Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Maize-N-Blue-D on December 15, 2013, 09:11:38 PM
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QUESTION: I have been noticing lately that one of my pleco's is trying to attach itself to the side of some of my fish... Has anyone every experienced this before and should I be worried ?
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Lack of food? It's going after the slime coat. Your tank super clean?
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Yeah it is a new set up, OK I will put some cucumber in the tank - Thanks
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Forget cucumbers, no nutrition.
Zucchini is where it's at.
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I do not have any of either, so I forked several romaine leaves and just dropped them in the tank....
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Mine will also eat sweet potato slices
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Zucchini or spirulina flake will usually do the trick.
Also, some species of plecos are carnivores ;)
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Yeah it is a new set up, OK I will put some cucumber in the tank - Thanks
Your welcome. Had same issue on one of my new setups. Good thing my fish were to small and zippy for pleco to get good hold of.
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Which pleco is it, out of curiosity?
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Which pleco is it, out of curiosity?
Here is a couple of pics:
What is the best additive for adding back the slim coat to my fish ? (API Stress Coat Water Conditioner)
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I think just common pleco.
They slime coat will come back once the stress is removed. Personally I wouldn't add anything.
Fish injured?
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I think just common pleco.
They slime coat will come back once the stress is removed. Personally I wouldn't add anything.
Fish injured?
I've noticed that some of the fish have lost their shine, they look dull.. I did add some plecocaine (pleco wafers) when I first set up the tank but one of my bigger fish eat it and when I woke up the next morning he died....
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Zucchini or spirulina flake will usually do the trick.
Also, some species of plecos are carnivores ;)
While at Stevens last week, I told him about losing a fish, he asked what I was feeding them, I said pellets (Plecocaine # 3 and # 4). He said that he only feeds his fish flakes, including spirulina.. I do have some flakes I got from Wet Thumb so I have been feeding them that lately and doing the pellets sporadically for a treat...
QUESTION: are you supposed to soak the pellets before feeding them to the fish ?
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Zucchini or spirulina flake will usually do the trick.
Also, some species of plecos are carnivores ;)
While at Stevens last week, I told him about losing a fish, he asked what I was feeding them, I said pellets (Plecocaine # 3 and # 4). He said that he only feeds his fish flakes, including spirulina.. I do have some flakes I got from Wet Thumb so I have been feeding them that lately and doing the pellets sporadically for a treat...
QUESTION: are you supposed to soak the pellets before feeding them to the fish ?
I did a TON a researching if you remember about a year ago when I was having troubles. I feed spirulina and NLS pellets. The flake is just a good food. But, as my fish continue to grow... dang, they need a LOT of flake food.
So, I start with flake food and then put in some NLS. I tested the foods I had around the house by soaking them in water... the NLS was the only one that hardly swelled up at all. This is why I stick with it.
I feed the 1mm pellets to all the tanks, except the one with the larger fish in it. That I use the 2mm pellets. Just recently started adding the Medium Fish size pellets (I forgot the size).
Knowing how much you feed your fish... test whatever pellets you are using and see if they swell in water.
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A 5" Livingstoni will eat a LOT of flake food. :P
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A 5" Livingstoni will eat a LOT of flake food. :P
So how much is enough?
I have been told and read on "this" forum that you essentially want to starve your fish, no more than once a day and only enough that lasts 2 / 3 minutes in the tank before it is all gone.
I have been known to over feed my fish, water gets cloudy, have to do lots a WC's. I have since cut way back on the amount of food I feed my fish, now this occurs with my pleco..
Just goes to show you what little I really know about this hobby...
I seem to learn more and more each time I login to the MCA...
THIS IS A GREAT FORUM - THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP ! What a GREAT wealth of knowledge...
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When you come to check out my fish... or when I make it back over to see the new set up... I will feed your fish for you.
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how about a video ken? Sometimes I also am guilty of overfeeding. Sure a lot of others are as well. When I see em begging sometimes I drop em a meal.
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I could do a video.
I feed once a day. Skip a day maybe once a week or so.
All food is gone in a minute.
I wouldn't really say I am the answer man in the arena though.
