wow, I've just been feeding my plec's wafers for like 4 months now. They've only grown 3ish inches since I got them, gonna try apples tonight 
Pleco Dietary Thread
- Thread starter ChileRelleno
- Start date
These are definitely good tips. I feel like most people really don't know much about them so it's hard to get reliable information on them. I try and discourage people from just blindly purchasing plecos without knowing everything about them. Especially the very common misconception that they only eat ALGAE!
I had no idea I was feeding my guy so poorly! It's been just algae wafers for years... there's a pleco right on the bag, I thought it was a great idea, y'know? D:
Because of this thread I've tried to feed my pleco a few things, but he hasn't gone for any of them yet. Carrot, grape, and broccoli were all left overnight without a nibble! The carrot moved a bit, so it may be that he just couldn't get a hold of it? I've ordered a veggie clip to help him out. Thanks for putting this thread together!
Because of this thread I've tried to feed my pleco a few things, but he hasn't gone for any of them yet. Carrot, grape, and broccoli were all left overnight without a nibble! The carrot moved a bit, so it may be that he just couldn't get a hold of it? I've ordered a veggie clip to help him out. Thanks for putting this thread together!
Mmmm interesting read, never really gave it that much thought.
I mean I always knew they were omnivores.
But how does one know if their diet is adequate?
My common pleco of 13 years eats mainly cichlid pellets, he absolutely loves the.
Not only will he eat the scraps my Oscar flushes out his gills, but he will even go directly for floating pellets and suckle them.
Sometimes he even gets so focused on suckling that he just falls flat on his back.
He also has ample amounts of bogwood that he nibbles on all the time, and he keeps the tank spotless from algae.
His belly is nice and full and ive had no problems with him trying to eat my O's slimecoat.
Could I assume that his hunger and dietary needs are being met? Or is there something else I should do to expand hs diet?
I mean I always knew they were omnivores.
But how does one know if their diet is adequate?
My common pleco of 13 years eats mainly cichlid pellets, he absolutely loves the.
Not only will he eat the scraps my Oscar flushes out his gills, but he will even go directly for floating pellets and suckle them.
Sometimes he even gets so focused on suckling that he just falls flat on his back.
He also has ample amounts of bogwood that he nibbles on all the time, and he keeps the tank spotless from algae.
His belly is nice and full and ive had no problems with him trying to eat my O's slimecoat.
Could I assume that his hunger and dietary needs are being met? Or is there something else I should do to expand hs diet?
I just inherited a 30 gallon tank, the previous owner believed her pleco would just eat the algae (and didn't feed the tetras right either) and unfortunately by the time I got him, there wasn't much I could do and he died a week or two after I got him 
I bought another common pleco and the store I got him from fed him algae wafers, so he gobbles them up whenever I put one in - lights or no. So far he doesn't care for spinach but he loves Zucchini. I don't blanch it, I freeze it - and as it defrosts it softens. I use a clip and it took him a few tries but now he finds it in under an hour. He snacks on it a few times during the day, and since my angels see him eating it, they want to eat it too I've even caught them trying to chow down on algae wafers 
I recently bought an albino bristle-nose, he's so tiny his bristles haven't really come in yet. But because he likes to hide I haven't been able to figure out what he likes yet, but thankfully I know he's eating.
I have an upside-down catfish too, but he's incredibly shy so I don't know for sure if he's getting enough, but I'm trying to show him that veggies are good. I try to drop shrimp pellets, but my diamond tetra likes to grab them and play with them till they're soft enough to eat
I'm really interested in tying to feed them all shrimp, I never thought of that! Thanks for the great info!
I bought another common pleco and the store I got him from fed him algae wafers, so he gobbles them up whenever I put one in - lights or no. So far he doesn't care for spinach but he loves Zucchini. I don't blanch it, I freeze it - and as it defrosts it softens. I use a clip and it took him a few tries but now he finds it in under an hour. He snacks on it a few times during the day, and since my angels see him eating it, they want to eat it too
I've even caught them trying to chow down on algae wafers I recently bought an albino bristle-nose, he's so tiny his bristles haven't really come in yet. But because he likes to hide I haven't been able to figure out what he likes yet, but thankfully I know he's eating.
I have an upside-down catfish too, but he's incredibly shy so I don't know for sure if he's getting enough, but I'm trying to show him that veggies are good. I try to drop shrimp pellets, but my diamond tetra likes to grab them and play with them till they're soft enough to eat
I'm really interested in tying to feed them all shrimp, I never thought of that! Thanks for the great info!
question- i have an about 6 inch royal pleco, what should his expected maxium size be, and what should i be feeding him, at the moment im feeding him alage wafers, zuchini, and romain lettuce
Max size depends ultimately on time, the fish, and your care of it. There's no reason it shouldn't get to over 12" though, potentially 18"+ if you can keep it alive for 20+ years. I feed mine NLS mega fish formula and NLS algae wafers, I only feed zucchini and sweet potato occasionally, once ever week or two.
I just recently bought one 7" inch a few weeks ago and have been trying different foods. So far it eats cichlid pellets and drop on the ground. It's eaten or chewed on cucumber, squash, lettuce also. Apparently I just found out it really likes carrots. Although I thought carrots would have been too hard for it, I bold a half inch piece carrot for like 5 minutes, cooled it and drop it in the tank.
Just like the usual my blood parrot cichlid try to attack it but nothing happen. Usually the parrots would just tear the cucumber or the lettuce apart somewhat eating it and making a mess. The pleco goes to it and munches on to it once it sees it on the ground and was munching on it for 4 hours straight until it was gone.
