Well- it is a mucous created by the continal replacement of glandular cells know in the fishes skin that produce a glycoprotein which is called mucin. This when mixed with water forms the mucus that makes up the slime coat of fish.Fish with poorly developed scales tend to produce more of this slime coat.. The slime coat does threee basci things- it reduces turbulence for the fish when swimming by smotthing over the areas between the fishes scales-it helps regulate the internal/external ionic balance and the efficiecy of gases exchanged through the skins surface-ie-osmoregullation and it provides a slipery surface that in it's sloughing off prevents bacteria from attching themselves to the skin. Bacteria is simply washed away from the skin with this process. It also aids in acting as a wound bandage. Pretty important stuff........In some fish it retains moisture(lungfish) feeds fry(discus and some asian cat fish)) and can be toxic for a defence mechanicism and form a cocoon as in marine parrotfish for sleeping.It is the nest building material in labyrinth fishes and functions as a as a chemical alarm through the water from panic syndrome or injury.Stressed fish have a change in thier slime coat-either too much or too little of this protection will kill a fish.
and heres the problem with some pleco species.One has to remember that in the areas of the amazon where a number of plecos exist there is little in the line of protein based foods. Aquatic insects and small inverts do not do well in the heavy current. Plecs are very adaptable to feeding on availiable food sources and one is the mucus coating of other fish. There is good anacdotal evidence of these fish doing this in the wild and plenty of evidence of these fish doing this in captivity. The closest taxonomic relitives of Loricariidae are the Trichomycteridae. There are several mucus feeding only trichomycterid catfishes. It really would not be a suprise to find that mucus feeding is a common feeding method in many Loricariidae catfishes. These fish are really not obligate herbivores.
some of the safer plecos and catfish seem to be see list below.
List#2 CATFISHES
Acanthodoras cataphractus-(4")
Amblydoras hancocki-(6")
Platydoras costatus-(8")
Ancistrus dolichopterus-(4.5")
Ancistrus adonis-(30+")
Ancistrus lamboensis-(6")
Panaque nigrolineatus-(9.5")
Panaque suttonorum-Blue-eyed plecostomus-(7")
Peckoltia vittata-(4-5")
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps-(19")
Glyptoperichthys punctatus-Spotted sailfin pleco-(7")
Rineloricaria fallax-(4.5")
Chaetostoma sp.-Bulldog Catfish-(9.5")
Liposarcus anisitsi-Snow king sailfin pleco-(17")
Synodontis alberti-(6")
Synodontis angelicus-(22")
Hoplostermum thoracatum-(8")
Hemiancistrus annectens-(8")
Hemiancistrus landoni-(9")
Isorineloricaria spinosissima-Spiny suckermouth catfish-(12")
Loricaria nickernsis-Nickerie suckermouth-(6")
Baryancistrus sp.-(L18,L81,L177)-(6.5")
Leporacanthicus galaxias-Galactial suckermouth-(13")
Even the ones listed above are not guaranteed not to develop a taste for
slimecoat.If you are using plecos to combat algae they are not all tht effective and will require supplimental feeding.A far better solution would be
PREVENTION
Use healthy fast growing plants
learn to properly feed the fish
regular maintenence to prevent build up waste
regular water changes
replacing lights especially flourescents(yearly)
water testing
or the use of fast growing plants to use the excess nutrients that algae feeds on such as (see below)
FAST GROWING PLANTS
The idea here is using higher plant forms to outcompete algae for nutrients
The below list has the plants name first followed by lighting requirement
and finally ideal *temperature ranges.(see note 1)
1.5-2 watts of lighting per gallon=low to medium light levels
2-2.5 watts of lighting per gallon=medium to high light levels
2.5-3 watts of lighting per gallon=high to very high light levels
Azolla africanas (tropical Africa)
Azolla nilotica (Eastern africa)
Azolla pinnata (africa)
Azolla filiculoides 9Africa
Salvinia natans (Northern Africa)
Ricciocarpus natans (cosmopolitan)
Ricca fluitans (cosmopolitan)
Lemna gibba (cosmopolitan)
Lemna pauciocostata (cosompolitan)
Lemna minor (cosmopolitan)
Lemna Angolensis (cosmopolitan)
Wolffia arrhiza (middle and south africa)
TRUE FLOATING PLANTS
Eichhornia crassipes (egypt)
Eichhornia natans (africa)
Trappa natans (eastern africa)
Utricularia vulgaris (north africa)
Utricularia platytera (nigeria)
Utricularia neottioides (africa)
Utricularia stellaris (africa)
Utricularia flexousa (africa)
Utricularia foliosa (africa)
Utricularia exoleta (africa)
Utricularia gibba (africa)
Utricularia neglecta (africa)
Najas minor (africa)
Najas pectinata (africa)
Najas falciculata (africa)
Najas graminea (africa)
Aponogeton crispus-(medium-high)-(77-89F)
Aponogeton ulvaceus-(medium-high)-(71-80F)
Ceratophyllum demersum-(medium-high)-(71-82F)
Ceratophyllum submersum-(medium-high)-(71-82F)
Ceratopteris comuta-(medium)-(71-82F)
Ceratopteris thalictroides-(medium)-(71-82F)
Echinodorus bleheri-(medium)-(71-82F)
Echinodorus osiris-(medium-high)-(64-79F)
Echinodorus parviflorus-(medium)-68-79F)
Echinodorus quadricostatus-(medium-high)-(72-82F)
Hydrocotyle leucocephala-(low-medium)-(68-82F)
Hygrophila corymbosa-(low-medium)-(75-82F)
Hygrophila diffomis-(medium-high)-(75-82F)
Hygrophila polysperma-(low-medium)-(71-82)
Ludwigia palustris x repens-(medium-high)-(75-82F)
Ludwigia repens-(medium)-(71-78F)
Rotala rotundifolia-(medium-high)-(75-82F)
Sagittaria sublata-(medium-high)-(64-82F)
Vallisneria americana-(low-medium)-(71-78F)
Vallisneria spiralis-(low-medium)-(68-82F)-Anne
and heres the problem with some pleco species.One has to remember that in the areas of the amazon where a number of plecos exist there is little in the line of protein based foods. Aquatic insects and small inverts do not do well in the heavy current. Plecs are very adaptable to feeding on availiable food sources and one is the mucus coating of other fish. There is good anacdotal evidence of these fish doing this in the wild and plenty of evidence of these fish doing this in captivity. The closest taxonomic relitives of Loricariidae are the Trichomycteridae. There are several mucus feeding only trichomycterid catfishes. It really would not be a suprise to find that mucus feeding is a common feeding method in many Loricariidae catfishes. These fish are really not obligate herbivores.
