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For a brief moment I thought perhaps a couple of them were gravid...After looking at the sponge filter, I suspect they're full of sponge...I feed them well, so i don't understand why they need to be eating the sponge filter.. :roll:

Anyway's, would it be harmful to dose the tank with epsom salts in an attempt to help them "pass" the sponge pieces? If not, what dosage would be acceptable-they're in a 130 gallon tank...Any other ideas? regards, David
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I think they may well feed on freshwater sponges in their natural habitat. Certainly other Loricariidae have been recorded to do so. But it may also be that they are attempting to get the food from within the sponge, and swallows the sponge as a byproduct of this.

Unfortunately, artificial sponges are most likely a whole lot less digestable than the natural ones.

I'd suggest that you stop using sponge filters "unprotected" in the tank...

I have no good idea of how to best make this pass - it may not be easy.

--
Mats

1 or 2 teaspoons for each 10 gallons of tank water should be enough.
I have done that with L-114 in the tank without problems.

I would feed nothing but greens, cucumber etc and see if this helps pass it out.

I think MatsP is on to something with the idea that they are seeking the "goodies" within the sponge.

I have had a few species of Plecos, mostly some Panaque sp., that demolished a few sponges. None ever showed any signs of ill effects from their sponge chewing, not that I recommend synthetic sponges as a dietary item.

Thank's for the replies...I'm going to try the epsom salt treatment, and maybe some peas with no skins...I'm also going to see if I can find some plastic mesh to encase the sponges in from now on to prevent this from happening again...David