Feeding a young Clown?

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T

terrypowerz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 14, 2006
46
2
0
Westfield, IN
I have a small clown plec (3-4") that I have not seen have an interest in anything I have attempted to feed him.
I have had him for about 7 to 8 weeks and he doesn't seem to show any signs of starvation, but I haven't actually observed him dining on anything either.

The tank does have an abundance of various alagae as well as malaysian driftwood.

I have tried spirulana wafers (aquarian), sinking wafers (hikari), shrimp pellets (Omega), sweet potatoe (3 times), zuccini (3 times), brocolli stem (once) and none have been touched at all.

Any thoughts?
 
Mine doesn't come out much to feed either. I think it eats a lot of algae.
 
try blood worms with a turkey baster if your really worried he's not eating...Although I seem to worry more about my plecos when I see them in the open acting out of character.
 
it wont be eating the wood, and probably isn't eating that much algae if any either. I've got fish that prefer some foods to others. A couple of my hypancistrus don't eat prawn, mysis, or any veg (although it is there for other plecs) but seem to prefer pellet food and bloodworms. Just got to keep trying. There is always a chance it is eating and you dont know it. Like Mr Pleco has said, i'm more likely to worry if they are out in the day, some plecs i very very rarely see. Just got to feed at night, they do feed, but when your asleep lol. I'm pretty diurnal so I do sometimes check on them, and its an oasis of life at 3am trust me. How long have you had it, sometimes it has taken some of my fish a week and a bit to start feeling comfortable to feed. Just give them enough so when they come out at night the food hasnt all been eaten by tankmates.
 
I have had my clown panaque for almost a year and never seen him eat, but he's fine and has grown to 3.5 in. I feed catfish tabs and occassional flake food. He lives with a clown loach, burmese loach and two corys, so it's hard to guess what he eats. I have a small piece of driftwood in there, but I never see "wear" marks on it, so I don't think he grazes the wood.
 
Clown plecos are not panaques, the are panaqolus sp. At 3-4" he isn't a young pleco any more, rather a fully grown clown pleco. Mine prefers to eat prawns above all else.
 
It's a new category that is being accepted by some and not by others or even merely being used as a synonym. It is the "little wood-eater" and there could even be more sub generas with plecs such as L090. But eating wood aside, this is not what it would be purely existing on. I know that at least some of the Isbrucker et al believe that the Panaqolus could even be closer related to Peckoltia, but i think that genus is a bit of a minefield aswell.
 
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