NO9TORRES

Hi, can anyone tell me whether my chinese algea eater will eat flakes, or should i supplement his diet with just algea wafer's (i havent got any yet) cheers

KyWildFish

He might eat them but I would stick with the wafers. I have seen both my Pleco and my otos eating flakes but its rare. You could also put some blanched cucumber or zucchini in there for them too. My pleco loves them.

NO9TORRES

Alright then il defintley get some algea wafers, its not worth taking the risk of keep feeding him flakes if hes not eating properly. My dad reckons terrapin pellets would be ok for him, but im not to sure!

nitram79

i had a chinese algae eater for about 8 or more years, he was the king of the tank god bless him, he got to about 7-8 inches, but he died a few months back. From what i could tell, they'll eat anything, they love those spirilina tablets, thats for sure... but they basically go around the tank looking for left overs, so what ever you feed em you should be right

Drew 43920

I have a Clown Pleco (a great fish) and I was wondering if feeding it cucumbers would slow down it's Algae eating duties ??

gremlin

Chinese algae eaters are scavengers. They prefer the algae when they are younger, but as they grow, they like a meatier diet. I'm not sure about the terrapin pellets, but the bottom feeder tablets work great. Algae wafers are also good. Make sure you have plenty of food for the algae eater and at least two caves/holes for him to hide in. If he feels threatened at all, he may show aggression to the other fish. Also, if he gets hungry, he may go for the other fish. If you see him starting to chase the other fish around, increase the bottom feeder tablets and put another cave in for him to hide in. CAE's do best with at least 20 gallons for one - and if you have two, then 40 gallons or more. I have three for my pond.

As for feeding cucumbers slowing down the algae eating, if you notice that the pleco is not eating the algae, then you can reduce the amount of cucumber you feed until the pleco is eating the algae again. Or just feed the cucumber every once in a while as a treat.