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When you come to check out my fish... or when I make it back over to see the new set up... I will feed your fish for you.
Dude - how much to feed my fish daily ! LOL
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I think just common pleco.
They slime coat will come back once the stress is removed. Personally I wouldn't add anything.
Fish injured?
Looks like a pterogoplicthys gibbiceps. They get huge, like 1.5 ft if given enough room, produce tons of waste, and generally make nuisances of themselves. I wouldn't recommend them for the typical tank. If you want a pleco that's pretty, there are better options, like an inspector or similar...but it depends what other fish you have in the tank, e.g. maybe not with certain Africans. If you want a pleco that's useful, get some bristlenose and they are far better at algae control and should not bother the other fish in terms of slime coat. I've kept bristlenose with Centrals (smaller ones like convicts/Thoricthys) and they may get a little tattered on the fins but they can usually hold their own. Just a couple quick thoughts.
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When you come to check out my fish... or when I make it back over to see the new set up... I will feed your fish for you.
Dude - how much to feed my fish daily ! LOL
I meant as an example of how much to feed. Not that I was going to feed your fish for you everyday!
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While at Stevens last week, I told him about losing a fish, he asked what I was feeding them, I said pellets (Plecocaine # 3 and # 4). He said that he only feeds his fish flakes, including spirulina..
Nothing at all wrong with Plecocaine, it's a good food for them. All my Mbuna, Peacocks & Haps, catfish are feed Plecocaine # 3 & # 4 as the main staple in their diet. My BNP's are feed Plecocaine algae wafers, and my mbuna love the wafers as well. Flake food dirtys up the water quicker and as Ken said, larger fish can go through flake food in a hurry. Every once in awhile I'll add a pinch of Omega One super veggie with the plecocaine pellets when I feed just as a bit of variety for them, but the plecocaine pellets are the main food I feed mine.
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When you come to check out my fish... or when I make it back over to see the new set up... I will feed your fish for you.
Dude - how much to feed my fish daily ! LOL
I meant as an example of how much to feed. Not that I was going to feed your fish for you everyday!
Wheres the luv ! :P
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While at Stevens last week, I told him about losing a fish, he asked what I was feeding them, I said pellets (Plecocaine # 3 and # 4). He said that he only feeds his fish flakes, including spirulina..
Nothing at all wrong with Plecocaine, it's a good food for them. All my Mbuna, Peacocks & Haps, catfish are feed Plecocaine # 3 & # 4 as the main staple in their diet. My BNP's are feed Plecocaine algae wafers, and my mbuna love the wafers as well. Flake food dirtys up the water quicker and as Ken said, larger fish can go through flake food in a hurry. Every once in awhile I'll add a pinch of Omega One super veggie with the plecocaine pellets when I feed just as a bit of variety for them, but the plecocaine pellets are the main food I feed mine.
Do you add in the wafers after you feed the pellets? I did use the wafers when I first set up the 180 but the next day I lost one of my best fish...I was so bummed..
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I cant feed wafers or my fish eat them.
The only time I do is late at night after the lights have been off for a couple hours.
Thats the only chance my plecos have at getting to eat them.
I also do the same with the veggies I put in there. Put it in at night and then the fish can have what the plecos dont eat the next day.
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I think just common pleco.
They slime coat will come back once the stress is removed. Personally I wouldn't add anything.
Fish injured?
Looks like a pterogoplicthys gibbiceps. They get huge, like 1.5 ft if given enough room, produce tons of waste, and generally make nuisances of themselves. I wouldn't recommend them for the typical tank. If you want a pleco that's pretty, there are better options, like an inspector or similar...but it depends what other fish you have in the tank, e.g. maybe not with certain Africans. If you want a pleco that's useful, get some bristlenose and they are far better at algae control and should not bother the other fish in terms of slime coat. I've kept bristlenose with Centrals (smaller ones like convicts/Thoricthys) and they may get a little tattered on the fins but they can usually hold their own. Just a couple quick thoughts.
IIRC - I got it at Kee's as a common pleco for something like $4.95, he was real tiny like 2" and he's been in my 55 since last March, I would see him interact with my Electric Blue Ahli from time to time, they would go at each other...
