OK, guys, just stop this BS! You're both overreacting...(except you NoodleCats, always a voice of reason
)
Almost any fish will eat dead fish, starved or not. Many plecos eat the "biofilm" on plants & may chew on leaves as they do...but many plecos will eat veggies in any form, sword plants, zucchini, romaine, peas, etc., some are more carnivirous & don't. Juvenile fish are pretty much always hungry, they have some growing to do for a while & need food! Plecos are pretty much all grazers, they want to eat almost all the time & will eat often off the surface. We taught our "common" pleco to wink for a tabimin, it wasn't hard to do.
JB'sWifey, I'm wondering why your other fish are either dead or unable to get away from even a biggish pleco. Please tell us more about your tank & we'll try to help. What size tank? How long have you had it & did you cycle it before you got fish? What are you water parameters (ammonia, nitrite & nitrate)?
I can't tell what species your "common" pleco is...Can you try for a better pic? There are a few species that are "common", different now than in "the olden days". From what little I can see maybe a gibbiceps? I dunno...
Almost any fish will eat dead fish, starved or not. Many plecos eat the "biofilm" on plants & may chew on leaves as they do...but many plecos will eat veggies in any form, sword plants, zucchini, romaine, peas, etc., some are more carnivirous & don't. Juvenile fish are pretty much always hungry, they have some growing to do for a while & need food! Plecos are pretty much all grazers, they want to eat almost all the time & will eat often off the surface. We taught our "common" pleco to wink for a tabimin, it wasn't hard to do.
JB'sWifey, I'm wondering why your other fish are either dead or unable to get away from even a biggish pleco. Please tell us more about your tank & we'll try to help. What size tank? How long have you had it & did you cycle it before you got fish? What are you water parameters (ammonia, nitrite & nitrate)?
I can't tell what species your "common" pleco is...Can you try for a better pic? There are a few species that are "common", different now than in "the olden days". From what little I can see maybe a gibbiceps? I dunno...