Royal Plec

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V

viperbot

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 17, 2009
62
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Dublin, Ireland
Hi all,

I managed to get hold of a 3 inch Royal Plec three days ago. In that time he has spent most of his time stuck to the glass at the rear of the tank. I havnt seen him eat the wafers I have been dropping in, certainly not before the whiptail has eaten them. Is this normal for Royal plecs? Do they get enough from the algae on the glass? He seems to be active during the day but have yet to see him eat so Im kinda worried.
 
Put some wood in there but continue to watch him, if he latches on the wood and still won't eat your food... remove the wood as I had one that was starving himself to death until I removed the wood.
 
try some cucumber in there too, royals can be real pains to get to eat.
you could try rubbing some garlic juice over a wedge of cucumber or zuchinni and sticking that in there, the garlic will act as an appetite stimulant
 
isnt wood part of their diet too? was planing to get one , a diet of algae and bogwood is sufficient for royals?
 
From what I understand Royals have to have wood.
 
I was surprised the first time i heard a pleco that can eat wood..

But ya.. they need it.. I find Malaysian driftwood to be the best for Plecos.... African Driftwood is too dense, but my Royals seems to like it.. You can also make your own.. as long as the root is thick enough that it sinks...and its not poisonous..
 
Royals tend to be quite timid when they are small so he might get outcompeted for food. The recent thinking is that royals consume the wood because of the microorganisms and algae that live on the surface of the wood and digest the wood. The royal then comes along and eats these, the ready made products of the digested wood. So unless the tank is big enough to produce constant large amounts of algae/biofilm on the wood then you need to supplement with vegetable and algae wafers and occasional meaty foods. Cucumber has always been a winner for me with new royals, then progress with harder ones.
 
My royal now eats the algae wafers.. but took him awhile. I have LOTS of wood in the tank for him. Now he likes zucchini and sweet potato also.

Check his belly, sunken belly or eyes means he hasn't been eating in a long time. Not a good sign for these fish.
 
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