What do plecos eat in the wild

These wafers are found in pet stores and they do sink to the bottom where plecos can easily find them. In nature, plecos will consume driftwood as part of their diet. Offering your plecos driftwood pieces can be a good way to supplement them. It is best to weight your driftwood pieces down so these pieces will be close to where plecos spend most of their time. Driftwood pieces can also create a cozy environment for them to live in.

Plecos will munch on a huge variety of plant matter. You can offer your pleco fruits or veggies twice a week. These foods offer lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The best way to offer raw fruits and veggies is by weighting the foods down using an aquarium clip. Your fish can consume almost any type of raw fruits and veggies including tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, leafy greens, beans, kiwi fruits, peas, and many others. It is best to avoid offering foods that get soggy quickly.

Plecos are omnivores and as such are happy to consume meat. They require the protein to stay healthy. If you are out fishing in shallow waters and use meat or earthworms, you are very likely to catch pleco fish. You are especially likely to catch these fish if you are fishing in areas where there is little to no flow in the stream.

Plecos are happy to consume a variety of meat treats such as earthworms, bloodworms, shrimp, pelleted meats, and more. It is important to cut your meats into tiny pieces before offering these to your fish. Plecos will also munch on fish foods that sink to the bottom of your aquarium. They are happy to munch on any type of fish foods that you add to feed other fish species that might also be living in your tank. If your pleco is extremely hungry, they may choose to munch fish food from the top of the tank but in most cases, they will simply wait for food pieces to sink to the bottom before they consume these foods.

Pleco fish can have quite a lot of diet variations since they have such a flexible diet. They will munch on all sorts of odd items they find at the bottom of your tank. This can include anything from old pieces of meat, wood, algae, and even fish droppings. Plecos have a slightly different feeding routine from the other freshwater fish that may be in your aquarium. These fish prefer to eat at night time.

As such, it is better to offer foods at night just before you go to bed where other fish in your tank might prefer to eat in the morning. Plecos can feed off the top of the tank but they mostly cling to the sides or are found at the bottom of your aquarium. Some of the showiest, most expensive and sought after plecos are actually carnivores. Species like the zebra and sunshine plecos are scavengers that feed off of dead fish. They need a high protein diet in order to thrive.

They graze along the surface of submerged logs, eating the biofilm that grows there as well as the wood fiber itself. These species, like clown and royal plecos, need an enormous amount of fiber in their diets. Not all plecos are the same. If it is no problem, these items are something else that can be used in the fish veggie rotation. I confess that I do this only for delicate catfish babies.

It was the only way I was able to feed Sturisoma fry, and even that was not very successful. These foods all provide the bulk that is natural to the pleco catfish. I strongly recommend that you use as many of these as is possible or convenient for you.

It does take most fish a feeding or two or three to discover these foods and realize they are food, but after that there is no hesitation. Several of my fish stand guard over the veggies to keep their tankmates away. By the way, you may well find that quite a number of tank fish other than plecos will relish these items.

My mbuna really get excited with these foods, and a to me surprising number of Tetras chow down as well. Panaque has been shown to house gut bacteria compared to those found in termites. The fish rasps away fine wood fibers and eats them. The gut bacteria digest the cellulose from the wood and make the breakdown products of this material available to the fish, so for these at least, wood is a dietary need.

All the pleco group seems most comfortable IMHO with wood in their tanks, and all the larger ones I have kept rasp it away very slowly, so I do provide wood for the entire family, for some primarily as a refuge, but as potential food, exercise, etc. Some plecos lean toward eating meatier foods, and all of them will enjoy occasional meals of small worms, insect larvae, crustaceans or such.

These high-protein treats are no doubt similar to the small creatures they could capture while grazing on algae beds in the wild.

The only trick is to feed the cats in mixed tanks without the other fish stealing the treats. I do this using red lights after the regular tank lights and room lights are out, but then everybody already knows I am a bit crazy. A recurring theme on the boards are pleas for help, shock, and dismay from tank keepers whose pleco catfish are attacking their prize Discus , Gouramis , Silver Dollars, Goldfish, or any other fish with a large enough body for the pleco to grasp with their mouth.

They are sucking the slime and sometimes even the flesh from the fish. Obviously, this is a very bad situation and an absolute no-no which could result in the death of the target fish.

Sometimes it is a report that plants are being damaged, rasped and scarred. But this is again a fishkeeper problem, not a fish problem.

The majority of the attack fish — and it can be any of the plecos — are fed nothing at all. I have never been able to confirm an instance of this extreme starvation behavior where the fish had regular access to fresh veggies. The sad part is that once this behavior is established, it seems to be hard to overcome.

I suppose neurotic or psychotic fish are as conceivable as neurotic humans. It is a good idea to get some idea before any purchase of the nature of the beast that catches your eye.

Small sailfins are charming, but suitable only for large tanks- will you be able to trade the fish in when it outgrows your tanks? Trying to find exact ID is difficult, many of the fish have not been classified systematically. But to get some idea of at least the genus or subgroup to which it belongs is helpful. As for selecting individuals, reread the first part of the article on starved plecos in local stores and be conscious of the belly and eyes of the fish you want.

To me, this is a very large and endlessly fascinating family of fish. They are quite adaptable to water conditions, and given a suitably sized and decorated tank, clean water, good oxygenation, and an adequate diet they are generally long-lived.

Most are nocturnal, but many will be frequently visible during lighted cycles if there is plenty of refuge and shade available. Additionally, put at least 1 pleco algae wafer in its tank every day to supplement its algae intake. In order to satisfy its desire for meat, try feeding it a few small cut-up shrimp or 1 cut-up earthworm once or twice a week. You should also give it a silver-dollar size portion of a fruit or vegetable, like cantaloupe or broccoli, once or twice a week to round out its diet.

To learn how to establish the best feeding schedule for your pleco, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings.

Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Keep driftwood in the tank at all times. Your pleco needs lots of fiber in their diet, and they can get it from driftwood. Make sure to provide several pieces of driftwood in the aquarium at all times so your pleco can suck and scrape it off.

The tiny pieces of driftwood the pleco eats help with its digestion. Feed your pleco algae wafers. To ensure your pleco has enough algae in its diet, you should supplement the algae in the tank with algae wafers.

These wafers sink to the bottom of the tank so that your pleco can find them easily. Plecos are omnivores, meaning they eat plants and animals. Your pleco will enjoy earthworms, bloodworms, and shrimp. You can choose between fresh or frozen varieties. Feed your pleco fruit and vegetables. Your pleco will enjoy a variety of vegetables, like broccoli, shelled peas, lima beans, kale, celery, cabbage, and zucchini.

Though your pleco may enjoy small pieces of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, breadfruit, and papaya, you should avoid providing acidic fruits or veggies, like oranges and tomatoes. Method 2. If you have a small juvenile pleco, they may be able to get by on the algae in the tank, algae wafers, and scraps left over from feeding other fish.

However, if the pleco is the only fish in the tank, it will need to be fed more often. Also, as your pleco matures and grows, it will need more variety in its diet and a larger amount of food. Once the pleco grows to 24 inches, it is considered mature.

Observe your pleco after feeding.