# Im afraid Rubberlip Pleco is gonna starve



## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

I got a Rubberlip/Rubbernose/Pitbull Pleco at my LFS almost 2 weeks ago and I havent seen him eat anything yet. He is in a tank by himself with mopani driftwood and crypts in Aquasoil. Ive put in sinking wafers, algae discs, shrimp pellets, cucumber, lettuce, fresh spinach, baby carrots----none of them have been touched. Im afraid this pretty fish is going to starve. Is is possible that he is living off of the wood alone? I havent seen him eat any of that either, but that doesnt suprise me--I barely see the fish at all he hides so well.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Where did you get him? Could you ask them what they have been feeding him. With all that you'd think he'd have eaten something. Could he be eating at night and you just don't see it? Do you have any algae or plants he might be eating? Did you blanch the veggies?


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yes freeze or blanch your veggies first. Some plecos like mostly wood to rasp on so finding a rotting piece will help you there.


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## blackandyellow (Jul 1, 2009)

I have one that is like that. He´s been with me for over 4 months now so I figured he does eat something at night.

He is always hidden, rarely do you see him come out, but I have seen him with a little poop so I don´t worry about him anymore.

There´s always the little bit of algae, and I don´t know if he shares the zucchini and spinach with my group of 10 ottos

He´s an interesting fish but I would not get another one. They are not good for keeping the aquarium clean, and you rarely get to see him... and I don´t know what he eats!


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

I walked into the room his tank is in last night to check on him and found him gnawing on my driftwood. He still hasnt touched anything I put in the tank for food-but at least he is eating SOMETHING. 

On another note--this dude is rough on a planted tank. He has uprooted or disturbed every single plant in this tank and shoved the substrate into big mounds and valleys throughout the tank. What a mess.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

They're nocturnal so drop in a small wafer when you go to sleep.

They are territorial and a bit rough on the plants. If you give him a cave, he'll hang out there and won't cause too much problem.


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

Still hasnt touched any food that I have put in the tank. Ive tried shrimp pellets, algae wafers, sinking wafers, flake food, cucumber, zuchini, baby carrots, lettuce, spinich---nada. It all sits in there and rots and I have to take it out. 

Hopefully the driftwood is what he is nibbling on and the reason he isnt hungry. I hope so anyway.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I had a Peckoltia like that. He hid under his arch of wood, and only ate wood. His poop was right there under the wood, and was always the same. Digested wood. 
I think a lot of microorganisms live on all the surfaces in the tank, including in the pores and on the surface of the wood. So while it does look like they are eating 'only wood' they are really getting some algae, some protein and so on.


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

My Oto's are the same way. I was really worried that they were not eating until I came in a few hours after lights out and they were all swimming around the tank munching on the algae.


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

Dead. That is what I found when I got home. Dead pleco. That sucks. I never got it to eat anything. I really feel bad that I starved this poor fish to death. Sad.


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## geekgirl (Feb 4, 2003)

Rubberlips are difficult fish. If you try again, make sure to get one that's at least 2" long, bigger is better. Check its belly and make sure it's round not concave. If its already hungry/starving when you get it, there's not much you can do. The tank should be on the cooler side, not more than 77-78. They need the rootwood, and lots of algae growth. You can sometimes tempt them to start eating with a piece of raw potatoe, or something meaty like blackworms. 

Bummer. They are really cool fish.


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## Brownthumb07 (Dec 8, 2009)

The ones I had were sensative to CO2. I ended up having to take them back because everytime my co2 kicked on in the morning they would be belly up on the substrate gasping when all my other fish were doing fine.


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

It was a pretty large pleco--approx 3in long--pretty close to full grown? Its belly was kinda flat when I got it---def not round like a full belly. 

The tank it was in didnt have CO2---just a low tech tank with crypts and mopani wood with aquasoil. 

I dont know if I will try another one or not---it is a beautiful fish, but you never got to see it unless you sneak up to the tank.


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## geekgirl (Feb 4, 2003)

Yeah, they get about 4" max usually. I've seen them this large, but not often. They prefer film algae but will eat pretty much anything. If they are eating and have full tummys (happy!) you will see them out and about suckermouthing your tank glass. Dither fish can help with that. 

But yeah, they do need well oxygenated water. Extra flow can help with that, or an airstone, plus a slightly cooler tank.


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