Should Bn Pleco Babies Be Fed Bbs??

I've raised a few batches of bn plecos. They eat HikarI algae wafers and veggies from the second the finish their yolk sacks. And they've slowly grown into healthy adults (the ones I've kept anyway)

From this last batch...I pulled a couple aside and put them into a tank with baby angels who eat bbs multiple times per day. The two Plecos I moved to this tank are triple the size of their siblings!!!

The other food they got that their siblings didn't is HikarI sinking wafers...the ones for bottom feeders...so more protien.

The hikarI algae wafers say they are the "Perfect balance of veggies and protien" so I always assumed they were getting the protien they needed.

Do the babies need more protein than the adults? If so... would the bottom feeder wafers be enough extra protein? Or were those bbs making all the difference? And if it was the bbs....how do plecos eat the free swimming bbs anyway!!???

Thanks for any input!!!

Edit....I just want to add that I have done a ton of googling and most of the stuff I've read does NOT included bbs in the diet of ancistrus fry....but I do see it occasionally discussed....but I am definitely seeing a lot of talk about the fry needing more protein than the adults do.....

 

I guess it would be an OK supplement but I can't imagine they are eating the live ones but the dead larvae at the bottom. A mature tank with bio film developed on the surfaces of the tank should Be substantial for developing BN pleco fry. I would also reccomend like vegatables like zucchinI and melon. Don't feed cucumber as it has almost zero nutritional value. If your looking for a protein boost, try beef heart or fish eggs. Mysis shrimp would probably be preferable as they are way more nutritious than brine shrimp. Babies definitely need more protein than the adults to grow

 

Up until now, the diet ofy ancistrus fry has only consisted of zucchinI and HikarI algae wafers.

But those other two tripling in size..... in a tank with higher protein Wafers and baby brine shrimp was very telling!!!

If they were eating the baby brine shrimp I was putting in for the Angels, you are right, they would have to have died first. They can't catch free swimming baby brine shrimp!!

 

BN's are omnivores and in my opinion fry but also adults need protein in their diet.
Many organism simply need (extra) protein to grow(out), so I am with you in this thoughts !!

 

BN's are omnivores and in my opinion fry but also adults need protein in their diet.
Many organism simply need (extra) protein to grow(out), so I am with you in this thoughts !!

Yep....I was naive to think that the HikarI algae wafers were providing that necessary protein....since the packaging says it's the perfect balance if veggies and protein. But that is clearly only for adults.

My babies are, and always have been, very healthy....but now I know why they aren't growing faster!!

You commented on it VERY early on with my last batch a few months ago....about them needing protein....but my stupid self believed the hikarI bag telling me it had protein meant that it was providing my babies with the protein they needed!!! Clearly they could benefit from EXTRA protein!!!

I'm sorry I didn't take you more seriously before!!! The bbs thing still confuses me since plecos don't eat free swimming food in the water column like that... but I bet just adding the higher protein Wafers will make a difference!!

 

You could think about frozen (not freeze dried) daphnia or brineshrimp !!

 

You could think about frozen (not freeze dried) daphnia or brineshrimp !!

I actually have Frozen baby brine shrimp. It wasn't easy to find but I got it in hopes of feeding it to my Angelfish babies. But they need the movement of the living baby brine shrimp to entice them to eat so it never worked for them.....

But since pleco is are suckers.... they probably don't even need Frozen BABY brine shrimp. They could suck on regular Frozen brine shrimp!

 

I know I've mentioned it before, but I fed mine on green beans until they got bigger then omega one algae wafers, squash, zucchini, and green beans. I still have some larger than the others and they are in a 55 gal

 

My adult female albino bn knows I drop in shrimp pellets so she sits and waits for me to drop one on or by her before she grabs it in her sucker and goes to town on it. They seem to do better with the extra protein.

 

My adult female albino bn knows I drop in shrimp pellets so she sits and waits for me to drop one on or by her before she grabs it in her sucker and goes to town on it. They seem to do better with the extra protein.

Yet we have experienced members telling newbies that plecos are just fine living off of leftover food and algae!! Go figure. Lol

 

Yet we have experienced members telling newbies that plecos are just fine living off of leftover food and algae!! Go figure. Lol

Right, she is also four inches and getting fat with eggs again, so more protein is good for the babies and if you are trying to spawn.

 

Right, she is also four inches and getting fat with eggs again, so more protein is good for the babies and if you are trying to spawn.

Yep...and the argument was that if you aren't interested in getting them in breeding condition then leftovers and algae are perfectly sufficient!!