Bristlenose plecos don't eat veggies?

I tried cabbage, broccoli, carrot, and cucumber. He doesn't touch any of them.
I have heard that you should put garlic on them so it attracts the pleco? How do I do that? Thanks

 

IDEAS

When do you feed them?. Mine only take cucmber at night.

are they floating? Because they need to be at the bottom of the tank.

mine also prefer spinach. This is super easy to get either as leaf, or some people use frozen, but make sure it doesn't have a lot of salt additive.

 

What else is in the tank? How long are the lights on for, and what other food is put in there?

 

You could also try some other veggies. Mine do not like carots or broccolI but LOVE pumpkin ( the minI ones ) and zucchini.

I don't cook them and put it in raw - by about 3 days, its all gone! My plecos love the pumpkin so much they actually turn Yellow/light orange

 

What else is in the tank? How long are the lights on for, and what other food is put in there?

there is an angelfish, 5 glowlight tetras, and 1 guppy. oh there is also a driftwood and some plants. They lights are on for 8 hours a day. I try to feed the bristlenose at night. I feed my other fish flakes and that's it.

 

Spinach is the way to their heart. Id swear by it.
the first time I gavethem spinach, they laid eggs.

 

Spinach is the way to their heart. Id swear by it.
the first time I gavethem spinach, they laid eggs.

Agree.

 

Mine loves fresh zucchini. I put it on a bamboo skewer, so it's easier to remove or add it.

Sometime the zucchinI comes off the skewer, especially if the pleco is aggressive with it. It'll float to the top of the tank, and the pleco will go after it and drag it back down.

 

Mine loves cucumbers but won't touch anything else (except algae wafers and shrimp pellets, of course). I think you just need to keep trying different veggies until you find what he likes.

 

My 2 plecos love zucchinI and cucumber, but they don't eat the skins of both of them. I put the zucchinI in very hot boiled water for about 1 minute, and then it becomes softer for them to eat easier. My plecos don't eat broccoli.

 

My BN pleco is 5 inches long, as big as my 10 year old sons hand and is a total pig! LOOK at this mouth!! He devoured this zucchinI in less than a day!

 

I've had a bristlenose plecostomus for several weeks now. I feed it two algae pellets every other day. (He's not very big yet) I am still working on getting him some driftwood to gnaw on. The tank temperature is 78 degrees F. I know that you are supposed to feed them veggies once or twice a week. I have tried broccolI and blanched cucumber. I know that cucumber is supposed to be like their favorite but mine has not shown any interest in anything that I have put in except for the algae pellets. Why won't he eat his other food and will he not do as well if he doesn't eat them?

 

Try him with zucchinI or butternut squash & put it in a quiet area of the tank, it may take him a while to realise it's good to eat so keep trying.

 

I agree - just keep trying different foods. Mine LOVE zucchinI and other squash - Just have to experiment!

Is there other signs he is not eating? White stringy poo or getting skinny? He may just be needing to get used to the tank. What other tank mates does he have?

Is you tank fully cycled and what are the water parameters? Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate?

 

Agree with the above poster . It took a long time fro my BN to start eating her veggies and now she loves them.

 

OK thanks! He looks fine. I have him, a red tail shark, albino rainbow shark, two platys, 2 gouramis, and one molly.

 

He should be getting food on every day. In addition he should have fresh veggies or fruit available 24/7. One thing you can try is give him a slice of zucchinI squash or cucumber raw, and do not peel it, just wash it off with a veggie scrub brush under running water same as you would for you. Take a paring knife and make a couple of slits in the skin and push a wafer in each one so that some of the wafer is still showing. As he chews on the wafer he will get some of the veggie and realize that it is food. after a few days , you shouldn't need to stuff the wafer in any more. This works well with ones that have never had veggies before. Welcome to the forum and glad you're here. Alison

 

OK thanks for the info! I will keep it in mind! Also, that's a really good idea. I will try it. Thanks!!! betta 2

 

Can you place a pic of the BN?

 

OK thanks for the info! I will keep it in mind! Also, that's a really good idea. I will try it. Thanks!!! betta 2

Has he started eaing his veggies yet? Alison

 

Something I had to do to get my BN eating is soak the veggies in garlic. Love your idea Alison

 

I have a 5.5 inch massive l100 bushy he was the same way because I keep him with my large malawI haps you need to keep putting cucumbers in the tank use a rock to weigh them down eventually he will realise it's food and gnaw on it, it took approximately a month before he took interest in the veggies and I very rarely see him eating them. They are very nocturnal which I believe has a lot to do with eating habits

 

What is the common name for him or is their one. ? Alison

 

The technical name is xingu black ancistrus also know as the l100 or LDA75 they usually only reach 4" in home aquaria and present a pattern ranging from all black with speckled white dots to a milky brown color depending on mood

As you can see in the photos mine was trying to blend in with a piece of slate so his colors were quite a bit different than if he was perched on the glass or in his cave

 

I have 2 albino BN in my tank. The first one I got about 2 months ago. She loves her veggies, 'specially zucchinI but will tolerate cucumber. the other one I got about a month ago. I've only seen him/her go after the veggies one time. This one stays hidden most of the time so it is possible that he eats them after lights out. Just keep offering and hopefully before long yours will realize that the veggies are good food.

 

I have a 5.5 inch massive l100 bushy he was the same way because I keep him with my large malawI haps you need to keep putting cucumbers in the tank use a rock to weigh them down eventually he will realise it's food and gnaw on it, it took approximately a month before he took interest in the veggies and I very rarely see him eating them. They are very nocturnal which I believe has a lot to do with eating habits

What a handsome boy. Never saw one before. Lovely bristles on him. Alison

 

Has he started eaing his veggies yet? Alison

Sorry I've been away! Yes he has started to eat his veggies!! Thank you so much for the idea!!

 

A well fed pleco is a happy pleco. Glad he is eating his veggies.Alison

 

Perfect. They are just little children. " I don't like veggies mum".

 

Perfect. They are just little children. " I don't like veggies mum".

Once they get the idea than they're all over it like kids in a candy store. YUM YUM, or as my Quaker parrot says YUM YUM GOOD. Alison