I have a pleco I got from someone else, we've had him a week now and I haven't seen him eat once. We put down some cucumber and some potatoes and both were untouched.
We also put some algae wafers in but he doesn't touch them and the other fish eat them.
We have 2 x Dwarf Gourami, 4x Swordtails, 2x clown loaches as well as the pleco. Also it seems one of the Swordtails might be pregnant as she has a very swollen stomach, What should we do?
Answers:
they are algae eaters and clean the sides and bottoms of the tanks and any uneaten food in the gravel,they come out at night,and do this so dont worry everything is ok
most Plecos eat at night and mine eats the algae in my tank, he might be eating and you just don't notice it.
Possible solutions
Ask the previous owners what they fed
or wait until he eventually eats.. algae, wafer, or cucumbers etc.
You aren't likely to ever catch the pleco eating because they are nocturnal and even at night, they will freeze at the first sign of motion. I usually just drop a slice of cucumber in the tank and wait, in a few days it's usually gone. If it looks as though he's not touching it after a few days, try boiled zucchini. I've heard of a lot of pleco owners using that. In the meantime, don't worry. Plecos usually can manage for weeks or longer on just the algae that grows inside a tank, depending, of course on the size of the pleco and the tank.
Try going to www.plecofanatics.com for more help.
Also, if your swordtail is pregnant, you should see a dark reddish area right behind her silvery other organs. if you look closely, you'll even be able to see the babies' eyes. The babies are most likely to survive if you can set up another tank for her to give birth in, and for them to grow up in. If you can do this, make sure to put in plenty of thick leafy plants and take her out as soon as it looks like she's done birthing her babies. if it isn't possible for you to get another tank to put her in, i reccommend at least getting a mesh breeder net, and a few fake plants covering the bottom third of the net at least until the babies are born and momma moves back into the normal tank.
Good luck, and email me with any more questions.
Most pleco are night time feeders. Drop in the food before lights out. Some time with hard food they will often wait until the food softens. (Some people blanc vegs before throwing them in.) Also he might be eating left over food, or eat algae at night. There are a lot of kinds of pleco. Most are omnivore scavengers, and many will eat meaty foods by preference. Personally I wouldn't worry unless all the algae vanishes in your tank, and you see him actively feeding during the day. Just throw in zucchini slices, broccoli stems, or algae wafers once a week or so before lights out for a balanced diet.
Personally I feed my plecos broccoli stems, and carrots as they sink. (Note I have a clown pelco who likes hard food like carrots.) They also get a lot of algae due to massive amounts of natural light, as well missed algae flakes.
plecos are night time feeders plus bottom feeders plus they hide alot so unless u watch it all the time u will probably not see it eating.
http://fishtank.9f.com
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