Feeding BN Pleco..

[Catfish Lover]

Do these guys just not like fresh veggies when they are young? I have one that's about an inch and a half, he's been in the tank for about 3 weeks now and he eats algae about 90% of time. He will eat algae wafers and other bottom feeder food that I give my cories but will not eat fresh veggies that I clip on the side of tank. I've tried blanched cucumber, zucchini, and carrots and it goes untouched.

 

[henningc]

First, drop the food on the bottom. Second, blanch some frozen peas, cut them in half and let them sink to the bottom. They love them and sometimes that is the first real food they eat. Lettuce blanched also gets their attention. Algea waffer foods are bad about polluting the tank. If you think about it they are hard as a rock and dissolve in water. You have to wonder how much is actually eaten. If you have a crayfish or shrimp, they can eat the micro particles.

 

[Catfish Lover]

Forgot to mention peas, yes I feed them.. He doesn't eat them, the other fish do.....everything I put in my tank gets completely eaten believe me.. Nothing is polluting my tank. I crush up my wafers and with 12 corys and mollies in the tank EVERY SINGLE bit of food gets eaten.

 

[Rivercats]

I've found it takes time and patience on our part to get them to eat veggies. I know my current albino longfin BNP female took months before she decided that blanched zucchini was food along with a couple other items. Now she waits for the veggies to get put in. What I did was cut 3 slices of zucchini about 3/8" thick, nuked them for 6 seconds and run them under cold water. I put them on veggie clips and stick them about half way down the tank glass. My angels, whiptail cats, oto's, and even loaches eat on them which is how my bnp finally got the idea (well figured it was). It won't hurt to put some slices in daily as you may find some of your other fish might enjoy them also. I put mine in one morning them change them out for new the next morning. You just have to keep trying.

 

[Catfish Lover]

He seems pretty stubborn right now, he pushed everyone out the way to get to a pea,then decided he didn't want it,lol. All my other fish loves peas. My mollies nibbled at the carrots but the other stuff went untouched . I'll keep trying.

 

[Baddog671]

My common pleco wouldn't eat anything for the first 1-2 month that I had him. I thought he was going to starve because everything went untouched, and there is no visual algae in my tank. Recently I've noticed a big increase in his activity, specifically at night, and a big increase in poop! So, I don't know if he was upset with his new home and not-ideal water perameters at first, but he is acting better now.

I will agree with algae wafers polluting the water. My mollies like to grab mouthfuls when they finally soften up, and then spit it all back out.

 

[Catfish Lover]

I crush up my wafers into bits, everything gets eaten by all the fish. I also do 75% water changes weekly and heavily planted. My mollies are pigs, nothing gets spit out.