First pleco

[j5bove]

I bought a common pleco from LFS last week and i have a quick question. when i was doing my research i read that they poop a lot but man, he goes all over. after the first day i had him a whole corner of the tank was covered in little poop worms. i vacuumed it out last night then again this morning all over the place.

Its not a big problem because i have over 70 gallons of extra filtration and dont mind vacuuming out the gravel every other day.

I was just wondering if this is healthy?

Also, i can see how people get addicted to these guys.

 

[DMD123]

Ive raised fish for many years and have raised all kinds of odd ball fish. But this time around I decided to try my hand at a pleco for the first time.

I ended up with a marble sailfin with awesome coloration. And he is one amazing pooper; at 2" in length he leaves behind some serious loads!

 

[Warborg]

They do poop alot, IMO I say it does mean they are healthy as far as getting enough to eat.

When I'm worried if plecos are eating enough, I always feel better when I see their string of poop.

 

[zerojquan85]

Its the nature of plecos to eat and poop at the same time.. they process food very quickly.. but thats actually a good sign.. u dont want to see a pleco who rarely poop and have sunken in belly and eyes..

Poop is actually normal and sign of a healthy unless the poop is transparent and the food u give isn't... thats when u should worry about a pleco if it doesnt poop...

 

[j5bove]

Even though i have never actually seen him eat the algae wafers, I have noticed that his fresh poop matches their color almost exactly.

 

[oscarlover61898]

I would vacume ever 4-5 days to keep benifscial bacteria.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

Yep-welcome to the world of Plecs
I've got a Plec tank with 4 of them in there and do major syphoning and water changes a few times a week. Gravel kind of sucks if you've got plecs because it gets caught down in the gravel, sand is easier.
And no oscarlover-he won't ruin his beneficial bacteria by syphoning out waste every day. The good bacteria lives in the filter media not in the water column. Changing out water every day is nothing but good for the fish.