pleco needs?

[3newbie3]

I adopted a pleco that previously lived in a green, filthy 20 gal aquarium.
To make long story short, we started 3 tanks approx 2 mo ago, take very good care, & will probably have no visible algae.

Petco person told me to buy algae tablets, but I think the mollies get to it before Paco does. Primarily he hangs out on the filter. Sometimes inside the castle. He doesn't complain but I'm wondering if he is going to survive in an environment that shows no visible algae. He NEVER cruises the glass sides of the tank.

 

[hc8719]

welcome to aa

supposably alot of plecos live deep enough in the amazon that there is no algae, so dont mind him if he gets a little active when you feed your fish, looking for scraps the fish miss, algae is just a bonus apparently

i feed mine skinned cucumbers, but he only really massacres the cucumber after its been sitting in the tank for 2 days, which will also start clouding the water

heres a tip:
put some cucumber in as soon as it gets dark, and remove it in the morning (plecos are nocturnal, so this works out great, plus it doesnt leave time for the water to cloud up)

 

[3newbie3]

Honestly, we never see him scurrying around. The only time I have ever seen him move is when I lift the castle checking to see if he is still alive. Hard to get a good look at him on the black eclipse thing, but he doesn't look scrawny. I feed the other fish in small amts such that none falls to the floor.

Speaking of weird fish behavior, I also adopted 2 Mickey Mouse platys that were in the same filthy 20 gal tank. They hang out in the back with Paco the pleco and RARELY move from their corner. They'll go for food if it happens to pass in front of their noses.

None of the tetras, mollies, or guppies we have act like this (ie, hiding w/ minimal activity).

Do you think it's because they were in a horrible previous home, or are they getting old, or still getting accustomed to their surroundings (6 wks).

Or is this normal platy behavior?

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Do you know what sort of pleco it is? As stated above, plecs don't eat algae for the most part. Feeding can range from wood to meaty foods depending on what species you have.

An ID would be nice, but good general feeding usually involves greens (like cucumber), some meatier things (bloodworms or pellets), and driftwood.

 

[Pleco]

If you have a picture i can probably ID him for you. I would sink a piece of Zucchini in the water before you go to sleep, or put the algae tab around his hiding spot but in the evening.

Algae is kinda treat for them, they will eat leftover food and other organisms it finds in the tank. Give him some time to adjust, given the shy nature of most pleco's sometimes it takes longer than usual for them to adjust.

-Pleco

 

[Guest]

plecos are nocturnal. i never see mine unless i turn the lights off in the evening and look for them.

also, you can have some algae and not see it. touch some of your ornaments. if they feel a little slimy, you have some growth, probably more than enough than he needs. they also eat poop, dead plants, sunken fish food, dead organisms (like malasian trumpet snails) and stuff like that.

If he isn't dead or looking sick, chances are he is ok. try looking for him one night after lights out. i bet you find him scurrying over decorations, plants and substrate and cruising along the glass getting all the microscopic munchies.

 

[7Enigma]

Plecos do not eat fish waste. It is a common misconception. I'm sure anything starving might eat their own feces, but commonly no fish do. I have a cory catfish with similar behavior to your pleco. He hides all day in a small ceramic upside-down cup, and comes out only right when the lights go off. I sneak into the room in the dark and will drop a shrimp pellet or algae wafer in to make sure he gets a good meal. I don't do this every night, but probably 2-3 times per week.

You can always tell if they are malnourished, so use their body as a judge of their health.

 

[hc8719]

Speaking of weird fish behavior, I also adopted 2 Mickey Mouse platys that were in the same filthy 20 gal tank. They hang out in the back with Paco the pleco and RARELY move from their corner. They'll go for food if it happens to pass in front of their noses.

Do you think it's because they were in a horrible previous home, or are they getting old, or still getting accustomed to their surroundings (6 wks).

