Can a pleco eat too much?

[afilter]

I recently made the switch from FW to SW at home, but have maintained a 5.5 gal FW tank with a lone African Red zebra. I know this tank is way too small, but I use to have a 75gal African tank at home and the intent was to start some juveniles in here and move them home. When I tried it the new addition was immediately killed.

As a result I was left with a zebra which has thrived for almost two years in the 5.5 gal at my desk and is now about 5". I know Africans are hardy, but this amazes me because I will fully admit too not always providing the best conditions.

Two days ago I did a really good tank cleaning and decided to add a small pleco to the tank due to large amount of algae that was forming on the base rock. In the short time it has been in there it has cleaned half the base rock which was covered.

I did not expect it to be so productive, is there any chance that it can over eat in this environment?

My long term plan for the pleco is to take it home and give it to my children who received a FW 10gal for x-mas.

Thanks,

 

[grimlock3000]

The first night I had my Bristlenose Pleco, it cleaned almost my entire 26g tank that was overrun with brown and green algae (I did this on purpose before getting the Pleco). I did a gravel vac the next day and the increase of waste in the gravel was impressive. They process the waste pretty quickly...

What kind of Pleco is it? If it is a common Pleco, do not give to to anyone with a 10g tank. They can grow at a good rate, reach almost 24 inches long, and will end up producing a lot of waste for a tank that small.

 

[afilter]

Thanks, I think it is a common. I will keep an eye on it, my LFS is pretty good about trades. If it gets to big I can probaly just trade for a small one again. Is there a pleco that stay relatively small?

 

[skys]

The pleco will do his part in cleaning some algae but dont fully depend on him to clean it all the time..you should still keep the tank nice and clean for him/her.
mystery snails always do a good job of cleaning algae same with ghostshrimps.

 

[Devilishturtles]

In your situation I would say no, it can't over-eat. The amount of algae in a 5 gal tank would not be too much for a pleco. They are very copius eaters and as grim said, produce a very large amount of waste. As for growing very fast, not sure about that.

They do grow quickly however, I have a common pleco (atleast that is what the fish store called it) in my 55 gal and it has grown to about 5-6 inches in less than a year.

 

[Allivymar]

And don't forget to feed him! Plecos can easily starve if there is no more algae for them to eat when they are small (older plecos need more protein in their diet which can be supplemented by the foods fed other fish). Algae wafers are the usual; just know they, along with the plec waste, can easily foul a tank.

Also, plecs need driftwood; they need the lignin in the wood for digestion.

Lastly, you'll likely need to trade him in pretty soon; common plecs grow quickly. Bristlenose plecs get to be a little smaller (around 6 inches). You might want to look into otocinclus; lil catfish (top out around 2 inches), good algae eaters; just be sure if you decide to go with them, there is a supply of algae in the tank for them already. They don't do well with very clean tanks (by clean I mean a lack of algae).

 

[PK Tester]

Plecos need driftwood? OMG...I have had mine for 3 months now without drift wood...my friend has had hers witout driftwood for 4 years now...oh no...I'm scared now...ugh.

 

[Allivymar]

Yeah they do need driftwood (the vegetarian plecs anyway). Helps with their digestion.

 

[William]

I've had my pleco for awhile with driftwood, and he totally ignores it. H e prefers sucking on a plastic stump as opposed to a real one

 

[Allivymar]

Heh dorky fish.

 

[tabitha]

i would think that instead of over eating that it would not eat enough... you will have to feed him algae tabs as a supplement.. cause once the algae is gone, theres not anything for him to eat...

anyways isnt there a dwarf pleco? my lfs has a 2 foot long pleco that is a monster!! im serious that thing is probably 25 pounds or more...

they do produce a lot of waste from what i heard so just keep the tank clean for him and the other fish

 

[William]

They produce alot of waste when their small, Imagine the poop that comes out of a 2 footer!!! 8O 8O 8O