Picky Bristlenose Pleco Food Ideas And A Few Other Questions

So i’ve had him for about 3 weeks so he’s still fairly new and in a 10 gallon quarantine for a while. His home will be a well planted 36 gallon with 5 Harlequin Rasboras and 6 Zebra Danios. Hes being such a picky eater tho. I’ve tried feeding him Zucchini, Cucumber, Lettuce Carrot, and Cobalt Algae Grazers food and he won’t eat any of it. I tried throwin in a few of my Shirakara Shrimp food and he has nibbled on that a bit but i’m trying to give him a better balanced diet. Any ideas on what else he might like? Could it just be too soon? I’m new to BN plecos.

Also a few side questions.
-When are they typically adult size?

- do bN like current? He sits in the bubbles on my little sponge filter lol I have an Aqua clear 20 also

- what is their best water temp. I’ve seen huge ranges. I have it set at 74F right now.

-Are BN’s territorial with shrimp or otos? I’ve been thinking about getting some more Otos. I only have one oto left because the others all passed away. I had 2 left but one got squished in my veggie clip. He completely destroyed his carrot and it clamped down on him. That was the saddest death ever. He loved his carrots so much!

 

Specialized feeding is not required for your BN Pleco. They usually survive just fine scavenging on scraps. Mixing in a few small grain sinking cichlid pellets would be a good move.
Although BN Plecos aren't as dependant on driftwood for survival as other Plecos, a small chunk of DW in the tank might prove helpful. The largest size of any of my BN'S grew to was approx. 5".
Might bump the temp up a bit to 76 degrees. I've never kept them at a temp any lower than that.

 

A201

Alright, thank you. I'll turn up the temperature and if you looked at my picture there's a big piece of wood in his quarantine. He's got lots of wood in my show tank as well when he's moved.

What do you mean by specialized feeding? Aren't you supposed to give them a balanced diet of veggies and wafers? He doesn't have "scraps" cuz he's in quarantine and there's no other fish. The food I have is for bottom feeders. I was told it is not super high quality but its up there. It better be. It wasn't cheap. The high quality stuff came in huge containers and I just needed something to give him now. I don't want him to get too used to that cuz he can't eat wafers when he's moved in my show tank because my rasboras and danios go nuts for them. they get fat on those immediately and I don't want them eating so much. I was lucky to find a shrimp food my shrimps like that my fish don't lol

Like I said my pleco is being picky. he won't eat anything I put in there. He can't survive on algae alone. I got a strong light to grow algae with but I don't want to rely on that.

 

Yes you definitely need to feed them a balanced diet. They will stunt if not feed properly. Did you try brine shrimp? I found mine like that. The other thing.. if he was not fed veggies before you got him, it might take awhile for him to recognize them as food. Give him a little bit more time!

 

You have certainly done your best for the BN. A lot of TLC and a very nice QT tank. I was speaking in general terms regarding DW, and the feeding recomendations.
If you feed "all" your fish quality foods, which include whole marine protien (not fish meal), algae, kelp ect. (not corn, potatoe or filler grains), there is no essential need to provide a BN with algae wafers, peas or any other special foods. Those would be optional. Scraps from a quality pellet or flake food are all that is necessary to maintain a healthy BN.
Here is a pic of one of my BN'S. I've raised him from a tiny baby to his current 4" size. He eats Omega One small grain sinking kelp pellets and Omega One veggie Cichlid flakes, as do the rest of his African Cichlid tank mates do.

 

I've had plecos who would not go for food for months after having them, one I had for two and a half almost three months, and he just recently started really eating food.

Honestly all I could do for him, (he had really bad ich) was quarantine him with a piece of live driftwood my friend gave me(had all these different algae goodies and other live plant matter)
And offer him food for a bit.

He still didn't eat.

So after his salt baths and qt, I would put him back in the tank and put the LDW next to, or above him.

After feeding the same pellets for half a week, no variation for any of my fish in his tank, he eventually deemed HIS pellets as food, and now he eats them.

The best I can recommend is making sure the food is near him and in the tank often, but not so often it raises the ammonia too much.
Make sure it is true quality as mentioned, no meals, no fillers. Mine goes crazy for fluval bug bites now.
I think it's 8.99 or something for a bag of pleco bites, they last quite a while, they contain black fly larvae, and balanced vegetables.

Keep the tank clean, visit him often, and don't give up!

You can expect to watch your pleco steal from the other fish like mine once he starts to eat!

 

Yes you definitely need to feed them a balanced diet. They will stunt if not feed properly. Did you try brine shrimp? I found mine like that. The other thing.. if he was not fed veggies before you got him, it might take awhile for him to recognize them as food. Give him a little bit more time!

how do you feed them brine shrimp? just toss it in and let them pick it all up?

