L200 Not eating.

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BIG-G

BIG-G

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2005
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Okay pleco people. I need some help. I have kept some more common plecos before. Rubber lips, bristle nose and such. I have never tried any of the more exotic varieties till now.
I bought and l200 a few weeks ago and tried everything I could think of to get it to feed. zucchini, sweet potatoes, apples, yellow squash, blood worms, chopped earth worms, shrimp pellets, three different sinking pleco disks for algae, wood, and carnivorous eating plecos. I did go ahead an place it in the display tank a 75 with some other fish small tetras and a few barbs.
Despite my best efforts it would not eat and it died.
So I am trying again. I have gotten another L200 this time I am keeping it in a 30 gallon tank alone until I am sure it is doing okay. The tank is bear bottom with a few large rocks and some driftwood. I have some sponge filters and a HOB filter along with a power head for some extra flow. I plan on doing daily water changes, But my water Ph is on the alkaline side with a Ph of 7.4
Is there any advice or ideas on food or feeding techniques?
Anything I should do different?
I really would like to get some other plecos in the future.
They are beautiful animals and the last thing I want is to keep having them die.
 
It may be your first L200 was not healthy to begin with and wouldn't eat.

Other tips for future fish- try garlic, supposedly an appetite stimulant. Some food like NLS already have garlic in it. Or you can rub cut garlic on food (pellets, zuchinni).

I had L114s, and they ate the fibers off the coconut husk for the first few days. You may want to have coconut caves, both for hiding and eating.

I think lowering the pH would be good if you can. Maybe collect rainwater?
 
Thanks for the reply. I have some garlic guard I never thought to use it, so I will give that a try.
The new l200 is trying to feed, I saw it grazing the glass so that's a good sign. I just need to get it to eat some other stuff because I know it will not be able to live on algae alone.
 
BIG-G said:
Thanks for the reply. I have some garlic guard I never thought to use it, so I will give that a try.
The new l200 is trying to feed, I saw it grazing the glass so that's a good sign. I just need to get it to eat some other stuff because I know it will not be able to live on algae alone.
Click to expand...

algae is better than nothing.
Maybe some seaweed/nori in addition to algae?
 
Their favourite food are aquarium plants. Try some Echinorus. ;-) They eat a lot of algae during night too.
You wont see them eat.. Feed them only while lights are out.

Try some other pleco. This is only pleco I had, that never left hiding spot during day. I am glad I gave them to friend.
 
NHKG said:
Their favorite food are aquarium plants
Click to expand...
I actually have it in a planted 75 for now. It would not eat in the 30 so I was getting desperate so I jumped ahead in the quarantine process. I hope I dont regret that.
Once in with other fish it started to relax a little bit and work the glass. So maybe I should have just threw a few dithers in with him in the 30.
Well anyway hes in a planted tank with about 12 to 15 different plant species. I haven't seen him trying to eat any plants yet. But honestly I wouldn't care if he did eat a bunch of my plants as long as he will do well. I can grow more plants, I have to many anyway.
 
So I stopped at the LFS today and found some nori with garlic extract. I know its for marine but I would think any algae eater would appreciate it. I have it rubberband to a rock.
I will post back any results.
My glass is completely clean today. All four sides, so Im afraid if I cant get him going on some other foods it could end badly.
 
BIG-G said:
So I stopped at the LFS today and found some nori with garlic extract. I know its for marine but I would think any algae eater would appreciate it. I have it rubberband to a rock.
Click to expand...

What fishfood brand sells nori with garlic? (I was thinking of an Asian market or health food store)
 
BIG-G said:
ocean nutrition. its not marked as nori but thats what it is. I use to buy the nori for making sushi back in my saltwater days. Its cheaper than buying the marine algae made for fish food.
But when I saw this infused with garlic I thought I would give a go.
Here is a link to the actual product:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+7927+5026&pcatid=5026
Click to expand...

Thanks.
I wonder if the red algae version would help with bringing out the red colors in L24/25/114/600 etc (assuming they would eat it).
 
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