Try sweet potato…mine couldn’t resist. It would be gone by the next day
BEC pleco not eating
- Thread starter Denzelhjxxx
- Start date
update:
so far it hasn't eaten in the day but still not sure if it's eating at night consistently was wondering if I should try a round of prazi gold as a preventive measure as all BECS are wild caught as an effort to probably get it eating? tia
so far it hasn't eaten in the day but still not sure if it's eating at night consistently was wondering if I should try a round of prazi gold as a preventive measure as all BECS are wild caught as an effort to probably get it eating? tia
I have two BEC's, which I have sexed through head shape and genital opening (to the best of my knowledge). The male was the original that I have had for 2 years. It has always been a very outgoing eater, eating in full view during daylight hours. This fish will eat anything offered, pellets, silversides/prawn (feed this due to being housed with some adult L014) and vegetables (mostly zuccini and pumpkin). Zuccini skin seems to be its favorite and can demolish half a zuccini overnight. It has grown from ~6" to 10" in the 2 years I have had it.
The second BEC (female) is nowhere near as veracious of a feeder and can be seen feeding on pellets and silver sides during daylight hours. I have never caught this fish on a piece of vegetable offered (not to say it isn't feeding over night). I have had this one for 8 months and has maybe grown from 8" to 9" in this time. This fish appears in good health, flat belly (not overly fat or concave in anyway) and is generally semi active during daylight hours. I didn't see this fish eat for the first 3 months I owned it.
I have 3 very large pieces of wood in the tank (8x3x2 + sump). These are the only two Panaque's in the tank and it is evident they are feeding on the wood/biofilm on the wood due to all of the wood in the tank being incredibly smooth and the large pile of 'sawdust' i siphon out of the mechanical chamber of the sump weekly.
I have prophylactically treated all of the tanks inhabitants with Praziquantel/Levamisole in an attempt to ensure that none of its inhabitants are suffering from any internal parasites and any loss/gain in weight is due to my feeding regime.
I hope this helps you somewhat.
The second BEC (female) is nowhere near as veracious of a feeder and can be seen feeding on pellets and silver sides during daylight hours. I have never caught this fish on a piece of vegetable offered (not to say it isn't feeding over night). I have had this one for 8 months and has maybe grown from 8" to 9" in this time. This fish appears in good health, flat belly (not overly fat or concave in anyway) and is generally semi active during daylight hours. I didn't see this fish eat for the first 3 months I owned it.
I have 3 very large pieces of wood in the tank (8x3x2 + sump). These are the only two Panaque's in the tank and it is evident they are feeding on the wood/biofilm on the wood due to all of the wood in the tank being incredibly smooth and the large pile of 'sawdust' i siphon out of the mechanical chamber of the sump weekly.
I have prophylactically treated all of the tanks inhabitants with Praziquantel/Levamisole in an attempt to ensure that none of its inhabitants are suffering from any internal parasites and any loss/gain in weight is due to my feeding regime.
I hope this helps you somewhat.
thankyou for your very detailed reply. I've treated the entire tank with praziquantel and continued feeding the inhabitants at night before I sleep inhopes of the BEC eating will definitely try feeding more zucchini as it seems bec's really like them
If all herbivore ways fail, plecos are omnivores they eat dead fish on the bottom so maybe put one? Or like tilapia, my albino pleco likes carnivore pellets
I would be starting to treat for internal parasites at this point. First step would be levamisole, there is a good article on the loach website that has pretty detailed explanation of using this treatment.
www.loaches.com
The article recommended a dosage of 2ppm I have regularly used 4-5ppm with no ill effect. From memory the LD25 is 20ppm +
Levamisole Hydrochloride — Loaches Online
Its application and usage in freshwater aquariums.
The article recommended a dosage of 2ppm I have regularly used 4-5ppm with no ill effect. From memory the LD25 is 20ppm +
