Pleco won't eat veggies!

F

FancyFins

one of "those" people...
Aug 12, 2007
15
0
0
Arkansas, USA
I read the sticky thread about Pleco diets and decided to try again to feed mine some veggies. I got "him" as a baby (sold as a Hypostomus, and now 2 years old and about 5" long w/o counting the tail fin), and when I tried to feed him cucumber way back then, it just sat in the tank and got slimy. But now I see they need more veg as they get older, so maybe that's why he didn't want it then.

So last night I gave him a chunk of blanched zucchini - nothing. I stayed up half the night, kept sneaking up to see if he was on it, but he went to the other end of the tank from the food and stayed there. Took the zuke out this morning and gave him a raw broccoli floret - nothing. I've seen him rooting around during the daytime this week, and I put it right beside his hidey spot (behind the filter intake) but he just stayed put. I took it out this afternoon. Can't risk leaving it in too long because I've been fighting ammonia and pH levels all week. Current readings: pH 6.8, Ammon .25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10-20.

My theory is, either he doesn't realize the food is there, or he's ignoring it entirely. Could it be the bright orange "clown fish" vegi-clip keeping him away? Am I just not choosing the right veggie for him? Is he too full? Or blind? It usually takes him a while to find the algae wafers, even when I drop one right in front of him. Often, the guppies get their fill first. :irked:

I guess he's not starving, because there's plenty of poo! :grinyes: Just wanted to be a good fish keeper.
 
try again with the zucchini, but when you put the water on the stove, crush up a clove of garlic and put it in there as the water heats up and during the boiling. garlic is an appetite stimulant and the scent of it should attract your pleco to the zucchini. once the fish realizes that zucchini=food, you won;t need the garlic anymore.
 
He still won't touch it

I blanched some zucchini with garlic last night, per the tip above, and put it next to the pleco's "hiding" spot (I wish my dang driftwood would arrive, already! I ordered it weeks ago!). The guppies all came to gawk and take turns pecking at it, but Mr. Pleco swam-as-fast-as-he-could to the opposite corner of the tank and was still there hours later. Maybe he's actually a vampire pleco? *ba-dum-bump* :grinyes:

I don't understand. :confused: Why won't he even look at the veggies I've put in? I didn't feed him any algae tabs or shrimp pellets - seems like he would be happy to get it. Maybe I'll try some lettuce/spinach - see if that makes a difference. Any other ideas? :idea: Canteloupe? Throw a whole stir-fry in there? :grinyes:
 
Yeah it took me almost 2 days to get my plecos to notice the veggies but now I can't keep them away from it.
 
Might want to try dark green outer leaves from romaine lettice or frenched green beans from a can.Works on my Plecos.
 
I never blanch the veggies that go in my tank... they last all night that way and I am not removing vitamins from the vegetable. Also not all plecos will take to veggies... I have a L031 that loves his zuchini and a L066 that won't go near it... the L183 is slowly investigating them
 
just keep trying. My plecs sometimes take weeks to realize that a zuccini is food. Also, don't look in the tank and bother the fish. If it starts to associate zuccini with a big scary person looking in on him, you're sunk.

drop in the zuccini (raw, only blanch for tiny fry) in the tank, turn out the lights, and leave the fish alone until morning. keep this up until he eats it. it's really as easy as that.
 
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