pleco waste

[chefwill]

Water change thought of the day....I'm pretty sure we all plan ,contemplate, wonder etc . about different things while doing water changes. ..here's one I had.we all know full well that plecos are poop generating machines.my pleco's diet consists of algae tabs, vegetables, and a whole lot of driftwood. ..now given the pleco's diet, do you think the ammonia levels of pleco waste would be less than, equal to or greater than that of a fish who's diet consists of pellets, frozen diet etc.? With the amount of waste for each fish being equal

 

[mrtoofay]

I'd say it's pretty much the same as other fish. Yes, they do produce a lot more waste, but ask anyone that's fed them cucumbers, potatos, or anything that's non-processed, and they'll tell you that they poop them right out. I'd say couple hours after you drop in potatos, you'll see white poo in the tank. When I clean out my canister filters, all I see are wood shavings. So, most of the waste they produce are fibers. something that doesn't break down as fast as regular poo.

But! they do need to digest the same amount of nutrients to be healthy and grow, like any other fish. So, I'd say that while much higher in percentage of fiber is in their poo, the amount of poo eventually means that enough of the poo is broken down so that the same amount of ammonia is produced compared to other "normal" fish.

btw. I hate feeding them potatos... the starch clouds up the water and the amount of poo....... cucumbers or watermelon rhyme is better.. imho

 

[jaws7777]

I've been feeding them red bell peppers l200 loves it

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