diggers

[Mitz]

I have a large established tank. I switched to live plants 3 years or so ago, and have had good success. However, either my plecostomus and/or catfish continually dig them up. I have tried large rocks, etc. I had mesh suggested, but I don't know what to use to attach the mesh. Is a pure silicone ok in the tank? Other thoughts?

 

[Ashenwelt]

I have a large established tank. I switched to live plants 3 years or so ago, and have had good success. However, either my plecostomus and/or catfish continually dig them up. I have tried large rocks, etc. I had mesh suggested, but I don't know what to use to attach the mesh. Is a pure silicone ok in the tank? Other thoughts?

Seachem and a few others make epoxy glue safe for aquaria that is to be glued between the target and a plant. Otherwise use very thin monofilement fishing line

 

[Goldguru]

my thought would be do you have any bogwood in the tank?
reading about those fish for myself it appears they require fibre for digestion,so maybe they are going for your roots to get what they need?
a decomposing piece of wood may slow them down.


"You will find that these catfish absolutely love aquarium driftwood in their habitat. Some species come very close to needing it in their diet to chew on and such too. Make sure to research your particular species on if they need driftwood in their diet."

or try this.

As mentioned earlier in this article, the Pleco will help remove excessive algae growth from the aquarium. In most aquariums, the Pleco will however need more food than just natural algae. Algae wafers from the pet store are usually highly appreciated. Since wild Bristlenose Pleco feed on plant material, it will also like vegetables in the aquarium. You can for instance feed your Bristlenose Pleco boiled peas, cucumber and squash. (sourced: aquariumforum.info)

 

[plantnoob]

Are you feeding the pleco? People tend to think algae in the tank is enough for the pleco. In reality, they need a lot more than that. My pleco constantly went for Amazon sword leaves and when belligerent, uprooted a few plants. But I've been feeding him zucchini and papaya now for a few weeks now and he's snug as a bug in a rug My swords now have a chance to survive and nothing has been uprooted in a while.


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[seove]

Plecos do have a heavy appetite and like protein also as they get larger. If they don't get enough to eat, they will wreck your plants. I started a planted tank some years ago and I realized that that is one of my worse purchases. They should be in a larger than 55g and with Oscars and such. Once I was able to catch it, I took it back to the story and now have dwarf plecos and they have been leaving the plants alone.