Question Regarding my Starving Pleco

[MtgVo]

Hey all.. My tank has been have issues with algae lately.. There's green stuff all over my tank and I can only scrub so much off of it. So I bought some Plecos to solve my problem. They almost always tend to die. I still have one left though and it's pretty apparent that it is starving. It constantly moves around like no other pleco i've seen before and even fights with the other fish to eat the flakes. I see lotsa green stuff around, why isn't it eating that stuff. The tank has been around for a long time so there should be lotsa algae for it.

Anyone have any idea what's going on with my tank? Is all this green stuff even algae and how do I get it to all go away without scrubbing it all off (It keeps comgin back). Or shoudl I just buy a few giant plecos. Thanks

 

[MaryPa]

Try feeding it an algae wafer.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

How large is the tank? Not all pleco's eat algae. Do you know what kind of pleco it is? The larger ones tend to not eat as much algae as the smaller ones do.

 

[MtgVo]

Yeah I do feed it Algae Wafers but there should be more than enough Algae in my tank. I'm pretty sure my Pleco eats algae mostly as it's the normal one everyone buys and my LFS told me that's what they eat. Tank is around 140 Gallons. The pleco is still very relatively small.

Is the green stuff on the tank algae? Or could it be something else?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

It's Algae, but your pleco's just may not want it. You can't always trust your lfs. Check out www.liveaquaria.com and see if yours looks like the Trinidad Pleco.

 

[MtgVo]

Yeah it's defintely the Trinidad Pleco on that site. I can understand why there are sometimes a few odd plecos that dun like the algae but almost every pleco I buy doesn't eat the algae.

Perhaps there's other Algae eaters I can buy? I have Peacocks as of now and maybe there are other algae eaters that will go well with them? Thanks again

 

[Meredith]

Have you tried giving your plec veggies? sink some broccoli stalk, or cucumber.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

What kind of algae is it? Blue-green algae is dark, sheet-like and is actually a bacteria and nothing eats it. Plecos ignore most hair algae. True sae or florida flag fish are better. If it is really hard to scub off it may be green spot algae and the only fish that eats it is Sharpus razorius (Malkore's name for the single edged razor blade).

 

[MtgVo]

I think it's green spot algae... As there are dots and dots of greenish algae and it's real hard to get off.. So only way to get this stuff away is to put some muscle into it and get it off? Thanks

 

[Guest]

make sure you supplement your plecos diet with veggies and wafers. THey really really like zucchini, attach it to an ornament with a rubberband or use a veggie clip (my pleco doesn't like moving food) If you supplement their diet, they will be happier and live a long healthy life.

 

[severum mama]

Surprisingly, I was actually able to get green spot algae off my tank last night with my Mag Float. http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19053;category_id=2927 My LFS told me to get the medium size because it worked better than the large, and I have been totally impressed with it. Your pleco will never eat it so that might be your best bet.