Advice needed

[pookie71384]

my pleco is growing at a normal rate...do research before talking...in the wild a pleco does not eat everyday...matter of fact plecos in the wild will go days without eating and when they do eat there eating crustaceans off of rocks...exactly what mines is doing...matter of fact he's getting fed more then wild plecos because I feed my fish everyday

 

[Alyxx]

I was just responding to what you said you do - not feeding it anything specifically for it. And you said it grows slowly. Didn't mean any offense, but personally I believe that it's our duty to take the best care of our pets as we can, which involves special foods even for scavengers. And in general, when fish are growing very slowly they aren't getting adequate nutrition. Also note, I didn't say starving, but malnourished. Meaning not getting the specific nutrients needed for proper growth and thriving in general, which means the right types of food, not leftovers from the other fish. And yes, your Pleco is very pretty. I just can't stand people getting fish to do the job of keeping their tank clean for them, which was what it sounded like when you said yours just "cleans up after the other fish."

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Well what i think she meant to say was that many plecos in home aquariums are given food specificaly for them such as algea wafers other algea supplements. Many plecos eat leftover food, but almost all are given specific foods such like vegtables or algea wafers. Either way, the pleco is a strong fish and will do well with either diet, they just need a large tank in order to grow properly.

 

[Sharkbait54]

yeah I knew but they grow very slowly when you don't feed them anything intended for them alone...when they just pick up after the other fish it takes about a year to actually realize there's a change in size

That's funny my pleco grew 3 inches in 7 months. But I actually feed mine.

 

[pookie71384]

good for your pleco

 

[Sharkbait54]

good for your pleco

Thanks, I've always heard they grow fast. I just think its weird yours doesn't. Try getting some algae tablets I doubt any pleco can resist one of those!!!

 

[5x5]

Not all fish grow the same rate. I currently have a batch of firemouths showing a huge range in size and they were the same when I got them.

It's presumptuous at best to diagnose bad feeding over the Internet with little to no information.

 

[Sharkbait54]

Not all fish grow the same rate. I currently have a batch of firemouths showing a huge range in size and they were the same when I got them.

It's presumptuous at best to diagnose bad feeding over the Internet with little to no information.

Couldn't that be cause they are in a group and some eat more than others? I have a group of tetras bought them all the same size. One is twice the size of the rest.. No idea why.

 

[5x5]

Maybe to a degree. They are split between 2 tanks and seem to eat pretty evenly. The size variations can be pretty extreme though to be explained by "this one got an extra couple of flakes".

 

[melosu58]

Let`s keep it civil folks. Everyone has their opinions and is able to state them whether you agree with it or not. Please respect all opinions.

 

[Sharkbait54]

Maybe to a degree. They are split between 2 tanks and seem to eat pretty evenly. The size variations can be pretty extreme though to be explained by "this one got an extra couple of flakes".

Your words not mine. IME there's always a few hogs. And I would say twice the size is pretty extreme for being from the same batch.

Let's just agree to disagree.

 

[Sharkbait54]

Let`s keep it civil folks. Everyone has their opinions and is able to state them whether you agree with it or not. Please respect all opinions.

Sorry, your right I apologize for the off topic remarks!!

 

[5x5]

I'll agree that food plays a role and some fish are more greedy than others. My point was that there are other factors like genetics and you can't assume a slow growing fish is underfed.

 

[Sharkbait54]

I'll agree that food plays a role and some fish are more greedy than others. My point was that there are other factors like genetics and you can't assume a slow growing fish is underfed.

Your absolutely, right too many unknown factors.