Crash course in Pleco care needed

[CHOMPERS]

I caught three mature plecos yesterday while fishing. They are way bigger than what normal algae waffers are intended to feed. They range from 18.5" to 21", so I'll need algae waffers the size of brownies By the amount that they are pooping, I can tell that they are going to have large appetites.

Anyone know of any special care of bringing them in from the wild? What should I feed them now and what should I convert them to?

Also, what kind of pleco are these?

 

[CHOMPERS]

Here is a side view in the tank

 

[CHOMPERS]

Here is another in case it helps

 

[Oni Angel-Hannya]

Nice.Salt them up and quarantine as usual i'd say would be the first obvious answer.On feeding them,i think vegetables and fruit are going to be the way to go.Did you catch them by hand?

 

[Frommel]

They are gorgeaus. Beautifull paterns. But algeawaffers are not gone help you with these guys. I would feed veggies. Try cucumber for starting.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Nice.Salt them up and quarantine as usual i'd say would be the first obvious answer.On feeding them,i think vegetables and fruit are going to be the way to go.Did you catch them by hand?

They are quarantined in a 75g with the usual salt and conditioner. I moved my bichirs, drained the tank and gave it 100% new water in anticipation of a lot of poo. It was a good call, because it looks like they are going to need daily or EOD water changes.

And yes, I caught them by hand. Before I got close enough to ID them, I had thrown a bunch of lures and bait at them. They were not the least bit interrested. Then I saw one under my canoe and came up with a plan. I would slowly paddle up to a group of them and then aim for which ever one was paying the least attention to me. It took a while before catching the first one, but after I learned how to do it, I quicly caught the other two.

 

[gomezladdams]

Great catch!Id go with veggies to feed them algae wafers will break the bank lol!

 

[WyldFya]

Nice.Salt them up and quarantine as usual i'd say would be the first obvious answer.On feeding them,i think vegetables and fruit are going to be the way to go.Did you catch them by hand?

Don't add salt with plecos. Loricariids in general are not very tolerant of salt. High temp will do better, but it isn't likely they have to many problems being that large, and fat.

 

[WyldFya]

They are gorgeaus. Beautifull paterns. But algeawaffers are not gone help you with these guys. I would feed veggies. Try cucumber for starting.

I'd recommend avoiding cucumber as it isn't that nutritious. Zucchini or any squash will work quite well.

 

[klmt]

they love zuccini