interesting behavior

GrtWht · Post by **GrtWht** » 29 Jun 2005, 08:31

Has anyone ever seen a Pleco feed off the surface? Mine likes to come up and get chiclid pellets when I feed my chiclids. I've never seen this before. It's kind of cool to watch. He comes up and grabs one and then floats slowly to the bottom with his backside down until he reaches the bottom.

GW

MDOU · Post by **MDOU** » 29 Jun 2005, 09:31

Yes, my otto's and my bristle-nose do this all the time.

This is because they are hungry and are rushing to get to the food.

It is easily fixed by giving more green food

it also happens with my syno's

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 29 Jun 2005, 10:07

Yupp, as MDOU says.

And I'd like to emphasize that feeding pleco's with high protein food (which your cichlid food MAY be) is probably not a great idea. Most pleco's will prefer a more vegetarian diea. There's a lot of things you can feed them, but for most pleco's, zucchini(courgette), cucumber and similar is a good starting point. Pierce a small piece with a teaspoon or similar and plop it in somewhere the pleco can find it.

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Mats

GrtWht · Post by **GrtWht** » 29 Jun 2005, 14:24

I feed it Sinking alge wafers at the same time as my chiclids and it still comes up to ge tthe chiclid pellets.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 29 Jun 2005, 14:38

Then my guess would be that the fish finds this food tastier than the algae wafers (and possibly many other foods).

You haven't said what kind of pleco you have, so I'm not sure what the specific dietary needs are for your variety. As there are so many different species of Loricaridae, it's not just straight forward to say "This is the right food".

Do the fish also eat the sinking wafers, or are the cichlids getting them too?

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Mats

GrtWht · Post by **GrtWht** » 30 Jun 2005, 15:08

It eats both types of food. I believe it is a Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps.

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 02 Jul 2005, 15:10

Sometimes foods that disperse are good. That way, all species are foraging in different directions. Have you tried plain frozen chopped spinach(like from the grocery store)? I've also found that trying new foods near water changes works for me. If they don't like it, I'm going to clean the tank anyway. If they like it, then it's no problem. The food's gone.