Daily Feeding
- Thread starter Amy
- Start date
No real set schedule or menu for my plecs. Depends upon what plecs I am feeding but i've got about a dozen or more food items that they get depending upon what I feel like giving them. There are sticky threads in the feeding section which list veggies/fruits some have fed their plecs. I tend to feed a lot of commercial since I myself eat too little fresh veggies so don't have much of the stuff around. Feed a lot of the same type stuff as Scatz: flake, pellets, wafers, granules. Some designed for plecs, others not, again depending upon what plecs I'm feeding as dietary requirements aren't the same across the board.
each tank gets slightly different mixes depending on if the plecs in are are herbivors, omnivors or carnivors. but otherwise as above, veg, dried foods and some frozen foods
i swear by tetra prima, all my plecs love this and get it every day, i also feed cucumber,algea wafers and a mixture of frozen foods.
Is the Tetra Prima Cyclopeeze grauels?? If so I have those and will surley feed them.
I have found though at two different types of algae wafers they will not either of them.
Anyone try the Tetra Spirulina Tablets??
Another question, is cucumber good for the plecos??
They sure love it, I just gave them some zucchini tonight and see how well they like that.
I have found though at two different types of algae wafers they will not either of them.
Anyone try the Tetra Spirulina Tablets??
Another question, is cucumber good for the plecos??
They sure love it, I just gave them some zucchini tonight and see how well they like that.
i use the jbl novo plec wafers but the tetra ones just as good, feeding cucumber is fine as long as you dont have silver dollars in the tank like me. they gobble it up in no time
Well I am worried that they are not getting enough to eat. They won't touch the zucchini but just devour the cucumber.
The wafers seem to just break down and polute the tank, I have not seen them eat those at all.
I did put some frozen bloodworms in there and they just swam over top of them did not show any interest at all.
Is there anything else i can try??
And the Tetra Pima are they cyclopeeze??
The wafers seem to just break down and polute the tank, I have not seen them eat those at all.
I did put some frozen bloodworms in there and they just swam over top of them did not show any interest at all.
Is there anything else i can try??
And the Tetra Pima are they cyclopeeze??
#1 thing to consider is what variety of plec are you feeding? Not all plecs should be fed the same foods. I'd say not all plecs eat the same food, but they probably will but it might not be good for them.
When are you feeding? Plecs primarily feed under low-light conditions. Once settled in an aquarium they may feed with the lights on but initially many are more comfortable feeding when the tank lights are off. If you are expecting to watch them eat as soon as you throw in food, as with other fish like tetras, this might not be realistic expectations at least in the beginning.
Might have to give them some time to get used to new veggies. What species of plec are you feeding? Some species/families prefer veggies of different consistancies (hard/soft). Depends a little on what they are accustomed/evolved to eat.
Might have to give them some time to get used to new foods. Kinda surprised about the frozen bloodworms, all my plecs seem to love it. Even use it to get new imports feeding. Possibly just keep trying and/or wait until tank get dark.
I've used Tetra Spirulina Tablets but fish didn't eat it & it simply disintergrated. Better is the TetraVeggie™ Algae Wafers if going with Tetra products. Hikari algae wafers or Wardley Algae wafers might be better.
Tetra Pima is probably closer to the TetraMin® Tropical Granules in the US. Though my plecs do eat TetraColor® Tropical Granules & Cyclopeze.
When are you feeding? Plecs primarily feed under low-light conditions. Once settled in an aquarium they may feed with the lights on but initially many are more comfortable feeding when the tank lights are off. If you are expecting to watch them eat as soon as you throw in food, as with other fish like tetras, this might not be realistic expectations at least in the beginning.
Might have to give them some time to get used to new veggies. What species of plec are you feeding? Some species/families prefer veggies of different consistancies (hard/soft). Depends a little on what they are accustomed/evolved to eat.
Might have to give them some time to get used to new foods. Kinda surprised about the frozen bloodworms, all my plecs seem to love it. Even use it to get new imports feeding. Possibly just keep trying and/or wait until tank get dark.
I've used Tetra Spirulina Tablets but fish didn't eat it & it simply disintergrated. Better is the TetraVeggie™ Algae Wafers if going with Tetra products. Hikari algae wafers or Wardley Algae wafers might be better.
