Problem Feeding Pleco Options

[butterflikissies]

Hey everyone..

I've had my rubbernose pleco for about 2 or 3 months now I think.. he's been doing fine just eating the algae in the tank but I noticed recently he seems to be kind of on the skinny side. I bought those algae wafer things when I first got him but my other fish devour it before he gets a chance to notice it's even there. I even put it right in front of him and he went right over it and didn't even acknowledge it being food. I just figured maybe he was fine just eating whatever was in the tank. Anywho's.. I've heard you can feed them fresh veggies so I've tried numerous types of veggies for him to eat.. with no luck. I just bought Zuccinni today and put that in the tank.. so far he has no interest in it. I'm just going to leave it in the tank till tonight before I go to bed. Everyone keeps saying how much their plecos loooovvveee zuccinni... but mine just swim's right past it. He's always moving around the tank so it's not like he's ill. At the moment he's sucking away at the glass. Any idea's what I should do to get him to eat?

[uaxhuh]

Do you feed him at night or during the day?

[butterflikissies]

Do you feed him at night or during the day?

Both... he must be so hungry he's out all day sucking around the tank. I think he finally realized the zuccini is food... I see him on it right now. Thank goodness! My parrot fish keeps poking at him though.. I think the parrot fish claimed the zuccini.. even though he doesnt even eat it.. lol


I think I may just leave it in all night as well. I'll take it out in the morning. It should be ok right?

[Crabfugium]

Sure. You could leave it in there for 2 or 3 days if you wanted to. That'll give him more time to work on it.

Sometimes I feed mine peas- I cut them in half with a sharp knife while they're still frozen. It usually seems like nobody is interested at first, but then everything disappears 12 to 24 hours later. Maybe veggies just taste better after they've been in the water for awhile.

[butterflikissies]

Your right.. the zucchini is kinda spongy looking now... and I don't need to even weigh it down anymore. But he's still munching away at it I'm glad. I'll just leave it in the tank than so he can finish it up. I was just worried it would screw up the water by leaving it in for too long. I do give my fish pea's once a week. There's no chance the pleco would get to eat them.. because the other fish get it soon as i drop it in the tank. The zucchini is working great... pleco likes it and the other fish don't care for it.. except for the one parrot fish. I don't get why he doesn't want any other fish near it when he doesn't even eat it... lol He just stares at the pleco literally in his face and pecks at him every now and than. It's actually kinda funny.

[acestro]

frozen peas are a GREAT food. I always forget to mix them in with my feedings. I usually take the shells off, but maybe those plecos eat up the shells?

[Trigga]

You should wait a few hours after shutting the lights PFC to feed your pleco the algae wafer.. The other fish will be fast asleep by that point and won't go after the wafer

[Crabfugium]

Yeah, my guys eat the shells too, but only after they've already eaten all of the insides. Apparently, they're not quite as tasty.

My fish would probably eat tin cans if I let them. Somebody keeps eating the plastic plants in my 125- I'm constantly netting out wads of munched up leaves and stems. I'm not sure whether to blame the Severums, Silver Dollars, or Archocentrus Cutteri for that mess, though. It probably isn't the plecos, although I hesitate to put anything past the Royal..

Trigga's right about feeding wafers with the lights out. Although if the room gets really dark, you probably shouldn't have to wait more than a few minutes after lights-out for everybody to fall asleep. I start tossing in wafers seconds after I flip the switch. Most of my fish have to actually see the food to go after it, so if the tank is totally dark they don't even need to be sleeping yet to leave it alone. At least that's what I believe- we'll see soon. I ordered a high-powered infra-red illuminator that'll work with my webcam. When it gets here, I'll finally be able to see who's eating how much of what. I've got so many nocturnal fish in some of my tanks that I never know what they're all up to. Nobody gets skinny, so I guess they're all getting enough food to survive. It'll be cool to see exactly what going on, though...

[acestro]

I've seen both royals and silver dollars munch on just about anything. Aren't there some fish (plecos?) that will even mess with the silicone?



and yeah, I've said 'no' to plecos, so the pea shells actually end up fungused (sp?) and uneaten.

[Crabfugium]

I haven't had any problems with silicone yet, but Royals supposedly have such nasty teeth that they can eat (or maybe just scratch up) acrylic tanks. I've seen the 'keep in glass tanks only' warnings several different places.

[acestro]

Yeah, I've definitely heard of acrylic issues, maybe that's what I was thinking of.

[Trigga]

Those Chinese algae eaters have been known to nip into the silicone as well

[butterflikissies]

The zucchini is all gone. Yesterday morning before I left to go to my parents house, I saw the zucchini with the peel all eaten up. When I got home at night the whole thing was gone. I can't find it any where. So.. I guess maybe the other fish finished it off or the pleco ate it up. I tried throwing in the wafers when I turn the tank light off but the problem is.. my husband goes to bed really late.. like 5am since he works nights.. so they always have some sort of light.. even if it's not at all bright.

