Myth confirmed... Plecos DO clean glass.

[davo]

i said glass cleaners, not filters.

about algae not being the main diet of species i have here. fly down here to hawaii and observe the loose ones in the streams for yourself. since moving here from england i gained a heap of knowledge over the years from mere observation that i was very skeptical about at first.

the stream near my house is a good example as theres nothing but swordtails, chinese cats, and gobi inhabiting the water with them. perhaps snails then? idk.

Older specimens will even predate other fish. Scavenge dead material (fish/plant/crustacean). They eat many many things. I have kept many of the "janitor" and "glass cleaning" species such as P. pardalis, H. plecostomus and P. gibbiceps and I fed them a suitable diet and the tanks had plenty of algae. Not because they were too big or the plecos too small or few, but because I gave them an appropriate diet. Many other keepers who actually feed their fish will tell you the same. Protein based foods are important to them (you will often have them chasing other fish "going after the slime coat" if they stand a good chance of getting it) and it's generally like sweets to them- they can't get enough of it and you have to limit it with them because too much is detrimental. They will go mad for veggies and plant material. Feed them these things and they wouldn't even bother with algae most the time. Cleaner fish (be it algae or anything else) is a term that most pleco keepers are trying to see die out.

 

[piranhakeeper69]

I never doubted the theory lol

 

[Retuks]

To the OP: To say that plecos don't clean glass is untrue, so you are correct on that statement....

reply based on data and not on fact as you do not know the scenario i keep my fish in, nor have any personal experience with exodons. unless you want me to do 100% water changes every hour, there will be NO WAY too keep algae out of my tank without the pleco i have placed in there for 2 reasons:

1: Exodons will kill bright(silver) fish to eat scales. If you ask BitterAspecs he can explain why most brown bottom/side dwellers and native tetra will not be harmed by exodons for geological reasons. And with every physical attempt, it proves true.

2: Read the 1 Inch per gallon rule Sticky. as i am too tired to explain this also for the 5th time.


Maybe now is a good time to explain that i DO feed my plecos? No ****, i feed them... AND they keep algae off the glass. Can i hear a big "oh" of understanding from every edgy finger-waving Marlin out there now?

 

[Retuks]

Older specimens will even predate other fish. Scavenge dead material (fish/plant/crustacean). They eat many many things. I have kept many of the "janitor" and "glass cleaning" species such as P. pardalis, H. plecostomus and P. gibbiceps and I fed them a suitable diet and the tanks had plenty of algae. Not because they were too big or the plecos too small or few, but because I gave them an appropriate diet. Many other keepers who actually feed their fish will tell you the same. Protein based foods are important to them (you will often have them chasing other fish "going after the slime coat" if they stand a good chance of getting it) and it's generally like sweets to them- they can't get enough of it and you have to limit it with them because too much is detrimental. They will go mad for veggies and plant material. Feed them these things and they wouldn't even bother with algae most the time. Cleaner fish (be it algae or anything else) is a term that most pleco keepers are trying to see die out.

Well ive tried cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots.
so far the cucumbers and tomatoes seemed to be the only things the plecos would clean out 100%. as for carrots the plecos are never touching them, atleast not while im around. BUT they do slowly appear to "deteriorate" in a "Im being slowly eaten by some sort of fish" sort of way. but it could just be the water eroding it? or is that crazy? i see pieces of carrot all over the place in a pile where the filter currents meet, so sometimes i think the exodons or pleco is just tearing at it and letting it fall out of their mouthes. what do you think?

 

[random fish guy]

I have two in the 120, ever since I put them in there I have not seen a spec of algae. i also give them algae wafers.

 

[I<3fish]

LOL figures... A bogus thread posted by an inexperienced and irresponsible fish keeper. Okay, how much do you know about fish? And are you giving your fish the correct homes they need. You have a day and night filter? LOL no wonder you have algae. Have you ever heard of seeded media? If a filter is off for a long time then there won't be any bacteria on the media, causing your algea problem due to waste buildup in the water.

And you've had this pleco for a year? Okay then it's still small. It will grow larger and completely lose interest in algea. And fish in the wild DO NOT ONLY eat algae they have MANY other forms of food. IE: dead, dying fish, plant material, crustaceans, and LOTS of other food sources. Just because you looked in a stream where plecos are NOT indigenious and say a pleco eating algea, does not mean that's all they eat or is what they eat in natural environments.

 

[Egon]

plecos eat algae-and a ton of other crap......try cucumber,squash,pumpkin and zucchini-basically any squash type family

Mine love frozen baby (small) Brussels Sprouts! They sink. I drop two or three in my tank every other day. No left overs to clean and no fork to fish out cuz they sink on their own

 

[Retuks]

LOL figures... A bogus thread posted by an inexperienced and irresponsible fish keeper. Okay, how much do you know about fish? And are you giving your fish the correct homes they need. You have a day and night filter? LOL no wonder you have algae. Have you ever heard of seeded media? If a filter is off for a long time then there won't be any bacteria on the media, causing your algea problem due to waste buildup in the water.

And you've had this pleco for a year? Okay then it's still small. It will grow larger and completely lose interest in algea. And fish in the wild DO NOT ONLY eat algae they have MANY other forms of food. IE: dead, dying fish, plant material, crustaceans, and LOTS of other food sources. Just because you looked in a stream where plecos are NOT indigenious and say a pleco eating algea, does not mean that's all they eat or is what they eat in natural environments.

to say i am inexperienced is foolish. to say i am irresponsible is foolish. to say i am wrong may be right.
of course my fish have proper homes.
to assume there is no BB in the filter with water idle inside just because it is off for 8 hours is foolish.
to assume there is no BB in the tank itself is foolish.

oh right. i don't keep BB media in my filter. i keep it in the tank itself.

who are you to judge the special arrangement i made for my tank? a 50 gallon HOB will rattle the tank in such a way they exodons don't sleep easy at night which can't be very healthy. so the alternating between filters to allow a quiet one thats STILL adequate to run for less than half the night so they can sleep is not a bad idea at all. nor wrong in any way.

you gonna tell me fish don't sleep too?

 

[jakezori]

quite frankly, it was never a myth. Everyone knows they clean glass. Imove my pleco around and after a little while my aquariums are clean lol

 

[Retuks]

quite frankly, it was never a myth. Everyone knows they clean glass. Imove my pleco around and after a little while my aquariums are clean lol

exactly. these people like to freak out over every little thing like psychotic mothers who read baby bibles to raise their kids by.

yes you feed the pleco its FOOD... it ALSO cleans the glass in the meantime goddamnit!