Question about plecos?

[Minabug]

Still redoing the 55 gallon fish tank at an elementary school and have 4 black skirt tetras currently. There's not enough algae growth yet, but when the time comes I'm going to get a pleco. I only have petsmart/petco/walmart so I'll have to buy a pleco from there.

My question is, apart from algae in the tank and algae wafers (I have some Hikari algae wafers), what else can I feed a pleco to make sure it stays healthy? I've seen some people feed them vegetables, what types, how often, and how do you give it to them? I worry about just dropping it in the tank and it rotting or vegetables hurting other fish.

Any other help on plecos would be great. They're adorable and I look forward to getting one in a few weeks.

[alLexX]

most plecos dont eat much algae. and they will eat a lot more than just algae.like veggies,sinking pellets,etc. the black skirts should be in a school of at least 6

[tulip55555]

Mine loves carrots, cucumber, zucchini, watermelon...

[bruinsbro1997]

Before you feed them vegetables, make sure you prepare them (ex. boil and then blanch) beforehand. Most fish don't like raw veggies because they are too tough for them to chew on.

[Love2Fish]

Get some driftwood in there for it because they like to eat that

[tulip55555]

Originally Posted by love2fish

get some driftwood in there for it because they like to eat that

very important!!

[tulip55555]

Originally Posted by bruinsbro1997

Before you feed them vegetables, make sure you prepare them (ex. boil and then blanch) beforehand. Most fish don't like raw veggies because they are too tough for them to chew on.

I put them in raw, they last longer before they start to get soft. Keeps all the vitamins that way, too. I figure if they can rasp wood they can eat a raw zucchini.

[Minabug]

Driftwood? Wow, never knew that. What store would sell driftwood? Would the pleco be okay until I could get some driftwood? Running on a school budget that's very tight.

Thanks for the advice on the veggies.

[fanaticbooks]

Just a brief warning....

Where Plecos are concerned, I bought mine from petsmart and was told later they buy the ones that get very BIG 2-3 feet at least. My Pleco grew from 1 inch to 10 inches in less than a year. I had to find a new home for him because of my kind of tank which has a narrow opening.

I mention this because children get very attached to their fish and it would be a shame if you had to remove simply because of size.

JMO.
fanaticbooks

[Minabug]

The kids at the school loved the fish they used to have in the tank. It was sad that the tank was neglected for months and killed all the fish, just one little fish was barely alive and all the little kids kept asking if the fish was going to die, it broke their little hearts.

It's for a 55 gallon aquarium, where would be the best place to buy a pleco from? Around here all I have is a Walmart, Petsmart and Petco. The ones are Petsmart they had my last trip out there looked so tiny at the moment, but they'll grow huge. Theirs were maybe 2 inches (alot of them were dead also, they said they got over 70 in one shipment )

[LyndaB]

Originally Posted by Minabug

I only have petsmart/petco/walmart so I'll have to buy a pleco from there.

You might be pleasantly surprised if you google "pet supplies" in your local area. I did it and came up with many stores that sold not only fish supplies but also fish. I was amazed. One lfs is about 10 minutes from where I work and, although small, always has really healthy stock.

[Love2Fish]

The driftwood you can get from most any pet store but it is kinda costly. You could feed it the other stuff for a bit but most people agree they need the driftwood for part of their diet. It also takes quite a bit of time to prepare, I got some out of a local creek and boiled it for a couple hrs and have been soaking it and changing the water for a couple weeks now, daily. I guess it takes months sometimes to get it so it doesn't seep many tannins into the water, which will make your tank a tea color unless you have charcoal in the filter to absorb it

[tulip55555]

Driftwood is an important part of their diet. I know it aids their digestive system. You can get driftwood from any LFS. You should be able to find a small piece for $5 (ish) The main reason to boil wood that you get in nature is to disinfect it and saturate it so it sinks. Most of the stuff they sell in stores is very heavy and will sink right away. The reason you would soak that is to get some of the tannins out. You would do this for 2 main reasons...first, the tannins will stain your water and make it brown and second, tannins lower your Ph and if it drops too fast it is bad for the fish. I get my wood from LFS and soak it for about 2 days until the water isn't very brown anymore.

[Love2Fish]

Originally Posted by tulip55555

Driftwood is an important part of their diet. I know it aids their digestive system. You can get driftwood from any LFS. You should be able to find a small piece for $5 (ish) The main reason to boil wood that you get in nature is to disinfect it and saturate it so it sinks. Most of the stuff they sell in stores is very heavy and will sink right away. The reason you would soak that is to get some of the tannins out. You would do this for 2 main reasons...first, the tannins will stain your water and make it brown and second, tannins lower your Ph and if it drops too fast it is bad for the fish. I get my wood from LFS and soak it for about 2 days until the water isn't very brown anymore.

What she said... I mean it really depends on the piece of wood how long it has to be soaked and what not. I mean if you want to take the time putting in the effort to boil it at home and soak it a few days to however long it takes they are cool additions to your tank, but they are primarily nocturnal it seems and spend a lot of time unseen so it might not be the best thing for some students to be able to see all the time. But it could be worth it if you want to put the time and effort into it go for it and maybe you will get lucky!

[fanaticbooks]

I would try to find some store specializing in fish. Talk to them and maybe they can find you one that won't grow large. The first Pleco I had I had for over 8 years and he never got larger than 6 or 7 inches I think it was. He stayed within the parameters I needed for my tank.

I think there are breeds out there but don't know how to locate.

[fadetoblack06]

If you go to petco you can buy the presoaked wood and just rinse it off and check for snails and it will be all good to go. If I were you too I would get a bristle nose pleco which they also sell at the petco. The wood would be less than $5 with out a plant on it and also the bristlenose pleco, they sell albino and also the normal bristle nose, are less than $5.00 too. I would suggest getting two of the bristle nose plecos because then you may have get a boy and a girl. The boys have bristles all over their nose and the females usually do not get them on their faces. Either way I believe that they get to be about 5". I feed mine cucumber, they barely touch anything else in there. What I do too is use a stainless steel fork, the kind that you can pull the top out of the bottom and then just use the top of the fork and push the end not stuck in the cucumber into the gravel. Only leave it in for 24 hours or less.

[Amicus]

I would watch buying any fish from WalMart, the one by me had the wort tropical conditions I had ever seen. I'll bet there is a nice LFS by you, they know fish and can give you better advice. I saw someone mentioned a bristle nose pleco and that is a good choice, they will not get over 4" long. Two BNs would be cool in a 55g. I feeed mine zuccini as a treat, I do not blanch it and mine go for it right away. I use a paperclip to anchor it. I extend one end to 90 degrees and poke it between the meat and the skin. I then use the rest of the clip to anchor it. It may take a little bit for it register as food but once it does they will not hesitate to munch. I leave mine in for about a day and a half, it doesn't foul your water as fast as you think. I also supplement with algae wafers and carnivore pellets. Mopani wood has the most tannins that I have seen, there are others out there. The staining from the tannins is not harmful to your fish and will not soften your water fast enough to be harmful. Also, the tannins should go away in about 6 months.

[Amicus]

Sorry for additional post. Severum Mama/HN1 have a great selection of healthy fish. Usually listed in the classifieds.

[Amicus]

Originally Posted by tulip55555

Mine loves carrots, cucumber, zucchini, watermelon...

Think I'll try carrots and watermelon!

[tulip55555]

If you get wood that was in another tank I would soak it in potassium permanganate to kill algae, snails and bacteria. It is the active ingredient in Jungle's Clear Water. I would soak any plants you buy, too.