I'm having a major problem with one of my tinfoil barbs now.. A bunch of his scales are bitten off.. and it looks sorta like his skin is a little torn.. and by his belly it's even redish. this must have happened over night.. He was fine yesterday. My parrot fish must have done it.. they are always nipping at them just never this bad. I'm hoping the person I am giving them to will pick them up tonight. I feel really bad to move them right now though since the one is probably stressed out already.. but Im scared to leave him in when he's already pretty badly hurt... What to do.. what to do...

[butterflikissies]

Ugh.. friend just called me and he said he can take them tonight.. but he said he wants to leave them in a big fish bowl for over night.. I don't get why.. makes no sense. I dont think they are going to live in a fish bowl.. hes insane! I don't know what to fricking tell him now.. I dont wanna give him my fish if hes going to keep them in a fish bowl tonight. He also told me he only keeps his filter on 8 hours a day! and turns everything off... How does this man keep his fish alive?!

This post has been edited by butterflikissies: Nov 27 2009, 07:45 PM

[uaxhuh]

is my reaction to that guy's fishkeeping.

[butterflikissies]

Yeah.. seriously. I think I'm going to give them to someone else. My brother said he would give them to this guy he works with. They have a 75 gallon tank in the office and he would be more than happy to take them. I wish I just gave them to him to begin with and not even bothered to ask this idiot. He didn't even show up or call me and I asked him to take them tonight if he wanted them since I'm having a prob with one of them being nipped.. He's been telling me he wants them for a month now. I'm going to give them to my brothers co-worker on monday.. and if my friend asks me tomorrow for them I'm telling him I gave them away already since I couldn't keep them in my tank with my parrot fish bugging them. He lost his chance.. and I don't trust him with my babies I want them to have a good home.. or I'll just keep them myself! I'm just so mad right now. In a way I'm glad he didn't show up. I wouldn't sleep tonight knowing my two fish are in a fish bowl with no filtration or heater.

[Crabfugium]

Wow, you're dealing with a real genius. I think he needs to start out with something more appropriate to his skill level. Like maybe a pet rock or a Tamagotchi.

What kind of filter is it? Lots of filters could go anaerobic and spew poison into the tank after being turned off for 16 hours just once, let alone 16 hours every day. Let me guess- the heater runs on the same schedule. Makes me wonder what kind of poor miserable fish are being put through this without all dying immediately. Pretty sad all around. The Tinfoils will thank you for sending them off to that 75 gallon office tank instead.

BTW- are you really sure that the Parrots were the ones munching on the Tinfoils? All the Parrots that I've seen aren't capable of closing their mouths far enough to deliver a damaging bite. They have plenty of attitude, but they're pretty much limited to just head-butting stuff. I've heard that sometimes plecos will attach to the sides of fish and eat body slime or scales. I've never seen it myself, but I've never had rubbernoses either..

[MR.FREEZ]

i seen large aquariums use a pvc pipe stuck in the water and they drop the food in that so it floats to the bottom feeding fish and the swimmer cant get to it, you can still use those waffers if you wanted too

[uaxhuh]

I've heard that sometimes plecos will attach to the sides of fish and eat body slime or scales. I've never seen it myself, but I've never had rubbernoses either..

Actually you made me remember something I personally saw a while ago. I did see a roughly 6 inch pleco munching on the side of a 4 inch blood parrot. Pretty gnarly. I'd imagine it was after the slime coat, but the parrot looked like it was enduring more. These weren't my fish BTW, otherwise I wouldn't have simply just watched.

[butterflikissies]

I am absolutely positive that it's my parrot fish.. they are constantly nipping at the barbs. The biggest one mostly.. since the smaller barb kinda hides behind the rock or log I have in th tank. ( the bigger barb seems to like to chase him.. they seriously need a larger tank) I didn't think it was possible either at first... but my rubbernose pleco doesn't bother anyone in the tank.. and my parrots and barbs are always pecking at him and he just lays there like he could care less lol than they get bored and swim off. The one barb that was badly bitten is healed 100% now. I'm going to tell my brother that his friend can take them now. ( I didnt really want to move them when he was already stressed)

As far as the idiot I was going to give my fish to... I believe he has the same filter as I do. The aquaclear. I honestly don't know how he shuts his filter off after only 8 hours and his fish are still alive. When I asked him why he does that.. he said to save electric and that it wasn't necessary.. he also said.. my water is clean. I just nodded my head.. I didn't feel like explaining to him the importance of having the filter running since he is clueless! and here I thought I was clueless about fish keeping.. pfft! When I went to his house.. I saw two shark looking fish, an angel fish, a common pleco and a goldfish? lol I didnt get the gold fish.. but whatever works for him. By the way.. he just bought a new set up a couple of months ago.. and when I asked him if the tank was cycled he looked at me puzzled.. I didnt want to give him my fish if it wasnt cycled yet.. which is why I've been holding onto these barbs as long as I have.. which I did for nothing..

By the way... reason why I dont bother explaining to him what he's doing wrong is because he's the type of person that thinks he knows it all. I can't be bothered with people like that.

This post has been edited by butterflikissies: Dec 4 2009, 06:18 PM