Pleco eating

[SabrinaD]

Here's a pic of my biggest pleco eating cichlid pellets. All three of them love the pellets. Next time I hope to capture all three feeding at the same time.

[cichlidkid123]

Wow big pleco. Looks nice. Mines a chocolate pleco in a 125 with my oscar. Its maybe 5 inches. But maybe not be as big as urs. Im so jealous. hhahahaha. Looks like a 8 inch. my guess. How big is it though. Nice jewel too. And my pleco loves cichlid pellet.:D :razz:

[SabrinaD]

He's about 7 inches. I also have two five inchers. Though I have considered getting rid of the two smaller plecos (maybe all of them) not because I don't like them (I do like them), but because some of the cichlids chase them relentlessly at times. I feel sorry for them and I have no other tanks to put them in.

[cichlidkid123]

O that kinda sux. My pleco do well in the 125 gallon with my oscar. I might get some loaches too. I'll get some pics next year when i get a part time job!!!! I can buy my own digital camera. hahahaha. xI also earn money from cutting other people yard and babysitting so thats how i get money for my stuff.

[cichgirl]

Sabrina, do you feed them algae wafers too?

[SabrinaD]

Not any more. They always prefered the meatier wafers and they would get picked on worse anyway when they were trying to eat. So they figured out that if they went up with the rest of the fish, the others would leave them alone. I do give veggies though (like yellow squash and zuccini)

[NEO_72]

Man that's weird :D

Maybe you have some adaptive fish with finicky palates. I have to think that's not their normal behaviour though....when you fed algae wafers, did you do it at lights out?

[SabrinaD]

Sometimes. I had a pleco do this once before though. That one would flip over and skim the top for flakes. I think common plecos are very adaptive and once they figured it out, they have stuck to that behavior. Except when the rainbow shark was in there. He attacked one of them and that one would not come up to feed any more but as soon as the shark was gone, the pleco went right back to the surface. I know they taught the third one (the one in the picture) because I just got him a few weeks ago from a relative. People have tried to tell me they are not getting enough to eat, but they have fat bellies. It's just easier to come up than to scrouge around at the bottom I guess LOL. The two smaller plecos actually grew about an inch since I've had the cichlids and they took to feeding from the top. I have heard of some people (on plecofantics.com) hand feeding their plecos.

[NEO_72]

Well I'll be. Pretty cool. I only have two bristlenose plecs - they are more sensibly wary of me and the other fish. Of course, they aren't nearly so big!

[cichlidkid123]

Yea mines do that too.