You have certainly done your best for the BN. A lot of TLC and a very nice QT tank. I was speaking in general terms regarding DW, and the feeding recomendations.
If you feed "all" your fish quality foods, which include whole marine protien (not fish meal), algae, kelp ect. (not corn, potatoe or filler grains), there is no essential need to provide a BN with algae wafers, peas or any other special foods. Those would be optional. Scraps from a quality pellet or flake food are all that is necessary to maintain a healthy BN.
Here is a pic of one of my BN'S. I've raised him from a tiny baby to his current 4" size. He eats Omega One small grain sinking kelp pellets and Omega One veggie Cichlid flakes, as do the rest of his African Cichlid tank mates do.View attachment 491161

Thank you for all your help! Should I toss in some of the food my fish are eating then and see how he does? Your fish looks great

 

how do you feed them brine shrimp? just toss it in and let them pick it all up?

If you have planting tweezers you can place them next to him, if he's not shy, otherwise yeah, drop it in in a similar place every time, or near him every time.

Eventually he should swim over one and suck it up.

 

I've had plecos who would not go for food for months after having them, one I had for two and a half almost three months, and he just recently started really eating food.

Honestly all I could do for him, (he had really bad ich) was quarantine him with a piece of live driftwood my friend gave me(had all these different algae goodies and other live plant matter)
And offer him food for a bit.

He still didn't eat.

So after his salt baths and qt, I would put him back in the tank and put the LDW next to, or above him.

After feeding the same pellets for half a week, no variation for any of my fish in his tank, he eventually deemed HIS pellets as food, and now he eats them.

The best I can recommend is making sure the food is near him and in the tank often, but not so often it raises the ammonia too much.
Make sure it is true quality as mentioned, no meals, no fillers. Mine goes crazy for fluval bug bites now.
I think it's 8.99 or something for a bag of pleco bites, they last quite a while, they contain black fly larvae, and balanced vegetables.

Keep the tank clean, visit him often, and don't give up!

You can expect to watch your pleco steal from the other fish like mine once he starts to eat!

I hate dealing with diseases in new fish. If he does happen to get anything do I teat it the same as any other fish I would have or do they have sensitivities to certain medications?
I'm glad to see I am not the only one with a picky Pleco! Makes feel a bit better. I'll just keep poppin things in there and see what he takes a liking too
And the color on your pleco. I've never seen one that color. Very cool

 

I have a BN who goes wild for Dennerle shrimp pellets. For a year I've been dropping one into the same corner of a 29 gallon tank every evening. He now waits for them and chases all other fish out of the corner until he gets it. They're not cheap, but I like the balance of ingredients.

 

I hate dealing with diseases in new fish. If he does happen to get anything do I teat it the same as any other fish I would have or do they have sensitivities to certain medications?
I'm glad to see I am not the only one with a picky Pleco! Makes feel a bit better. I'll just keep poppin things in there and see what he takes a liking too
And the color on your pleco. I've never seen one that color. Very cool

I love my plecos so much!
He's called a super red calico, they can either be totally chocolate or black, or calico like mine.
And they can even be bred to have long fins, so pretty!

If your pleco is very weak some medications could harm it, we had a baby bn, not even an inch long, and we treated it once, but I guess we didn't get it all, so I saod we should treat them again and hope we got it, the pleco was on it's way out anyhow, but my boyfriend believes the meds are what did him in.
I'm not so sure, but it's possible they helped speed up the death.

But generally plecos don't need super specialized care, as far as I know, they aren't anything like scaleless fish so they aren't quite as sensitive as them, but I've heard some species are pretty sensitive, I'm pretty sure that BN's are pretty hardy though.

 

I don't know how you are feeding the veggies but my advice is to keep it in there in the same place until you BN discovers that it is actually food. My Elbert prefers his zucchinI over all other veggies.

I give it to him washed but raw. His favorite part is the skin so I cut it to where there is more skin than seeded part. When offering it raw it can be left in there for at least 36 hours. Just replace it after that length of time. Eventually your BN will find out it is actually food and then you can start offering different veggies but don't be surprised if yours end up preferring zucchini.

There are various way of keeping it sunk to the bottom. Some folks have veggie clips, others weigh it down with plant weights. I use the wand off a mini-blind. with it I don't have to reach in the tank to remove and replace.

 

 

If you have planting tweezers you can place them next to him, if he's not shy, otherwise yeah, drop it in in a similar place every time, or near him every time.

Eventually he should swim over one and suck it up.

