Pleco ate a tetra?

[canadian_eh]

This is weird...I just added a group of neons yesterday and waking up this morning 1 is missing. I've checked the filter twice (took it apart and cleaned it) and have re-arranged everything looking for it. The only other things in the tank are guppies, a cory and a (gold nugget I think) pleco.

Is it possible the pleco ate a neon overnight? The tank is well covered so I can't think of anything else that may have happened....any thoughts

Thanks
-Ron

 

[Madame_X]

Its possible, but probably only if the tetra had already died. Its pretty unlikely that the pleco would have capture and eaten a healthy fish.

Neons are pretty sensitive fish.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I have actually heard of this before. Was it a fairly large pleco? What kind of pleco?

Apparently there was a guy who had a whole school start to disappear one buy one. One night just after lights out he watched the tetras fall asleep and rest on the bottom. Soon after the pleco came by and sucked them up like popcorn. This doesn't seem to be a very common occurance, but i guess it does happen.

My only thought is that perhaps you have an omnivorous pleco, perhaps you could suppliment his diet with some bloodworms.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Wow, my only thought would be that your neon died, and then the pleco ate it afterwards, but I thought that plecos were strict herbivores? Either that or one of your other fish ate it after it died?

What you said Roger, is pretty freaky...

 

[LAGlocker]

Its the attack of the secert invisible fish eating thing........................ really I agree that it is most likely that the fish died and afterwards was eatin, or picked apart by the other fish.

 

[madasafish]

Plecs are not by any means strict herbivores--this is a really common misconception, though. Most plecs are omnivores, and some are almost exclusively carnivores (e.g. Vampire Plecs, most Hypancistrus spp.). Gold Nuggets are Baryancistrus species (L-18, 81 and 177), and thus very much omnivorous bordering on carnivorous. They also are known to eat dead fish, too.

If a neon died, it's entirely possible that the plec would eat it, but how big is this plec? If it's a really large one, it probably would have eaten the neon quickly, but if it's smaller, it may just have sucked at the slime coat. The skeleton may still be there...

Plecs aren't hunters, though. The story Roger mentioned is definitely an exception to a rule, though I certainly believe it could happen.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:f433c5a84f] Welcome to AA, canadian_eh!! [/center:f433c5a84f]
The only thing I can add is--watch the fish tonight to see what happens. How larfe is the tank? How long has it been set up?

 

[webmoose]

I have a small pleco and a small cory that had a nipped fin so I guess he was a little weak. I put in an algea tab and I think the algea tab was what the pleco was after but he did damage to my cory at the same time.. The pleco then started chewing on the panda so he either took advantage of the situation or mistoke my panda for an algea tab... Needless to say I am not very happy with my pleco right now and I ended up losing the cory.

 

[canadian_eh]

Thanks everyone. I will try to keep an eye on them tonight...maybe even set up the video camera wtih night-shot. This pleco is large compared to the tiny neons..its mouth is about neon sized and has always been a bit aggressive when he starts feeding.

I'll let you know how they do tonight...keeping fingers crossed.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Do you have any idea on the species, or is it just a common?

 

[canadian_eh]

I think it was called Golden Nugget

 

[flipz]

Definetly make sure you are in the dark, and the tank lights are off when you are watching them. Maybe you know that already, but that's when the real behavior comes out and you see the true fish. 8O

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I think that would make a great video... haha I'd watch it.

-brent

 

[canadian_eh]

I think its a Golden Nugget.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/baryanci/153_f.php

Well that makes him a fairly likely culprit.

 

[canadian_eh]

Great site...thanks....sorry for the dual post on the fish type...I was looking for my post not realizing it was on the second page

Newbies must always be good for a bit of a laugh

 

[madasafish]

I think Roger was asking about Mebmoose's plec, right? In which case, it's a bristlenose (see sig line).

 

[webmoose]

hopefully my bristlenose isn't going to turn into a territorial beast before the remaining cories have change to grow to a larger compatible size. I don't want my cories to be pleco food.

canadian_eh how is your tank doing now?