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Nothing wrong with keeping him if you like him as long as you know their needs and size and such. They are slightly omnivorous but need tons of vegetable matter. Which will end up all over the place after they process it. ;)
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Do you add in the wafers after you feed the pellets? I did use the wafers when I first set up the 180 but the next day I lost one of my best fish...I was so bummed..
I add the wafers with the pellets myself. I break the wafers up into 2-3 pieces each and dump them in with pellets.
This is what I usually feed my 55g tank in the morning....
(http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/866/rska.jpg)
Then at night I will usually feed another pinch or two of pellets again. There's around 20 adult fish total in that tank currently, counting the cats and pleco.
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How do you stop you fish (non plecos) from stealing the wafers and making a run for it?
All my tanks, the fish will steal the wafers and keep "chewing" them until they break down and are ate by someone... other than the plecos.
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I don't stop them they grab them as well, but enough gets past the cichlids and falls into the rock work, and with all the nooks and crannies some ends up in places the cichlids can't get to but the pleco and cats are able to get too. Plus once or so a week I'll toss 4-5 wafers in right before I hit the sack just to be sure the cats and plec are getting enough. I only do that once a week though because usually the clown loaches will keep me awake with their clicking for the next hour when I do that lol
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I don't stop them they grab them as well, but enough gets past the cichlids and falls into the rock work, and with all the nooks and crannies some ends up in places the cichlids can't get to but the pleco and cats are able to get too. Plus once or so a week I'll toss 4-5 wafers in right before I hit the sack just to be sure the cats and plec are getting enough. I only do that once a week though because usually the clown loaches will keep me awake with their clicking for the next hour when I do that lol
I've done this too and woke up the next morning with a dead fish, I am not sure but I suspect the fish eats a too big piece of wafer and it clogs up its intestine to the point where it cannot process food and then it dies... This has occurred more than once with the pellets and wafers, but has not occurred with the flakes. So I had to cut way back the amount of pellets and wafers I put into the tank.
Without actually seeing what is going on I just interpret the cause of the dead fish to eating too much too quickly....Am I mis-interpreting this ?
It only seems to occur when I feed the fish to many pellets or wafers. When I feed them flakes it haven't lost any fish...
Now, I have been told that if you have a murdering fish he usually attacks at night...But the only times I have lost any fish is after feeding them the pellets or wafers and NOT with flakes. Is this just a coincidence or what ?
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I think it's just a coincidence and it most likely happened for a different reason. When I feed wafers I see even the smaller fish take a big piece and they will simply hold it in their mouth and chew on it, spit it out and pick it back up and chew on it, spit it out pick it back up etc etc. It's a natural ingrained thing for them to not try to swallow something they can't fit down the chute (there are slight exceptions with fish in the wild but it's not too common). I really doubt that they are choking on the wafers.
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It's not that they are choking... it could be that the wafers don't dissolve fast enough and it block them up.
Once they get blocked... it's all down hill. Buy this usually takes a little time. Few days at least
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Cichlids aren't gonna choke on a wafer... I'm sure their pharyngeal bones will get the wafer ground up. ;)
Now maybe they are ingesting too much, grinding it up & the wafer particles are swelling in their stomachs.
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Cichlids aren't gonna choke on a wafer... I'm sure their pharyngeal bones will get the wafer ground up. ;)
Now maybe they are ingesting too much, grinding it up & the wafer particles are swelling in their stomachs.
Something is not right, that is why I have cut down the amount of food I am putting in the tank.
So I got some sweet potatoes and forked it and dropped it in the tank, the plecos should be happy now, thank for the suggestion !
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So it has been a couple of days since I started feeding my plecos sweet potatoes and can gladly say that he has stopped attacking my fish....
I also added in some Stress Coat and Salt and everyone seems to be doing much better now....
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My LDA 33's love the sweet potato.
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I always forget to save some of a sweet potato when we have them.
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Wow what a great suggestion, my plecos love the Sweet potato and this is so much more cleaner for the tank. What a GREAT suggestion Thanks...