Or is this normal platy behavior?

this is not normal platy behavior, my red wag platys are always at the top of the tank, they are by nature top dwellers, they should also be one of the first fish to swim to the surface when you drop in some flakes, in fact, until i got my much larger moonlight and kissing gouramis, the platys would often eat most of the food before anyone else got a chance to have some

red wags and mickymouse platys are as far as i can tell, almost the same thing

 

[3newbie3]

Paco the pleco looks just like pictures of Hypostomus plecostomus,
Common Pleco, Suckermouth Catfish that I found on the net.

Thanks for all the advice & info on both pleco & the 2 platys. I bought a cucumber & will try it tonight for the pleco. I am often up til 2 a.m., so hopefully will finally see him eating.

As for the 2 platys, I thought perhaps they were a bit overwhelmed by all the crazy toddler & pre-teen mollies that we adopted. Since the mollies got bigger in the past 6 wks, I moved several of them to my big 3rd tank which just has 10 guppies. Also moved plants & castle to further back in the tank (literally putting them in the former platys' corner.) They're showing a little more activity now.

 

[JRagg]

Make sure to skin the cucumber and remove the seeds.

 

[7Enigma]

Make sure to skin the cucumber and remove the seeds.

Remove the seeds? I've never done this and never seen any visible signs of distress (constipation?) from any of my fish.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

The center part spoils the fastest, and the seeds generally arn't eaten.

The thing that confused me was removing the skin. I always thought it was good for keeping everything held together. Besides, some plecs like that part.

 

[Pleco]

The thing that confused me was removing the skin. I always thought it was good for keeping everything held together. Besides, some plecs like that part.

My pleco likes it too but most modern grocers put a wax on the outside of the veggies in order to bring out that shine on the skin. If you leave it in the water too long you risk clouding your water when this wax starts to dissolve off. I dont think it can hurt the fish, its more of an asthetics thing.

-Pleco

 

[7Enigma]

I also skin the cucumber before putting it in the tank, but have never removed the center section with the seeds. My tiger barbs and Oto's tend to go for that part first since it seems to be more fleshy and easily ripped off. I'll have to watch closer to see if they are just pulling these pieces off to get to the tougher parts, but I'm doubtful (anything these guys put their mouths on they will attempt to eat, regardless of the size/shape ).

 

[3newbie3]

pleco

Last night I put in the cuke right next to Paco who was busy munching on the glass behind the filter. I had to stick the cuke partly in the gravel to keep it from floating around.

Paco ignored it, but the Mollies went crazy for the seed part. The next a.m.. no more of the cuke had been eaten and Paco was back in the castle.

How thick of a cuke piece do you put in? I cut a circular section approx 1/4 inch thick & nuked it til soft.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

To prevent floating I would suggestthis. I also like the magfeeder (there is a review in our review section), but can't seem to find an active link to buy one anywhere.

 

[3newbie3]

Hi Roger M

Looks like from your post that you had 2 ideas (?maybe got distracted before being able to share your 1st one?)

So is the circular morsel what people make. After thinking about it, I guessed it might be easier to eat if the piece was long & narrow.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

The first "this" was a link (hard to see if you arn't looking for it) to a product called the screwcumber. It is basically a metal coil that you screw into whatever you want to sink. The screwcumber is good for larger pieces that can't be put in a clip.

In general I just chop a bit of cucumber from the end leaving a circle, and clip it in my mag float. I cut out the seeds, so my by bristlenose usually starts from the middle and eats out.

 

[3newbie3]

oops--sorry, I'm new to the site, so didn't realize I could click on it.

 

[Jchillin]

The first time I introduced veggies to my Sailfin pleco, he couldn't figure out whether it was an edible or a toy. I cut it into a nice slice too. Eventually, he began searching for it. As he grew, the slice wasn't enough so I began feeding quartered pieces.

Since then, he has grown to immense proportions and he now gets an entire half. I have dwarf plecos in with him and he doesn't mind sharing the bounty.

As far as preparation...skin on, seeds out.