What do plecos like to eat

Depending on the species of pleco, you also need to provide driftwood for them to rasp on to help digest their food. Most pet stores or fish stores will sell algae wafers also available on Amazon. Simply placing them in the water will soak up and disperse the algae for your plecos.

When you feed your pleco these foods, make sure to wash off the veggies, chop them into tiny pieces, and drop a few of them into the tank. You should also watch to see which vegetables your plecos eat to know what you should buy more often. Keep in mind that larger foods — like a full slice of cucumber — might take a while for them to eat. However, you can feed bloodworms and small shrimp to them once or twice a week to promote healthy growth and development.

Another option is to try out shrimp pellets to see if your pleco enjoys them. Some species of pleco require driftwood to rasp on. One theory is that they do this because the wood often has algae on the surface, and this algae supplements their diet. If you have any of the following species of pleco, make sure that your enclosure contains driftwood:.

Sometimes it is a report that plants are being damaged, rasped and scarred. But this is again a fishkeeper problem, not a fish problem. The majority of the attack fish — and it can be any of the plecos — are fed nothing at all. I have never been able to confirm an instance of this extreme starvation behavior where the fish had regular access to fresh veggies.

The sad part is that once this behavior is established, it seems to be hard to overcome. I suppose neurotic or psychotic fish are as conceivable as neurotic humans. It is a good idea to get some idea before any purchase of the nature of the beast that catches your eye.

Small sailfins are charming, but suitable only for large tanks- will you be able to trade the fish in when it outgrows your tanks? Trying to find exact ID is difficult, many of the fish have not been classified systematically. But to get some idea of at least the genus or subgroup to which it belongs is helpful. As for selecting individuals, reread the first part of the article on starved plecos in local stores and be conscious of the belly and eyes of the fish you want.

To me, this is a very large and endlessly fascinating family of fish. They are quite adaptable to water conditions, and given a suitably sized and decorated tank, clean water, good oxygenation, and an adequate diet they are generally long-lived. Most are nocturnal, but many will be frequently visible during lighted cycles if there is plenty of refuge and shade available.

Your email address will not be published. Get Aquarium Tips on Your Email! Freshwater Fish Breeds. What Do Pleco Eat? Algae Most of us purchase our first pleco cat as an algae eater.

Prepared foods These are the standards for feeding most aquarium fish. Baby Plecos eating a cucumber. Photo: Goldy Fk. A bristlenose Pleco eating Wood. Photo: Pascal Zorenc. Share on facebook Facebook. Share on twitter Twitter. Share on pinterest Pinterest. Share on email Email. Share on whatsapp WhatsApp. James Milner. James Milner is in love with aquariums and fish since he was 12 years old.

He started with freshwater aquariums, and later tried his hand with marine tanks for 10 years, keeping some reefs tanks too. Here in the website, James try to share some of his knowledge and experiences on fish keeping.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. They graze along the surface of submerged logs, eating the biofilm that grows there as well as the wood fiber itself. These species, like clown and royal plecos, need an enormous amount of fiber in their diets. Not all plecos are the same. There are so many different species and they have a variety of diets. Add Comment. Post Comment. Keep in mind that plecos are omnivores. This means that you can give them vegetable food and meat as well.

The food items I list right below, are all perfect for Plecos:. Any one of the food items listed above can prove to be a good source of nutrients for plecos.

Later in the article, I will tell you about some vegetables they really like. For example, since plecos are nocturnal animals, you can give it an algae wafer when you go to bed. If the wafer is gone by the morning, you can give it another one. Usually, 2 algae wafers are enough for a pleco during the span of 1 day. I mentioned above that plecos are omnivores.

This means that they eat meat as well, not only vegetables. To keep a healthy pleco in your tank, meat should only be given once or twice a week. The same is true with vegetables. To get food for your fish, you can buy it from local markets or online stores.

Most people like this method very much, because they can find many healthy and cheap products on the market. Another method would be to prepare the food yourself. I will even give you an easy to prepare recipe. Like its name suggests, the Veggie Wafers is a totally vegetarian fish food. These wafers last quite a long time in the water without dissolving. It will give your pleco chance to feed for a longer period of time.

What is it made of? The following are all part of the wafer: seaweed, carrots, squash, broccoli, dried spirulina, plankton, spinach and others. It comes with vitamin supplements and minerals, to help your fish be healthy. This is another wafer product specifically created for pleco fish.