my amazing (i reckon) pleco

[DG]

Hi,

I feed the malawi floating pellets and the cats + pleco sinking pellets. Because the malawi love the catfish pellets, i feed the malawi first and when their mouths are stuffed, i drop in the sinking pellets.

One day 'd fed the malawi and went to wash my hands. I came back and saw my pleco (4") floating mid tank at a 45o angle belly up. My knees went weak cos i thought this was the end!! Then i noticed he was eating something and it was red. He had a cichlid pellet in his mouth. The pellet slipped and was snapped up by a malawi. The what i saw next shocked me. The pleco swam up to the top and started swimming after the pellets:jaw:

He's a sailfin pleco. I dont know how's he's learnt to do that, but he can. When he get close to the pellet, he grabs it with his mouth flap things and eats them.

Just to make sure this wasnt a fluke, i did it the next day, and a few mins later, he came up for the pellets.

Mad hey:D

[Noelemac]

Yeah, my plecos and my syndo. uepterus do the same thing. And if I feed live fish the pleco will find one that the cichlids just killed and it will suck on them.

[fOx]

I've never seen, or heard of, that behaviour before.... very interesting!

fOx

[Rudy]

Actually I have had two plecos that do that. A big sailfin I have right now and a black common pleco. It is really cool when they do that.

Freaked me out

[DG]

It is freaky!! Especially the way they float around like they are about to die when eating the pellets. But Overawed has said due to the high protien content, his died!!

Mine will only do this if there isnt any food on the floor.

[DG]

http://www.cichlidforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1800

I justy thought about it an the pellets (hikari cichlid gold) should have a high protein content because its for malawi??

[jonhomemade]

Hello... back on the pleco eating pellts subject.... i had a chocolate pleco and when i would feed the floating pellets he would come up and press the pellet on the glass with his lips and slowly bring it down to the bottom where he would eat it up........ only problem is when he would do that his waste would be like a foot long and get wrapped up everywhere.

[DG]

my plecos a dude:cool:

I think my little gibbiceps pleco has seen him because he comes up at feeding time, but hasnt learnt how to get the pellets.

jonhomemade your right about the poo. This guy leaves long red stuff which doesnt even get sucked into the filter!