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I have been told that plecos will suck the slime coat off of sleeping fish at night. I have never personally had a problem with this. I can't imagine that a well-fed pleco would bother a healthy fish in this way. What are your experiences with this?

I can't imagine how a pleco can do that. But I did hear that chinese algae eater do that to fishes like discuss though. Who ever told you this might have mixed it up thinking CAE are plecos.

I have a few otos and occasionaly they do try to latch on to other fish.

I've also seen otos do it.

I've witnessed ottos & ancistrus do this on odd occasions - & not just on "sleeping" fish but in the daytime with full lights on. This was primarily witnessed with angels & discus & with discus it is well documented the adults feed the young with a slime coating - i presume the suckers are wise to this food source

Some 20 yaers ago - or more I saw in a slide presentation a slide of a pleco sucking meat from a Cichlasoma synspilum, which was told later died from its wounds.

I can't say whether it was faked or not, or who was the speaker.

Although properly warned, I have had some 25 large plecos over time (gibbiceps and others that size)but i never, ever witnessed any one sucking life fishes - but they do suck dead ones