some of the safer plecos and catfish seem to be see list below.
List#2 CATFISHES
Acanthodoras cataphractus-(4")
Amblydoras hancocki-(6")
Platydoras costatus-(8")
Ancistrus dolichopterus-(4.5")
Ancistrus adonis-(30+")
Ancistrus lamboensis-(6")
Panaque nigrolineatus-(9.5")
Panaque suttonorum-Blue-eyed plecostomus-(7")
Peckoltia vittata-(4-5")
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps-(19")
Glyptoperichthys punctatus-Spotted sailfin pleco-(7")
Rineloricaria fallax-(4.5")
Chaetostoma sp.-Bulldog Catfish-(9.5")
Liposarcus anisitsi-Snow king sailfin pleco-(17")
Synodontis alberti-(6")
Synodontis angelicus-(22")
Hoplostermum thoracatum-(8")
Hemiancistrus annectens-(8")
Hemiancistrus landoni-(9")
Isorineloricaria spinosissima-Spiny suckermouth catfish-(12")
Loricaria nickernsis-Nickerie suckermouth-(6")
Baryancistrus sp.-(L18,L81,L177)-(6.5")
Leporacanthicus galaxias-Galactial suckermouth-(13")
Even the ones listed above are not guaranteed not to develop a taste for
slimecoat.If you are using plecos to combat algae they are not all tht effective and will require supplimental feeding.A far better solution would be
PREVENTION
Use healthy fast growing plants
learn to properly feed the fish
regular maintenence to prevent build up waste
regular water changes
replacing lights especially flourescents(yearly)
water testing
or the use of fast growing plants to use the excess nutrients that algae feeds on such as (see below)
FAST GROWING PLANTS
The idea here is using higher plant forms to outcompete algae for nutrients
The below list has the plants name first followed by lighting requirement
and finally ideal *temperature ranges.(see note 1)
1.5-2 watts of lighting per gallon=low to medium light levels
2-2.5 watts of lighting per gallon=medium to high light levels
2.5-3 watts of lighting per gallon=high to very high light levels
Azolla africanas (tropical Africa)
Azolla nilotica (Eastern africa)
Azolla pinnata (africa)
Azolla filiculoides 9Africa
Salvinia natans (Northern Africa)
Ricciocarpus natans (cosmopolitan)
Ricca fluitans (cosmopolitan)
Lemna gibba (cosmopolitan)
Lemna pauciocostata (cosompolitan)
Lemna minor (cosmopolitan)
Lemna Angolensis (cosmopolitan)
Wolffia arrhiza (middle and south africa)
TRUE FLOATING PLANTS
Eichhornia crassipes (egypt)
Eichhornia natans (africa)
Trappa natans (eastern africa)
Utricularia vulgaris (north africa)
Utricularia platytera (nigeria)
Utricularia neottioides (africa)
Utricularia stellaris (africa)
Utricularia flexousa (africa)
Utricularia foliosa (africa)
Utricularia exoleta (africa)
Utricularia gibba (africa)
Utricularia neglecta (africa)
Najas minor (africa)
Najas pectinata (africa)
Najas falciculata (africa)
Najas graminea (africa)
Aponogeton crispus-(medium-high)-(77-89F)
Aponogeton ulvaceus-(medium-high)-(71-80F)
Ceratophyllum demersum-(medium-high)-(71-82F)
Ceratophyllum submersum-(medium-high)-(71-82F)
Ceratopteris comuta-(medium)-(71-82F)
Ceratopteris thalictroides-(medium)-(71-82F)
Echinodorus bleheri-(medium)-(71-82F)
Echinodorus osiris-(medium-high)-(64-79F)
Echinodorus parviflorus-(medium)-68-79F)
Echinodorus quadricostatus-(medium-high)-(72-82F)
Hydrocotyle leucocephala-(low-medium)-(68-82F)
Hygrophila corymbosa-(low-medium)-(75-82F)
Hygrophila diffomis-(medium-high)-(75-82F)
Hygrophila polysperma-(low-medium)-(71-82)
Ludwigia palustris x repens-(medium-high)-(75-82F)
Ludwigia repens-(medium)-(71-78F)
Rotala rotundifolia-(medium-high)-(75-82F)
Sagittaria sublata-(medium-high)-(64-82F)
Vallisneria americana-(low-medium)-(71-78F)
Vallisneria spiralis-(low-medium)-(68-82F)-Anne
