Another stupid question!

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Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2010
114
5
48
Sunderland, UK.
Hi all I have been feeding my Plecos catfish pellets as described by the man at the pet shop; however when I leave them in there they seem to just leave them and maybe have a few; my bigger one has started too loose a bit of his brightness so I'm becoming worried, as I should be right?

So I was thinking off feeding them some bloodworms I have, that come in the ice cube style tray's however there are lots of bloodworms in such a small ice cube how am I meant to deal with the excess if they decide not too eat the worm's?

Thanks again...
 
I'm having problems feeding my plecos too (I know they're eating something as they haven't died in 3+ weeks, and there's brown poo).

First, what type of pleco do you have? Some like veggies more than meat. They may eat those pellets, but usually a varied diet is better. But again, what type of pleco are we talking about.

Second, how long have you had the pleco? There may be a period where it's stressed from being moved around. Hopefully it'll start eating in a few days once it gets used to its new surroundings. The shop may have just got the fish shipped in, so it may be very stressed. If it was eating at that LFS, then that is not a good sign, such as...

Third, what are your water parameters and your tank decorations? If the pH, amonia, nitrates, etc are not in acceptable ranges, then this is stressing your pleco so that it probably doesn't want to eat. If the water conditions are good, it could be your pleco is stressed from the lack of good hiding places. Some drift wood for it to hide under/around would likely help. Also, some plecos need wood in their diet.

Also, maybe your pleco is not eating because it's stressed and sick. If you have a chance, take a picture of it and post it. We can let you know what we think it is, and what type of diseases it has (if it has any).
 
Linus_Cello;3873488; said:
I'm having problems feeding my plecos too (I know they're eating something as they haven't died in 3+ weeks, and there's brown poo).

First, what type of pleco do you have? Some like veggies more than meat. They may eat those pellets, but usually a varied diet is better. But again, what type of pleco are we talking about.

Second, how long have you had the pleco? There may be a period where it's stressed from being moved around. Hopefully it'll start eating in a few days once it gets used to its new surroundings. The shop may have just got the fish shipped in, so it may be very stressed. If it was eating at that LFS, then that is not a good sign, such as...

Third, what are your water parameters and your tank decorations? If the pH, amonia, nitrates, etc are not in acceptable ranges, then this is stressing your pleco so that it probably doesn't want to eat. If the water conditions are good, it could be your pleco is stressed from the lack of good hiding places. Some drift wood for it to hide under/around would likely help. Also, some plecos need wood in their diet.

Also, maybe your pleco is not eating because it's stressed and sick. If you have a chance, take a picture of it and post it. We can let you know what we think it is, and what type of diseases it has (if it has any).
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My Plecos are gibbicepts if that's any help? I've had them for around 10 days now and I'm just a bit worried, maybe it's the fact that I expect them to eat lots and they actually don't; I just don't wanna be underfeeding my fish!

Water parameters are great with vitually no nitrates or ammonia; and yeah they have plenty of places for hiding however I don't have driftwood, will look into this ASAP

Thank you so much for the reply I really appreciate it!
 
Try some zuchinni to see if that will get it eating. The profile from planetcatfish suggests other veggies that you may want to try (spinach, peas). You will likely need to weight the zuchinni to get it to sink to the bottom (you can try using a butter knife, spoon or fork, impaling the zucchini or tying the zuchinni to the weight with a rubber band; there's some controversy on MFK over using forks or string/rubber band as possibly being dangerous for the fish; do a search on MFK). Or you can boil the zuchinni for a few minutes, cool it, and hopefully it will sink to the bottom.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=148

If the veggies aren't touched overnight (with the light off), then the pleco may be sick. Hopefully that's no the case.
 
or u can use garlic guard.. seachem has them.. but ya.. Garlic on food will actually stimulate a fishes' appetite..

I would say cucumbers.. is best.. or zucchini also.. since your in the UK.. you dont have to worry about pesticides on the cucumber skins.. WE in the US do... :irked:

I would also say a darker tank will be better suited for plecos.. they dont like the light.. A tank with blk background with black sand is perfect in my opinion! :headbang2
 
shenzhenluohan;3874681; said:
Here's a little trick I discovered with feeding plecs, if you rub a bit of garlic on whatever you want to feed it acts as an appetite stimulant and it works without fail for me.
HTH
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+1
 
Dude no such thing as a stupid question here. That is what we are here for. Your Plecos are herbivores feed some zucchini stuck in a fork at nite. I have been doing this for years without promblems. Alos gibbys are pretty tough they may just need time to adjust. If you see long dark brown fesces in the tank you know your fish are doing well.
 
I agree that is no stupid question.

I feed my Royal a cucumber a day (not everyday, i mixed up with hikari sinking pellet and hikari algae waffer). they like it.
 
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