I realize half the posts on this forum are about feeding, but I don't see a good one that actually describes what a healthy pleco looks like compared to a starving but getting by.
So here is my situation:
90 gallon with overflow / sump, so ~110 gallon water
1 small tire track eel
3 small goldfish
2 bushy nose plecos, one about 4" the other about 3"
I feed the plecos all sorts of stuff; algae wafers, spinach, broccoli stems, and zuchinni (a strong favorite). The problem is I only ever see the bigger one eat. I feed a TON of zuchinni and they devour it (a 4" slice of zuchinni for a 4" pleco) but I have only ever seen the bigger one eating. There is also a large piece of manzanita in the tank, so the little one I have only seen sucking little white hairy things off of that.
Is the bigger one bullying the smaller one (which I have never seen aggression between the two, though he does go after the goldfish if they come near his zuchinni, which is quite funny) and preventing him from eating? Is the smaller one eating at night when I can't see?
Or the big question, how could I tell if he is getting by but starving (such as the sticky'd post states)? I have another 20 gallon aquarium I could stick the smaller one in, but it's mid-cycling right now and I was going to use it for breeding shrimp. I could put him there I guess assuming he doesn't eat toooooo many shrimp.
So here is my situation:
90 gallon with overflow / sump, so ~110 gallon water
1 small tire track eel
3 small goldfish
2 bushy nose plecos, one about 4" the other about 3"
I feed the plecos all sorts of stuff; algae wafers, spinach, broccoli stems, and zuchinni (a strong favorite). The problem is I only ever see the bigger one eat. I feed a TON of zuchinni and they devour it (a 4" slice of zuchinni for a 4" pleco) but I have only ever seen the bigger one eating. There is also a large piece of manzanita in the tank, so the little one I have only seen sucking little white hairy things off of that.
Is the bigger one bullying the smaller one (which I have never seen aggression between the two, though he does go after the goldfish if they come near his zuchinni, which is quite funny) and preventing him from eating? Is the smaller one eating at night when I can't see?
Or the big question, how could I tell if he is getting by but starving (such as the sticky'd post states)? I have another 20 gallon aquarium I could stick the smaller one in, but it's mid-cycling right now and I was going to use it for breeding shrimp. I could put him there I guess assuming he doesn't eat toooooo many shrimp.