Tetra Pima is probably closer to the TetraMin® Tropical Granules in the US. Though my plecs do eat TetraColor® Tropical Granules & Cyclopeze.
Thanks very much for the reply.
My plecos are the L144 long fin. I have 3 young ones.
They love the cucumber and devour it, I will try a different kind of wafer, I have the omega 1 and a store brand and they don't like either.
I do have the tetra min granuels so I can try that too.
Maybe you can tell me what this kind of pleco really likes to eat.
I have asked the breeder whom I got them from but he will not reply back.
Thanks
My plecos are the L144 long fin. I have 3 young ones.
They love the cucumber and devour it, I will try a different kind of wafer, I have the omega 1 and a store brand and they don't like either.
I do have the tetra min granuels so I can try that too.
Maybe you can tell me what this kind of pleco really likes to eat.
I have asked the breeder whom I got them from but he will not reply back.
Thanks
I can't, plecs don't talk. I can tell you that they are herbivores primarily and should be fed mostly veggie/algae based stuff, but plecs, like humans, can be individuals and may like to eat different things than other individuals.
L144 should only be fed a little bit of meaty/meat-based stuff. Chances are if you feed the incorrect food to them they'll eat it but then problems can result. For instance, herbivores that get too much animal based proteins can get bloating & digestive distress that in bad cases can result in death. Therefore its important to understand the dietary requirements of the plecs you keep so you may offer them the correct foods.
Being primarily herbivores, L144 should be fed mostly veggie-based stuff including fresh vegetables, and veggie based foods. A word of warning, many "algae" foods contain little if any veggie/algae matter. When purchasing foods, make it a point to look at the ingredients and see where veggies/algae falls in the list. Also, don't confuse grain products with veggie matter.
Thank you for this....
May you suggest some prepared foods that I should be looking at for them??
The omega one veggie rounds i have this is the first 5 ingredients:
whole kelp
spirulina
whole salmon
halibut
seafood mix
The spirulina flakes i have first 5 ingredients are:
dried spirulina algae
fish meal
oatmeal
krill
soybean
This to me does not sound like much of a herb diet, if you can list some foods that would be great as I want to feed these plecos the right thing.
Thanks
May you suggest some prepared foods that I should be looking at for them??
The omega one veggie rounds i have this is the first 5 ingredients:
whole kelp
spirulina
whole salmon
halibut
seafood mix
The spirulina flakes i have first 5 ingredients are:
dried spirulina algae
fish meal
oatmeal
krill
soybean
This to me does not sound like much of a herb diet, if you can list some foods that would be great as I want to feed these plecos the right thing.
Thanks
Some feed raw, others blanch. Blanching helps break down the veggies a bit and makes them softer & also allows them to sink. Most families of plecs are niche feeders, adapted to eat particular things. Panaque for instance are wood eaters and thus their teeth and mouth structures are adapted to rasp away at wood. In my experience, my Panaques prefer firmer veggies like carrots, potatoes, etc. Some species like Ancistrus (like you L144) are adapted to algae, thus they are well suited to eat softer veggies, one of the reasons they may take to cucumber so well. Blanching may help to break down some veggies to a consistancy that they prefer. I personally don't blanch any veggies & simply chuck them into my tank. They get eaten when the plecs feel like it or removed before they disintergrate.
There are some that have fed green seweed to plecs. Are you thinking like nori for sushi? One problem is that many are comprised of smaller seaweed pieces and when submerged for a period of time tehy start to disintergrate & mess everything.
When you say they are young, how big are they? If they are only small they may well be eating the wafers when you are not looking but at a small size they only eat a bit so you may not notice. Wafers should not spoil the water if you're cleaning up leftovers each morning. I checked how long it took my L144's and L190 to jump on the food when I put it in the tank, and the quickest was 10 seconds. I always feed in the same place so when I am messing in the tank in that area they always go and check out what I have put in. If they are only babies they may be a little shy, but if you get into a routine they will soon be active, L144's are not shy imho.
Mine love courgette, red pepper, mushroom, brocolli and the other day I gave them a bit of asparagus and they loved it!