leopard frog pleco

[lornajane89]

Hi. I recently added a frog pleco to my community tank with julii corys, guppys, dwarf gouramis, polkadot loaches and neons (so no aggressive fish) i bought it about a week ago and havent seen it since. I kno its hiding on the roof of one of our caves but im concerned its not getting food. I put some blanched peas in but its just not interested but least my other fish dont eat them. Any tips? Or suggestions for food ive tried all sorts of frozen/live/pellet/flake food with no luck.

Thanks guys

 

[absolutangel04]

First off, I am so jealous! I would love one of those fish.
As for your question, he may just be adjusting, so hopefully he comes out soon. Do you think he could coming out at night and eating algae? It doesn't surprise me that he isn't interested in flakes or live food. Have you tried algae wafers? Maybe try blanched zuchini. Some of my algae eating fish don't eat peas but will eat other veggies. Lettuce or spinach is another option. I hope he starts etaing!

 

[absolutangel04]

Another thought, how big is the tank and do you have a test kit to measure water parameters?

 

[siva]

They always hide. You can certainly dig around and make sure it's still in there, since it is a new fish. But it will always hide. Or so I've heard. They eat both meat and veggies, so I would try frozen bloodworms or emerald entree..and blanched zucchini. Most veggie eaters enjoy zucchini. Driftwood or mopani should also be in the tank for them to munch on.

 

[lornajane89]

The tank is 45 gal my nitrates are always high but ive got 2 nitrazorb pouches in the filter ammonia and trites are 0. apparently my partner (the boss) saw it out today. Is zucchini a cucumber (excuse my for bein english) ill try that the peas havent been ate

 

[lornajane89]

Oh we have drift wood in there whats an emerald entre

 

[siva]

If you're nitrates are always high it's likely your tank is overstocked and/or you aren't doing enough water changes. Ideally you don't want them to exceed 20ppm.

Zucchini looks similar but I think it's more nutritious. I've never tried cucumber, but you could give that a go as well. Emerald Entree is a frozen food you'd find with the bloodworms and brineshrimp at the fish shop. It's a mix of meat and veggies and is much loved by omnivores. Also try depositing whatever you are feeding right at the entrance of it's hangout.

 

[lornajane89]

Nah we have 30ppm in our tap water so its a nightmare trying to get them down. We were doing 50% changes daily then every 2 days when we started up but it didnt seem to help much so we use nitrazorb pouches and do a 40% change once a week. Its britain we have lower standards it sucks but i dont make the rules

 

[siva]

Oh I see!

 

[lornajane89]

I just thought if i used 50/50 ro water and tap water that might be more affective ill get some more tubs and get some ro water this werkend. Do plants help to reduce nitrates?

 

[toddnbecka]

Zucchini is called cougrette on your side of the pond. Peckoltia's aren't as fond of veggies as some other pleco's, may or may not be interested. Fast-growing live plants are very helpful for reducing or eliminating nitrates. Since your tap water is so high you might consider keeping a large storage tub full of fast-growing aquatic plants like Najas (aka guppy grass) or hornwort to clean up the water before using it for the aquarium. Keeping some in the aquarium would also be helpful too, but it's certainly better to put fresher water in when you do partial changes.
New Life Spectrum pellets would be a good option for feeding all your fish.

 

[lornajane89]

Wow thanks for the great advice. Will it just grow outside and will i need a filter? Running ive got an old fluval 205 in in the shed so its possible if its required

 

[tarpon]

Zuchinni doesnt have the warts on it like cucumber and is a kind of squash. It has a big thick vine attached to the end. So itll be smooth and green and have a part that looks like it was chopped off a big vine on the end.

 

[lornajane89]

Bump sorry do i need a filter for the planted tub idea?

 

[toddnbecka]

You don't need a filter for a planted tub, just enough light for them to grow well. Hornwort will grow outside just fine, though it won't withstand freezing. Najas is a warmer-water plant, not sure what the minimum temp for that is. Water hyacinth is a floating plant very efffective for filtering all sorts of pollutants out of fresh water, but it won't take much cold either, and won't grow indoors.

 

[lornajane89]

Thanks again

 

[siva]

I've found anacharis to be a great nitrate sponge and it grows fast. Should be a good candidate for you as well.