Can you have a pleco without wood

[RD.]

Yes, I cited a thread, a thread that I started 7 yrs ago, and linked to the most current science available at that time. I also followed your comment in that thread with -

"My posting here was not to suggest that anyone should not keep driftwood with their plecos, or throw it out? Only that aquarium driftwood should not be considered as a source of nutrients for their fish."

Whether you or anyone else agrees with my assumptions, or not, I could care less. I'm not telling anyone that they shouldn't use driftwood in their tanks, when keeping any species of pleco. The OP here asked if he could, the answer was simply, yes, he can. IMO it is not a dietary requirement.

What a fish does in nature, should never dictate what or how one feeds in captivity. Glass boxes do not mimic nature, and neither does the "natural" food that many offer. I'm sure that Scats can glean amino acids etc from feces in the wild, that doesn't mean that anyone has to feed their fish ****. Studies have proven that Asian aro's can produce amylase, a digestive enzyme that is utilized to digest carbohydrates, yet carbohydrates are not a nutrient that is required by aro's, or any species of fish for that matter. See how that works?

I'm not sure what is so shocking about any of this, perhaps I have spent more time than others studying the nutrient requirements of fish in the wild, and captivity, so it simply makes more sense to me.

I'm certainly not attempting to tell anyone not to place driftwood in their aquarium, whether they have plecos, or not.

 

[Warborg]

I've kept plecos for 29 years with and without wood. Most(when there is wood) ignore it, some would suck/eat it.

I currently have a very small piece of wood that my L001 totally ignores.

To the OP, I think you will be fine without wood in your tank.

 

[RD.]

What a fish does in nature, should never dictate what or how one feeds in captivity.

Seeing as this caused LBDave such angst that he felt the need to partially quote the above comment in another thread, and take it completely out of context to this discussion, allow me to elaborate further.

That comment was in regard to some of the behavioural aspects of fish, as in a fish that in nature spends all of its time sucking on driftwood, or rocks, or feces, or whatever. What a fish does in nature, is rarely duplicated in captivity. It doesn't mean that we completely ignore that behaviour, or the fishes diet that is related to that behaviour, but in this case it also doesn't mean that people that place wood in their tanks, are feeding their fish.

Sorry if that wasn't clear in my previous comment, but it would have seemed more logical to me to comment on that here, in this thread, rather than posting snippets of this discussion elsewhere. As though I am somehow against the feeding of natural foodstuffs to fish. Anyone that has followed my comments here over the years know that I have never suggested such a thing. I have never once stated on this forum or anywhere else that we ignore a fishes natural diet that takes place in its native waters.

Cheers