Hi everyone. Well, I was given a 7 inch albino common pleco because the owner was moving. He will be put into one of my 29 gallon quarantine tank until I figure out what to do with it. I can keep it with some of my Oscars, sell or give it away. In the tank, I have a piece of zucchini on the bottom of the tank, a small piece of driftwood and a sponge filter. I've had this fish for about 1 month now and the zucchini has never been touched. The only time I see him eating is when he's sucking on the sponge filter. 1. Is this harmful? 2. Can he get enough nutrition from the sponge filter or should I also try a different vegetable? 3. How well will the sponge filter last if the pleco is sucking on it. My best case scenario is that he tries the different types of food I'm going to slowly introduce or that he can get enough nutrition from the sponge filter. Thanks in advance, Ed.
Plecos and Sponge Filters
- Thread starter Dr_Shakalu
- Start date
Do you know the water parameters? When's the last time you changed the water? Do you see chunks of the sponge filter being chewed off? or is it just sucking on it? Most importantly, how's it's tummy? is it round, flat, or sunken?
While most commons will eat almost anything you have in the tank, not all will eat zucchinis. Try different fish foods first, pellets, algae wafers, heck, even flakes. If you have frozen bloodworm or live blackworm, try that first, see if it'll eat any thing first, then go from there. One month of eating nothing is not looking good.
If the sponge filter does not have chunks being chewed off, it means it's actually feeding on the aufwuch that's growing on the surface area of the sponge filter. aufwuch is protein and algae matter that grows on the surfaces of your tank. Many algae eaters are actually just aufwuch eaters, they just scrape off the algae when they are trying to eat the aufwuch. A 29 gallon tank will not enough have enough aufwuch matter to sustain any pleco.
While most commons will eat almost anything you have in the tank, not all will eat zucchinis. Try different fish foods first, pellets, algae wafers, heck, even flakes. If you have frozen bloodworm or live blackworm, try that first, see if it'll eat any thing first, then go from there. One month of eating nothing is not looking good.
If the sponge filter does not have chunks being chewed off, it means it's actually feeding on the aufwuch that's growing on the surface area of the sponge filter. aufwuch is protein and algae matter that grows on the surfaces of your tank. Many algae eaters are actually just aufwuch eaters, they just scrape off the algae when they are trying to eat the aufwuch. A 29 gallon tank will not enough have enough aufwuch matter to sustain any pleco.
Also, leavin a peicce of zuchini in there for a month will definetly foul your water. When i give my plecos veggies, i put them in before night and take out what they havnt eaten in the morning
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Hello; I had a pleco that fed on a mature sponge filter for along while with no harm. I also would throw in some garden peas straight from the can that were eaten. The pleco would graze on the hair algae and hornwort to some extent. A main food was some packaged dry algae wafer fish food that was taken well.
I think I need to clear this up. As far as the zucchini goes, I don't mean I keep the same piece In the tank for a month. I mean that I've been putting a new piece of zucchini in the tank for about a month now. Also, he does suck on the sponge filter but only every now and then. He looks and acts very healthily. Good color and at times the stomach looks full. I have some good news. Last night, I put a piece of zucchini and a chuck of broccoli in the tank and when I checked the next morning, I think he had been eating some of the zucchini but not the broccoli. I'm also going to buy some veggies for him (sweet potato, kale, peas, etc...) and also some wafers. Will keep updating, Ed.
If this is a albino 'sailfin' it most likely will not go after zucchini as they prefer meaty foods most of the time. It sounds like he IS eating enough(must be doing it at night when you don't see him).
Sponge filters sometimes collect food debris, it could be he's getting him food off of the sponge filter.
Sponge filters sometimes collect food debris, it could be he's getting him food off of the sponge filter.
you can try cucumber, sweet potato, some types of firm melons, green apples, oranges, but as stated larger plecos require some protein in their diet, so shrimp pellets work good, NLS tropical fish pellets work as well, dried seaweed also, mine love that stuff.