Skinny pleco

[Quo Vadis]

I bought a 12in+ P. disjunctivus a few months ago who was sort of skinny, but not too bad. I wormed him with both Prazi and Levamisole, however he has only continued to get skinnier. He is with a bunch of big cichlids, and the lone other bottom feeder is a large hifin shark who is not a particularly aggressive eater. I put food in at night so the cichlids can't get it, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Any advice on how to fatten him up?

I have had similar experiences with loaches and usually I worm them and then go crazy with bloodworms, but that won't work on such a big fish!

 

[Coryloach]

Have you actually seen him eat?
Mine is like a hoover normally, won't stop as long as there's something. Also, they aren't entirely nocturnal and should eat all day given the food but if you are sure he gets to the food at night.....
Skinny disease could be caused by flagellates as well like spironucleus so maybe try for a week food soaked in 3% Epsom salt solution(15grams of Epsom salt in 500ml water)

Try feeding him cucumber, zucchini, melon, mango.....they love any of these a lot and at least you'll see if he eats or not properly. My pleco is over 12 inch and eats a quarter of a cucumber in 2 hours.

 

[MoNsTeR FiS]

Give him his own tank of about 50 gallons and try feeding him massivore, nightcrawlers, and talapia. If that doesn't work then you will need to treat him.


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[Quo Vadis]

Have you actually seen him eat?
Mine is like a hoover normally, won't stop as long as there's something. Also, they aren't entirely nocturnal and should eat all day given the food but if you are sure he gets to the food at night.....
Skinny disease could be caused by flagellates as well like spironucleus so maybe try for a week food soaked in 3% Epsom salt solution(15grams of Epsom salt in 500ml water)

Try feeding him cucumber, zucchini, melon, mango.....they love any of these a lot and at least you'll see if he eats or not properly. My pleco is over 12 inch and eats a quarter of a cucumber in 2 hours.

Do you blanche those, or feed them raw? I have fed pellets, blanched broccoli, peas and tilapia. I can't really tell for sure if he eats it or not. There are never any pellets or fish left in the morning, but it may be someone else eating it. The broccoli usually gets eaten, but more like over the course of a day. I'll try feeding more big chunks of vegetables that no one else will eat and see how fast they disappear.

 

[jaws7777]

I feed them raw zucchini, cucumber, and red bell peppers. Have you tried target feeding the skinny one ? Throwing pellets in at nighy did not work fore the cichlids still get them. I have tried everything but nothing works except feeding them with tongs until the cichlids get to big to get into the plecos hiding spots. A little time consuming but hey it works lol

https://youtu.be/d4nozSi2pEM

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[Coryloach]

Yes, everything raw. Cucumber, melon or mango attract mine immediately, like in seconds..
Mine is a common pleco too, possibly even P. disjunctivus

You can teach the pleco to come to the same spot for vegetables. I hang mine on the glass on a suction cup, so the bottom feeders don't bunch up eating the veg too. The moment I put veg/fruit, the pleco heads to the spot where I always put the veg. If I accidentally put it elsewhere, he keeps hovering around the old spot getting frustrated. I don't think they see very well but can smell very well and certainly remember where to look for food. You can insert food pellets in the fruit/veg eventually into the veg.

Depending on what fish you keep him with and if the pleco is sizeable,, most can't overturn him from his veg/fruit. Mine guards it till it's gone which takes a couple of hours the most in fairness.

If he doesn't go for the veg/fruit, keep trying, put different veg fruit, something will work if he's healthy enough and these fish are very tough.