Best Wafers for Plecos?

[GhostArcher]

Just curious what every ones opinion is of the best sinking wafer out there for plecs? I am currently using New Life spectrum H2O stable wafers and, I am also curious on the general opinion of these and if there is something better. I use the wafers as a staple diet and supplement with zucchini and steamed butternut squash on a regular basis and occasionally (maybe once or twice a month in place of zucchini or squash) I will give seaweed, cucumber, steamed carrots, Frozen/Thawed peas de-shelled, and as a very rare treat frozen spirulina brine shrimp. Anyhow thanks in advance for your help!

Also there is driftwood in all the plec tanks just in case they want to munch on that.

[m1ke715m]

its depends greatly on what kind of plecos you are talking about.. ancistrus need vegetable based matter, hypancistrus and alot of others needs meat based foods.. panaques need wood.. what kind of fish are you talking about? i dont feed wafers at all to my loricards personaly im not a fan of them

[Richard B]

its depends greatly on what kind of plecos you are talking about.. ancistrus need vegetable based matter, hypancistrus and alot of others needs meat based foods.. panaques need wood.. what kind of fish are you talking about? i dont feed wafers at all to my ancistrus personaly im not a fan of them

This is a very important point - pleco is a very general term for a group of fish with a myriad of different requirements. If you look at the ingredients of wafers, many are similar & any reputable manufacturer's products are going to be good, ie tetra, hikari, NLS, Aquarian etc etc - different people will give a different opinion based on personal preferences so its hard to say what's 'best'.

if we know what sort/s of plec, we can say what is better or more importantly what should be avoided.

[wijnands]

Which is why I really dislike the term pleco. To a lot of people it means "south american bottom dweller that's not a corydoras"

Anyway, my ancistrus adore Hikari wafers, there's some kind of fragrance in those (garlic I suspect) that really makes them go nuts.

[GhostArcher]

its depends greatly on what kind of plecos you are talking about.. ancistrus need vegetable based matter, hypancistrus and alot of others needs meat based foods.. panaques need wood.. what kind of fish are you talking about? i dont feed wafers at all to my loricards personaly im not a fan of them

I am very sorry for this slip in information. I should have put this and simply forgot. The only two species I am currently keeping are Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus and L142.

[Richard B]

Well both are biofilm grazers so any wafers will be fine but i'd increase the quantities of fresh fruit/vegetables so they can constantly graze away.

[wijnands]

My Ancistrus are weird. They will nibble on veg but as soon as an hikari wafer drops in i'ts forgotten.

[Barbie]

Repashy Superfood Soilent green ;).

Barbie

[wijnands]

Technically no wafer. More importantly, almost impossible to find in Europe.

[msheresy]

I use nls wafers and my various JDs(wild caught, blue gene and electric blues) love them as much as the plecos. Sometimes the JDs will eat the first so I supplement with a lot of veggies and other foods in addition to just wafers.


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[m1ke715m]

no salt french cut green beans, green supreme pellets, and veggie flakes and spirulina flakes for me.. and somebody i know makes his own fresh dehydrated foods with 35% and 50% spirulina crumbles

not a fan of repashy that stuff stinks bad.. plus im not interested in making my life more complicated than it already is

[Barbie]

Make it with boiling water, not by microwaving the whole mess. Way less smell. Smell aside, the fish thrive on it and it takes 3 or 4 minutes. I wasn't into the idea of adding more to my day either, but the fish definitely make it worth it.

If you want something bristlenose and other plecos LOVE use brussel sprouts, but again, ewww do those things stink!

Barbie

[Narwhal72]

I feed Aqueon algae wafers to my Ancistrus and Panaque. My Hypancistrus and Peckoltia get the Aqueon Bottom feeder tablets.

All of them get sliced cucumber regularly but the Hypancistrus often ignore it.

Andy

[Chouin]

There was a discussion on the forum a couple of years (3-5 years) ago on the "best" wafer.
Members posted the ingredients of the wafer they were using, from what I remember, the winner was the "Wardley Algea Disc".