights off and blanche some veggies and make sure you attach them to something heavy so it can go down right to the bottom for him.
 
Hi all. I'm havin exactly the same problem. I bought a lovely lookin gold nugget plec 4 days ago, but it has been hidden away behind the filter intake. I've read on many sites that gold nuggets are extremely shy fish. I'm tryin the squash rubbed in garlic tonight so i shall see how it goes.
 
Sorry i can't answer that. I have a gibby plec and a ringlet plec and i've had no problem with feedin them just with the gold nugget. Good luck with your gold nugget. Hope it makes it through.
 
In good condition, he could go weeks without food, no problem. The fact that he isn't hiding tells me that he's either very sick or something is stressing him in the tank, be it water quality, or other fish. What else is in with him? Gold nuggets do MUCH better when acclimated into warmer water for a few weeks to help jumpstart their system after being in a wholesale environment. I usually try to keep them at 84 degrees or above. There are actually 3 species of fish sold as gold nuggets. They'll all be omnivores and would be much more apt to eat mysis shrimp and bloodworms than vegetable matter when they're struggling. Increased aeration also won't hurt. These are nocturnal fish. I don't ever see mine eat, but I do see the food disappear. This is why they need a quarantine type set up so you can monitor what they're consuming and what not.

Barbie
 
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