Lol he’s a skittish fish. If you wanna look at him you gotta stand at a specific distance or he’ll swim off to one of his hiding spots. I had to get him one of those shrimp feeding tubes for his food and drop it in where he can’t see me haha

 

Lol he’s a skittish fish. If you wanna look at him you gotta stand at a specific distance or he’ll swim off to one of his hiding spots. I had to get him one of those shrimp feeding tubes for his food and drop it in where he can’t see me haha

Haha! Mine was pretty skiddish at first too, then when he got really bad ich I had to be a bit more handsy with him, now he isn't as scared.
If you walk up too quickly you will frighten him, if you slowly move to the tank to get a better look, he'll move a little, scared you're going to try to catch him again lol
Then he'll calm down and maybe come out to say hi.
It takes him a bit to go after food, but once his lazy haze is over he'll be up and eating the leftovers.

 

I love my plecos so much!
He's called a super red calico, they can either be totally chocolate or black, or calico like mine.
And they can even be bred to have long fins, so pretty!

If your pleco is very weak some medications could harm it, we had a baby bn, not even an inch long, and we treated it once, but I guess we didn't get it all, so I saod we should treat them again and hope we got it, the pleco was on it's way out anyhow, but my boyfriend believes the meds are what did him in.
I'm not so sure, but it's possible they helped speed up the death.

But generally plecos don't need super specialized care, as far as I know, they aren't anything like scaleless fish so they aren't quite as sensitive as them, but I've heard some species are pretty sensitive, I'm pretty sure that BN's are pretty hardy though.

That greats great news. He seems pretty healthy to me but I wouldn’t even know what to look for. I wish I could get another one but my show tank is only 36G. I think it would be too much

I don't know how you are feeding the veggies but my advice is to keep it in there in the same place until you BN discovers that it is actually food. My Elbert prefers his zucchinI over all other veggies.

I give it to him washed but raw. His favorite part is the skin so I cut it to where there is more skin than seeded part. When offering it raw it can be left in there for at least 36 hours. Just replace it after that length of time. Eventually your BN will find out it is actually food and then you can start offering different veggies but don't be surprised if yours end up preferring zucchini.

There are various way of keeping it sunk to the bottom. Some folks have veggie clips, others weigh it down with plant weights. I use the wand off a mini-blind. with it I don't have to reach in the tank to remove and replace.

I really hope he will like zucchinI cuz that's what all my shrimp, snails and otos go for the most. I have magnetic veggie clips so I can get them in and out easily without freakin them out with the giant hand if god

Well overnight he ate an entire cobalt algae grazer wafer and they are huge! Glad I found something he liked

Looks like he ate some brine shrimp today too

 

I really hope he will like zucchinI cuz that's what all my shrimp, snails and otos go for the most. I have magnetic veggie clips so I can get them in and out easily without freakin them out with the giant hand if god

Just a FYI:
I suggest buying a "The Pleco Feeder". I saw these guys at a trade show and ended up buying it off amazon. Amazing. I bought the smaller size for my 29 gallon high but my new 75 gallon will need the larger size. Both my pleco and my platties loved eating from it. Never had to stick my hand in tanks or deal with veggie clips again. I hated cutting the veggies into small slices. Now I can stick a chunk on there!

My BN loves cucumber and sweet potatoes the most.



Idk why it wouldnt let me post this pic. But here you go!

 

Just a FYI:
I suggest buying a "The Pleco Feeder". I saw these guys at a trade show and ended up buying it off amazon. Amazing. I bought the smaller size for my 29 gallon high but my new 75 gallon will need the larger size. Both my pleco and my platties loved eating from it. Never had to stick my hand in tanks or deal with veggie clips again. I hated cutting the veggies into small slices. Now I can stick a chunk on there!

My BN loves cucumber and sweet potatoes the most.View attachment 494706View attachment 494707

I use a veggie clip that's magnetised so I don’t have to stick my hands in the tank too much but YES! I saw these. I want one but I can’t find anywhere that will ship to Canada. I’ve only seen them on the american page for amazon and it says will not ship to Canada. I might ship one to my brother in laws house. We will be going down there over the holidays. They’ve been okay with it in the past. Anyone know any stores that sell in it the states?

Mine has finally take a liking to zucchini. I’ll try sweet potato. I do eat those too. Do you blanch them first?

 

I use a veggie clip that's magnetised so I don’t have to stick my hands in the tank too much but YES! I saw these. I want one but I can’t find anywhere that will ship to Canada. I’ve only seen them on the american page for amazon and it says will not ship to Canada. I might ship one to my brother in laws house. We will be going down there over the holidays. They’ve been okay with it in the past. Anyone know any stores that sell in it the states?

Mine has finally take a liking to zucchini. I’ll try sweet potato. I do eat those too. Do you blanch them first?

I started with blanching my veggies but stopped. My pleco didnt care lol. Did you try their website for the pleco feeder?

 

I started with blanching my veggies but stopped. My pleco didnt care lol. Did you try their website for the pleco feeder?

I think shipping was expensive but i’ll recheck that. I like my amazon for free shipping. I’m too spoiled with it lol