what to feed a bristlenose pleco

[missgingersnap]

I got a BN pleco a few days ago. I put in a piece of wood for him and bought algae discs but my little piggy cories eat them before the pleco gets a chance. I know you're supposed to feed vegies too but not sure what. I've heard cucumber, zucinni, and yams. Do they need to be cooked at all and how do I get them to stay at the bottom? Can they they eat regular lettuce? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[WhiteDevil]

no lettuce, iceberg is like 90% water its got no health value.

My plecos used to LOVE zuch's uncooked of course.

Plecos when they are small will eat algea like crazy but when they get bigger they dont. they tend to eat regular food before algae.

they will sink on their own, or get a veggie clip in the fish food aisle and use that, it works the best for plecos and herbi-fish

 

[darkmule27]

BNs are fabulous algae eaters. If you have some large, aquarium-safe smooth stones, put them in some dirty tank water, set on a window ledge, and let the algae flourish, then place it in the tank.
You can feed them a wide variety of veggies. Lettuce is good if it's dark green (dark green veggies are the best for everyone!), but you can also feed them spinach, cucumber, zuchinni, peas, carrots, basically any veggie or fruit. Mine even nibbled on a banana some, but the swordtails decided they liked it far more.
I wash a fork REALLY well, wipe with an antibacterial bleach wipe, rinserinserinserinserinse, wipe, rinse x5 again, then place in a container with dechlorinted water while transporting it to the tank. Either stab the veggie or just put the fork on top. You can also tie it to a stone with fishing line or rubber bands.

One thing to remember is that BNs are nocturnal. Drop an algae wafer in after you turn the light out every couple of days. Your BN will sniff it out pretty quickly. Mine pounces on his algae wafers now, swats away anyone who tries to take some (which is basically everyone in the tank!), and then drags them back into his daytime "cave"...it's hilarious to watch and the reason he quickly got named Howard (as in Hughes ).

For a great article on feeding veggies to fish:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/39/1/Veggies-for-your-fish/Page1.html

 

[WhiteDevil]

^^^ Great link, thanks. I know it wasnt directed me me but I needed that link bad. I never owned a BN just commons. Mine was just experience related.

 

[missgingersnap]

Thanks for the info guys. That link was really informative. I tried broccoli tonight so we'll see if it gets nibbled over night. I'm going to try something new every night and see how it goes.

 

[darkmule27]

Just remember to remove uneaten veggies so they don't foul up your tank. Also, my BN only likes to eat every few days, but YMMV.

 

[missgingersnap]

I'll take the vegies out the next day if they aren't eaten. I have no idea when mine likes to eat. I hardly ever see him. He just came out tonight for the first time and is hanging out right in the open. Maybe he's starting to loosen up.
What does YMMV mean?

 

[darkmule27]

your mileage may vary
It took my BN a couple days until he settled in, but we also had a TON of delicious algae to bribe him, lol. We still rarely see him until an algae wafer plunks in.

 

[missgingersnap]

Thanks....I think I'll try the rock in the window sill trick and see if I can coax him out a bit more. I don't really have any algae in my tank.