Rather who is it than what is it

rudie · Post by **rudie** » 09 Feb 2006, 14:18

Who can be the culprit in my tank to eating all my Annubias plants.

I suspect the Whiptail, there are also 5 Bristlenoses in there but I think it is not them.

It can't be my cories or syno's.
What do you guys think.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 09 Feb 2006, 14:28

Whiptails are rather "softmouthed" as loricariids go. Also, they're more "sand-chewers" than algae-scrapers.
Most Hemi-, Dasy- or Rhineloricaria's stay on the sand, occasionally hanging on the glass or a plant or woodpiece. as "algae-eaters" theyre pretty lousy.

maybe you have a Giant Twig-Cat instead? many Sturisoma's DO graze well, and they can and do often change plants into a fine mesh-network. They're very good at clearing algae.

I suspect the Bristlenoses. 1 or 2 are mostly harmless, but with 5 the foodcompetition is intense and the plants are grazed 5 times as much as usual (!). even hardleafed plants like Anubias cannot handle that without showing some wear and tear.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 09 Feb 2006, 14:43

Feeding the fish a little bit more vegetable is probably a good idea...

See my feeding article.

--
Mats

fishypaw · Post by **fishypaw** » 09 Feb 2006, 15:15

it was me, i love to sneak into peoples homes and eat their annubias when they're not looking. sprinkle on some ground pepper cory and they taste awsome. sorrrreeeeeeeee

;)

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 09 Feb 2006, 17:00

This is the wrong forum for this topic, so I've moved it.

Jools

troi · Post by **troi** » 10 Feb 2006, 20:34

sidguppy wrote:I suspect the Bristlenoses. 1 or 2 are mostly harmless, but with 5 the foodcompetition is intense and the plants are grazed 5 times as much as usual (!). even hardleafed plants like Anubias cannot handle that without showing some wear and tear.

I also suspect the Bristlenoses and believe the food competition is at the bottom of the problem. Otherwise, tho, is the Anubias recently from another tank that might have sustained an invisible algae population? I had it happen once that when I added a large Anubias to a cat tank the darn plant was "skinned" by my gibbie immediately, but when the same fish encountered a different anubias in a larger tank, he left it alone. I suspect he was just going after algae in the first case, but will never be sure.

troi

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 11 Feb 2006, 11:32

Since I put four little bristlenose in one of my tanks to control algae a few months ago, the floating lilly leaves (which grew algae on the undersides) have been getting progressively nibbled on the edges to the point that the plants are starting to suffer.

I dread having to pull all the wood out to catch the little buggers, especially the big heavy log that only fits in the tank on a funny angle and has lilly stems all through it now...

troi · Post by **troi** » 13 Feb 2006, 06:28

snowball wrote: I dread having to pull all the wood out to catch the little buggers, especially the big heavy log that only fits in the tank on a funny angle and has lilly stems all through it now... :roll:

Once the algae off the lilies the fish might stop eating there if you give them good algae tabs or veggies or fruit? Or just feed a bit more heavily?

troi

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 13 Feb 2006, 09:42

They get plenty of variety of food in that tank, but I suspect the bristlenose particularly like the soft algae that grows from under the edges of the lilly leaves. The tank is lit by a 150W metal halide so it grows fairly quickly. I'll take a pic tomorrow to show the damage they've done