Pleco Dietary Thread

[SpectreMercurial69]

will carnivorous pleco eat artemia super?

 

[kingqeemon]

My royal pleco stomach starting to sink in a bit. Should I start to worry?

 

[thefredpit]

yes do you have driftwood in the tank? also try giving him cucumber

 

[kingqeemon]

yes do you have driftwood in the tank? also try giving him cucumber

Yes I have plenty of driftwood. Yesterday night I put in zucchini and it was first time in awhile since I’ve seen him on it. Guess he’s really hungry. Hope that’s a good sign that he’s eating.

 

[thefredpit]

it is always a good sign when they are eating

 

[jelly]

Great thread and I have already changed the way I feed my plecs based on this thread. What is considered a high % of protein in an algae pellet?

 

[phreeflow]

My royal pleco stomach starting to sink in a bit. Should I start to worry?

If it doesn't gain weight and fails to thrive even with good feedings then you may consider deworming it. Plecos, especially wild caught, tend to pick up a lot of internal parasites by the very nature of them sucking food off the ground and possibly ingesting parasite eggs or cysts often found in fish feces and gravel.

 

[kingqeemon]

If it doesn't gain weight and fails to thrive even with good feedings then you may consider deworming it. Plecos, especially wild caught, tend to pick up a lot of internal parasites by the very nature of them sucking food off the ground and possibly ingesting parasite eggs or cysts often found in fish feces and gravel.

What do you recommend to use for deworming?

 

[phreeflow]

Start with something gentle like praziquantel or praziquantel plus metrondazinole. If it's severe, you'll have to use something stronger like levamisole. They work best when ingested so try soaking your food in them first. However, my fish have never taken to medicated food. I imagine something gluttonous like an oscar might but not my plecos.

 

[Piscavores:)]

Wow I’m glad I did a little research after buying a pleco, he’ll get plenty of veggies for sure