# Wut do i feed a pleco??



## slipx888 (Nov 19, 2003)

i havnt seen my pleco eat any flake food...it just sucks the wall! but theres no algae! i just cleaned the tank! i emptied the whole tank out and power sprayed all the algae off! i bought him yesterday too! wuts he eat??


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## The Wave (Oct 22, 2003)

they sell pellets just for plecos,check your lfs.


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## slipx888 (Nov 19, 2003)

how many times a day do i feed them? how much do i feed him each time? hes an inch big


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## The Wave (Oct 22, 2003)

the pellets are sold in differnt sizes,start slow,don't over feed,you will learn how mucth and often,my tanks have some alge,so i only give pellets every 2 weeks.


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## slipx888 (Nov 19, 2003)

k thx for the info...wut brand is best? anything in particular?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Hakari makes good pellet foods...

*_Moved to Bottom Dwellers and Stingrays Forum_*


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## slipx888 (Nov 19, 2003)

k thank u very much


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

cucumber & zuchinni are also good


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## beavis (Nov 24, 2003)

I feed my plyco the same shrimp that I feed my Piranhas. I also feed them goldfish corpses.


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## beavis (Nov 24, 2003)

slipx888 said:


> i emptied the whole tank out and power sprayed all the algae off! i bought him yesterday too! wuts he eat??


 Its usually not a good idea to completely empty a tank and power spray algae off. This usually depletes the tanks supply of beneficial bacteria and starts the cycling process all over. An alterative to power blasting the tank is lower the bio load and keeping the water perimeters at an exceptable rates. Also reduce the amount of light.

I personally don't mind algae. I have my pleco encapsulated in a 10 gallon with the lights on 24/7 for optimum algae growth. Lowers feeding costs for the plyco and gives the tank a more natural look.


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

beavis said:


> slipx888 said:
> 
> 
> > i emptied the whole tank out and power sprayed all the algae off! i bought him yesterday too! wuts he eat??
> ...












Oh and also shrimp & dead goldfish are not good pleco foods


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

Oh yeah, and Welcome to PFury


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## akio525 (Sep 4, 2003)

I prefer to not feed my pleco directly. I dont allow any extra pellets or anything to stay in the tank so that it forces my pleco to eat all my elongs crap instead of uneaten food.


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

akio525 said:


> I prefer to not feed my pleco directly. I dont allow any extra pellets or anything to stay in the tank so that it forces my pleco to eat all my elongs crap instead of uneaten food.


 This is not a good idea









why not stop feeding your elongatus also hopeing it turns to algea?

you should feed all of your fish


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## Black-Phoenix (Oct 21, 2003)

zuchinni is a great food....the smaller the better and also remove the seeds...they won't eat them.....dead fish and shrimp are perfect foods for some plecos......just don't expect any Ancistrus plecos to thrive on it.


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## marko78 (Sep 10, 2003)

Plecos will eat parts and pieces of dead goldfish, they also eat the algae that grows in your tank. I have never feed my pleco. He just eats leftovers and algae and keeps getting bigger! If your tank doesn't have much algae, your lfs should have algae pellets. But I wouldn't worry about it


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

marko78 said:


> Plecos will eat parts and pieces of dead goldfish, they also eat the algae that grows in your tank. I have never feed my pleco. He just eats leftovers and algae and keeps getting bigger! If your tank doesn't have much algae, your lfs should have algae pellets. But I wouldn't worry about it


 as I said before this is not a good way to keep a pleco


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

so we should only feed our plecos algae wafer. mine sometimes suck leftover food to nothing. they also try to suck the algae off the filter sceen and i keep having to turn it off so they dont die. stupid plecos


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## Birdman (Mar 19, 2003)

i feed my plecos every night,"no fighting children, every one gets a algae wafer"


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

sweet lu said:


> so we should only feed our plecos algae wafer. mine sometimes suck leftover food to nothing. they also try to suck the algae off the filter sceen and i keep having to turn it off so they dont die. stupid plecos


 not just algea wafers but catfish pellets, cucumber & zuchinni, Oh and the algea in the tank, and leftovers.

also some species of pleco have special needs like more vegetable matter or driftwood


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## Lahot (May 20, 2003)

yeah, you can't forget about the shrimp pellets


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Innes said:


> Oh and also shrimp & dead goldfish are not good pleco foods


 I agree on the dead feeders, but there's definitely nothing wrong with feeding your pleco's shrimps.
Many species (the more carnivorous/scavenging ones) love shrimps: as a matter of fact, I haven't had a single pleco that didn't like shrimp (and I have had quite a few), and there are many people that will agree with this....


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## Black-Phoenix (Oct 21, 2003)

:nod:


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Every animal has a specific diet, Pl*cos included,
research the species to provide the correct diet.
This is the best way to care for your animal.

Pl*cos certianly can not survive or thrive on Cichlid sh*t or
leftovers alone, Pellets and Tablets are not a good diet.

Shrimps are fine But I would give them full bodied shrimp or frozen Krill,
Zuchinni, cucumber and Blanched greens make an excellect food.
A quality Frozen Herbivore food also is good.

Some species also are quite the meat eaters, Frozen or live Bloodworms,
Brine shrimp or Blackworms are benificitial.

Innes brings up a very important part of a Pl*cos diet, Decaying wood,
Many species need this for their health, this Is often seriously overlooked.


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

well i have just noticed that my plecos have started to suck that paint off a fake piece of driftwood. the paint is harmless and made for aquariums. is that bad. they dont eat it they just suck it off and it gets sucked up into the filter.


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## goochild (Aug 10, 2006)

Its all about shrimp pellets they love them!


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

dude. please look at the date of the last post and then think to yourself "Does the original poster still need this question answered?" I think after 3 years either the pleco died of starvation or she/he figured out that sinking algee wafers is the way to go. with the occasional meat and wood.


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