Royal Plecos

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shookONES

shookONES

Casper... the not so friendly ghost
MFK Member
Jul 12, 2005
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Totowa, NJ
I'm going to pick one up tomorrow. Just wondering if there is anything I should be looking out for? Are these guys vegetarians or what? There is a nice piece of driftwood in there for him to chow down on. I feed my other plecos zuchini almost daily, if that helps any. Hook a brotha up.
 
The panaques in general hold bacteria used to break down harder algeas. they are adapted to eating even vegitation. it's that time of year where you can find gords. invest in some. when they run out use zuchini squash and cucumber. some meat in their diet is ok but don't go cow crazy. YAY PETA. JK ;)
 
Check the eyes and stomach: if either (the eyes particularly) are sunken in, then pass on the fish. Check to see how they're maintaining the fish, primarily the presence - or lack there of - of driftwood. If there is wood in the tank, pick a fish that's chewing on the wood; if there isn't, ask them to put a piece in and watch the tank for a bit. You want a fish that's actively working on the wood.

As far as diet, the Panaques are primarily wood eaters. It's a must. Aside from that, just offer a well-rounded diet, and see what it likes. Start with zucchini and/or yellow squash, then go from there.
 
Hey...I got one of those :)!!!!

Be carefull what one you buy. LFS suck at careing for any pleco species, let alone one like a royal. You don't want to spend the money it takes and end up with a dead pleco. Look for the sunken eyes and stomach as well.

As for food....rabbit pellets work so I have heard, and I used them today and he ate them. Also...

Algae waffers
Squash
Broccoli
Cucumber
Earthworms
WOOD!!!!!!
Peas

You can try other fruits and veggies as well, trial and error.
 
LMAO this guy is coming from the store where I work at. There is a large piece of driftwood in there. Last I checked, the one I have my eye on looked healthy and chubby. WIsh me luck...
 
Great to hear u'r buying a royal!
everyone has pretty much covered everything..make sure u have wood, and u can supplement with commercial food, zucchini, carrot, potatoes etc..i dun quite like feeding too much veggie cos they tend to be messy..can try finding veggie based pellets..
even if u dun feed them much and have wood inside..they will munch on the wood..softer wood is prefered. :)

oh btw..which species of royal u getting?
 
I noticed no one mentioned this, but someone I recently saw owning a 14"+ Royal Panaque, was feeding him raw potatoe slices on a regular basis!
 
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