When do I feed my new pleco?

[Catfishman]

Hi, I just got the pleco I started the thread about. But one quick question how do I know he is hungry I didn't feed my L023 when I got him cause I had algae growth in my tank. So I was wondering when to feed my new guy :whistle:.


Thanks,

 

[macvsog23]

Feed every few days

 

[Irene0100]

mine get fed every day with occasional day off. but dont over feed. and remove uneaten food.
algae in the tank is not enough for plecs generally, add some veg too (eg slice of courgette or some peas with skin off), and meaty food if omnivorours.(sorry not sure what type the new guy is).

 

[Skirge]

This is a thing I wonder about a lot.. how often to add veg?

I feed wafers and catfish pellets but my barbs are hungry greedy little ******s and do not let many if any sink to the bottom.
They also attack any veg for a good while before they lose interest, if I try say mushroom then for some reason my Fire Parrot fish stands guard over it while 2 of my catfish try their best to get a nibble, its rather funny to watch. He does not bother the plecs when they eat it, its like he has been hired as their food minder.


Any back to the point.. how often for veg ?

 

[Doodles]

This is a thing I wonder about a lot.. how often to add veg?

I feed wafers and catfish pellets but my barbs are hungry greedy little ******s and do not let many if any sink to the bottom.
They also attack any veg for a good while before they lose interest, if I try say mushroom then for some reason my Fire Parrot fish stands guard over it while 2 of my catfish try their best to get a nibble, its rather funny to watch. He does not bother the plecs when they eat it, its like he has been hired as their food minder.


Any back to the point.. how often for veg ?

If you are feeding panaques for example, then most nights. I feed my omnivores veg 3 nights a week and wafers 3 nights a week. Sometimes they have 2 or 3 different veg in and always have deshelled peas once every week. Veg should be removed in the morning but the longer you feed veg and get to know the tank water, the easier it becomes to know which you can leave in for longer than overnight. The water parameters including the temp can have a lot to do with how quickly veg and fruit break down and become a pollutant rather than food.

 

[Skirge]

Thanks.. So I should up how often I feed them, I already know who likes what from what I have tried so far.
What is the best way to feed them peas? de shelled I know but do I just float them ?

 

[Doodles]

I use frozen peas, i put them in some warm water to thaw for a minute then remove shells and chuck them in, they sink:yes:

 

[Skirge]

Great thanks will try some peas tomorrow, for tonight they have baby carrot.

 

[Doodles]

Maybe ill try baby carrots, have never been able to get my plecs to eat carrot.

 

[Skirge]

They are seeming to love the baby carrots, not much left anyway.

 

[Irene0100]

for the plecs that like veg i just add more veg when what is in there is eaten or gone soggy, so they have some veg food available most of the time. then for the omnivore plecs they get flakes and other prepared foods, and occasional prawn.
if you are not feeding enough they will come out and feed hungrily as soon as food appears ( assuming lights out and no other distrubances for shy ones)
if you feed too much you will see a lot of uneaten food to be removed and the fish will get fat, so you have to learn how much food to add by watching the fish

 

[Catfishman]

Will a pleco stop eating when he gets full or will he overeat and then I will have problems?

Thanks

 

[Skirge]

Will a pleco stop eating when he gets full or will he overeat and then I will have problems?

Thanks

OOO Good question.. :thumbup:

 

[Lornek8]

Whether you'll have problems or not depends a lot on what you're feeding. Veggies as a whole typically contain few calories compared to the volume of food item. Thus large quantities can be eaten with overall little effect. In fact herbivores typically must consume large quantities of food in order to sustain themselves and why you see herbivorous animals graze so much. Meatier items though are much more calorie dense & problems can arise if too much is eaten. There is the short-term bloat issue with herbivorous plecs where meat items literally spoil before making its way through the digestive track thus causing digestive distress. There is also long term effects of high calorie ingestion & excess protien intake. Plecs can suffer the same ills as humans of eating too much calories, ie they can get fat & overweight. In nature animals don't typically suffer from these types of ailments as food is more scarce & much more effort is excerted to survive.

 

[Skirge]

Thanks for that great info :thumbup: