PlanetCatfish.com

I have a problem feeding my generic plecos by virtue of my greedy pig 9" comet. I am tempted to grab it bare-handed and toss it off my 7th floor balcony.
When I feed the fish, I usually start by tossing in a couple Hikari algae tabs, and then some koi food. Everybodys pretty happy for the first 7 minutes, then the piece of sh!t nonchalantly saunters over to one of my plecos, nudge him away, and sucks the whole tab in one take. Then he does it to the other one. I slam my hand against the side of the tank to scare him away, but he is so brazen and gluttenous he keeps trying to eat. The Apocalypse could be coming and this damned fish will continue to eat.
Any ideas how to prevent this?

Maybe you could try feeding the plecs at night? They are nocturnal and find their food by taste and smell even in the daylight..

Thank u for responding. Believe it or not, the stupid comet will wake up and go into a feeding frenzy if he smells food. Its really bad. Should I euthanize him?

ummm... that seems a bit extreme for him doing what comes naturally to him... maybe you ought to move the catfish to a more suitable home? Goldfish and plecos are common but not necessarily a good idea together...

Thank you S:), but I feel like this fish enjoys defying me. It looks at me with this defiant look and continues to eat the algae wafers no matter how hard I slam the side of the tank with my palm. I thinks its best if I go ahead and euthanise it because there;s no other rational way to solve this problem.

pl*coRising wrote:It looks at me with this defiant look and continues to eat the algae wafers no matter how hard I slam the side of the tank with my palm. :

IMO, it sounds like you are going to break the tank one of these days.

pl*coRising wrote:Thank you S:), but I feel like this fish enjoys defying me. It looks at me with this defiant look and continues to eat the algae wafers no matter how hard I slam the side of the tank with my palm. I thinks its best if I go ahead and euthanise it because there;s no other rational way to solve this problem.

I'm sorry, but euthanasing a fish because it's needs conflict with those of the other fish in the aquarium is anything but rational. That is like blaming a fish for killing another fish due to what it perceives as a territorial challenge because they have been placed togther in too small an aquarium, or like putting Piranhas and Goldfish in the same aquarium and then blaming the Piranha for doing what comes naturally and eating what they see as perfectly acceptable food. It's easier to blame the fish rather than blame ourselves for having lost control of the situation. Whenever we take on any animal we become responsible for the welfare of it, this involves maintaining control of the envorinment in which it is placed. This counts for the Goldfish and the Catfish you have. Both the fish you have are Ostariophysan, which means they have a highly developed sensitivity to vibration. By banging the tank you are distressing both fish, but obviously the Goldfish has become habituated to this and no longer perceives it to be a threat indicator.
Take the Goldfish back to an aquarium shop, or offer it to someone who can cater properly for the needs of this obviously robust and vigorous creature.

You could just separate the fish with a plastic Aquarium divider .

Kind thanks for the suggestions once again. Its funny. I never looked forward to getting rid of a fish (keeping them alive was the only thing). I know the fish store won't want a comet, even if I pay them to keep it.

I won't slam the glass anymore. If it breaks I'll really be funked!

yep.. goldfish arent ideal with plecs.. base from experience.. we had a mistake of putting all our newly arrived L24 and L25 to a pond with goldfishes which were newly arrived also.. And suddenly all the plecs died the day after, I guess the dirt level was too high and that goldfishes require salt which is the opposite for plecs

You could also try feeding your pleco vegetables. A lump of courgette tied to a stone with a rubber band will give it something to chow down on. The goldfish won't be interested in it.

Courgette?

Yes, Plecos are not good with greedy fish!

OOC How big is the tank? and what are the other tank mates?

Courgette?

AKA zucchini.

goldfishes require salt

Im not a goldfish guy but that is something i have never heard before...why would they require salt?

goldfish + plecos = EXTREME STRINGY WASTE........


but yeah add zuchinni and lettuce and let it sink to the bottom

Fish inventory:

2- 9" Comets, 1 greedy, the other neutral
1 Standard-issue Goldfish (saved baby feeder fish--now beautiful)
5" Oranda Goldfish
8" Common Plec
9" Common Plec

in 20 gallon tank (29?).

Ok to assume lots of poop. Today, strong ammonia vapors! Must be the Hikari Koi food (Yea right!)

Oh my, to me this tank is WAY over stocked, espeicially concidering the messy nature of some of your fish. If I were you, I would lean towards setting up a second tank, maybe one for your plecos, and one for your other fellows. If you are looking for a bottom feeder to accompany your gold fish, you could look into getting a couple of weather loaches, as they have much more similare requirements to the goldfish than the plecos.

Ben

Thank you, Ben. The fish fit in the tank nicely about a year and a half ago. I should let my GF change the water next time (The last time she did she killed off my comets!)

*sigh* 3 people have nicely made important points to you and you have ignored them.

You have incompatible fish in a tank. You have too many incompatible fish in a tank. You have too many large incompatible fish in a tank. Your tank is a time bomb waiting for a heavy feeding or a missed water change to explode and kill all the fish. It's all wrong for plecos, it's all wrong for goldfish unless you remove most of them...

If you want to abuse your fish I can't stop you. If you want to ignore good advice, I can't stop you. I can't even stop you from staying here and in 3 weeks posting a "Oh my god all my fish are dying please help me" thread. However, if you want to hang out here, at a forum designed to help aquariusts and share information, I suggest you listen to advice given.