Do baby BN plecos eat more algae than adults?

[mantarae88]

I noticed my young BN only seems to show interest towards the tank walls and decor when it comes to food. He/she is about 1.5” long. I don’t have cucumber or zucchini at the moment, so I’m not exactly sure what to feed it. I offer omega one veggie rounds every other day, but my platies usually peck at those wafers until there’s nothing left. The pleco is either too shy or just simply doesn’t notice when it comes to feeding time, so he misses out on the veggie rounds.
Although my tank barely has algae, he seems to be eating something, as he is pooping. Even with 3 nerite snails in the tank somehow he must be finding some sort of biofilm to munch on. I’ve been leaving the tank light on for 10 hours a day to try and grow algae quicker. That paired with my high iron content water, I’m sure there will be an adequate amount of algae sometime soon.
I also have a piece of cholla wood in the tank, will that make him happy?
Just not too sure how to go about feeding. Again, he only seems interesting in the tank walls/driftwood. I hope he doesn’t starve. This is my first time owning a pleco this small.

 

[mattgirl]

My pleco fry really enjoy their zucchini. If the breeder didn't feed fresh veggies your little one may not recognize it as food yet. If you are concerned about it not getting enough food start offering it zucchini. It may take patience but eventually your little guy will find it.

You can blanch it if you want to but I feed it raw. If fed raw you can leave a piece of it in there for up to 48 hours. If blanched I would remove and replace every 24 hours. Be sure to put it in the same place every time. Once your little guy discovers it you can put it anywhere and s/he will find it.

To actually answer your question though. I have noticed my young BN plecos do a good job at keeping algae cleaned up. It seems they do that less after they grow up. Either their tastes change or they just get lazy. Keep an eye on its little belly. As long as it is well rounded I have to think it is finding enough food. If it is at all sunken in there is a problem.

 

[mantarae88]

My pleco fry really enjoy their zucchini. If the breeder didn't feed fresh veggies your little one may not recognize it as food yet. If you are concerned about it not getting enough food start offering it zucchini. It may take patience but eventually your little guy will find it.

You can blanch it if you want to but I feed it raw. If fed raw you can leave a piece of it in there for up to 48 hours. If blanched I would remove and replace every 24 hours. Be sure to put it in the same place every time. Once your little guy discovers it you can put it anywhere and s/he will find it.

To actually answer your question though. I have noticed my young BN plecos do a good job at keeping algae cleaned up. It seems they do that less after they grow up. Either their tastes change or they just get lazy. Keep an eye on its little belly. As long as it is well rounded I have to think it is finding enough food. If it is at all sunken in there is a problem.

Thanks for the reply. I won’t be going to the store for a couple of days, so in the meantime I’ll try offering more veggie rounds at night until I can get some zucchini. I haven’t tried offering when the tank lights turn off, maybe he’ll have a better chance at finding/actually getting to eat some then. I’ll drop it near the back of the tank and hope the other fish don’t eat all of it.
I’m not sure what he was fed before I got him, I’m assuming wafers but I can’t say for sure.
I’ll try to see if his belly looks okay. He rarely sits still.
He doesn’t go near the substrate too often, always on the tank walls or the driftwood. Perhaps there’s more biofilm there.