ElvisMinnow

What DO plecos actually eat?

I rescued a little 3" pleco from a science experiment, and he is doing well, apparently, in my tank. He is a bit of a loner, and for the first week he never came out from behind some vertical rocks in the rear of the tank, he just hung around. Now he sometimes comes out and wanders, but then hides behind the rocks. I never see him eat. There is and was no algae visible, and the tank is well planted.

I dropped some Hikari algae wafers near him, and he checked them out but didn't eat them immediately. They disappeared later, but I have goldfish, too, so nothing is safe and they may have eaten them.

What is he, photosynthetic? What is he probably eating? Are they nocturnal?

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!

what kind of plec is he? most are loners and only come out at night time...they love to eat algae wafers, some veggies like cukes, zuchinni, lettuce...you wont see him eat as being nocturnal makes them look like they dont exist until its dark...what size tank is he is? as some get huge and their bioload is incredible as an overload in too small of a tank..get some pics of him if you can!! we love pics

Butterfly

Some plecos need wood to rasp on. There is a substance in driftwood called Lignan that some plecos need for digestion. Some are more veggie orientated and need algae or fresh veggies. so you see why it's important to know what kind of pleco you have
Carol

musicman4567

Along with that, some pleco's like meat (after all, they are catfish). I raise my plecos on baby brines and my adults love blood worms that have sunk to the bottom. Meat should NOT be the main item in their diet though (or so I've heard).

Butterfly

Your exactly right. Too much protein tends to constipate plecos,bristlenose and otos. For most plecs 90veggie/10protein is just about the right balance.
carol

MeGustaUnaPez926

I see that your pleco is very small right now, but what tank do you have him in? None of your tanks are large enough to support him. Could he possibly be a brisstlenose? If he is, then you'll have a much easier time with him, although your tanks are on the small size. If you can get some pictures, someone here would most likely be able to identify what kind of pleco he is.

ElvisMinnow

I am aware that the fish must have a new home eventually, I just needed to rescue him from where he was. I gather I should be able to find him a good him pretty easily when it is time.

I don't have the photo-capability right now, but I can post a query when I do. He is a dark brown with black mottled stripes and spots.

Fish Addict

I think people are making lots of assumptions..
Until we find out what type of pleco it is, we cannot tell what it eats or what size tank it needs.. There are carnivorous plecos, and there are ones that don't need big tanks, so I think until we get a photo we might have some trouble.. Try looking online for a pic...

Butterfly

www.planetcatfish.com is an excellent place to start looking.
Carol

ElvisMinnow

The catfish site is great.
Unfortunately, I didn't find the exact model.
I did get the feedback I needed, that basically it was likely nocturnal, and is getting some nutrition, likely.
Thanks