# Can/will a pleco overeat, say to death?



## Htwo0h (Sep 20, 2013)

Please read though, vital info that needs to be applied to the question.

Had my first encounter with an internal parasite, lost all my fish besides my common Pleco who is about 12 inches long. Very very long story short, she was on deaths door, list half her weight, EXTREMELY sunken stomach, eyes sucked into head so far that I could literally see into her head through the eye sockets.

But heres the good news, she pulled through after a lot of work and money spent and is now gaining weight, swimming and acting completely normal. I started feeding her broccoli for the first time and LOVES it. She eats 24/7 and picks the stalk completely clean. Been feeding her everyday for about 5 days. As long as she keeps eating, should I keep feeding? I imagine it was extremely malnourished and the broccoli is like super juice to it. I just don't know if it's possible to over feed. If its not, then as long as it wants the food, I assume it need it just as much, but I don't want to do any harm either....It literally eats so much that it has to for 5 minutes from time to time, then she goes right back to the broccoli and goes to town again, almost all day.

sorry if that reads awkwardly, I'm posting from my phone.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

it could be gas or constipation. and dont feed so much. most feed zuccinie once a day. but i would try a shelled pea and see if her stomach goes down. if she is constipated it will help things move on though. i dont know if they are affected by gas like people but i know broccoli gives a lot of people gas.


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## Virto (Dec 6, 2012)

Plecos (at least BNs) have been known to become ill or die from overeating IF they're eating too much protein and not enough plant matter. In your case, it sounds like she may be a little stopped up, and shelled peas are great for helping that along.

Most fish are opportunity feeders. They don't need to eat daily, but many species will eat any food that's available, sometimes until death (bettas are quite capable of this). I don't think I've seen a case of a veggie-munching fish eating itself to death on plant matter before - I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just cut back your feeding to once every other day.


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## Nestle_ (Jul 4, 2013)

Like they said it sounds like to much protein. 
Don't feed any algae discs for a while now, and slow down on feeding veggies. 2/3 times a week is plenty of time for them to eat. 
Do you have driftwood in the tank? It's a must have for all pleco's.
Try the peas like they suggested, and not feed anything else for several days.


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## Htwo0h (Sep 20, 2013)

Nestle_ said:


> Like they said it sounds like to much protein.
> Don't feed any algae discs for a while now, and slow down on feeding veggies. 2/3 times a week is plenty of time for them to eat.
> Do you have driftwood in the tank? It's a must have for all pleco's.
> Try the peas like they suggested, and not feed anything else for several days.



Yes I have drift wood in the tank, but what in my original post are leading to responses about protein and digestion? Its leaving being a ton of waste that's very healthy looking and I'm doing regular cleaning..


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## Lornek8 (Jul 3, 2013)

I think people are equating overeating with full stomach/ bloating which is typically caused by an overabundance of animal proteins (plant proteins are not an issue) in pleco diets. You didn't mention that in your first post btw.

In your case, if never heard of a pleco overeating on veggies. There is typically really low calories an the amount of fiber in the veggies usually keeps thing moving so it's not typically issue. There can be issues with commercial diets both from the animal protein issue and the higher concentration of calories which can lead to obesity and the typical complications associated with it.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I have a very general plan for keeping my fish healthy. First step is water quality. Rather than work on what to feed, it may be a case of how to keep the water in good shape while feeding the way you describe. Sounds like you may be a bit new at this and have fallen into the trap of using meds rather than finding the true problem which is often poor water conditions.


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## Htwo0h (Sep 20, 2013)

PlantedRich said:


> I have a very general plan for keeping my fish healthy. First step is water quality. Rather than work on what to feed, it may be a case of how to keep the water in good shape while feeding the way you describe. Sounds like you may be a bit new at this and have fallen into the trap of using meds rather than finding the true problem which is often poor water conditions.


It had nothing to do with water condition Mr. condescension, it was an internal parasite, hence the internal parasite medication I ordered that fixed the problem almost immediately. I had just never encountered or dealt with an I.P so it was hard to diagnose the problem.

I dont normally feed the way I have been, but like I said she lost close to half her body weight, hadn't eaten in over a week and expelled white stringy inconsistent poo. She wouldn't even swim, she just say on the bottom, ignoring all food. So now that she is rid of the parasite, she's eating non stop, gaining weight back and expelling long, solid healthy dark poo. 

Once she is back to full health, I will go back to a few alge tablets every couple of days and a treat once or twice a week. As of now I was asking that as long as she's eating and finishing all the food in a timely matter, should I keep offering. Yes I know common plecs feed on some stuff that I can't even see with my naked eye, but for the most part there is VERY little alge in my tank and this pleco needs nutrients.


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## Lornek8 (Jul 3, 2013)

The biggest misconception about plecos in aquariums is that they can survive on algae alone. Most aquariums, and certainly most here, have little algae and usually quite different then what's found in nature. Most plecos aren't just algae eaters they eat auwfuchs. Basically the bio stuff that grows on surfaces, algaes, bacterial growths insect larvae, etc. Algae in aquariums is pretty non-nutritious and sparse compared to nature. Most grazing plecos eat almost constantly as the algae/veggie matter is relatively low in calories so require large amounts to meet the nutritional needs of the plecos. It's not an issue to feed plecos veggies everyday and allowing them to eat all day.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I have 3 male BNs (all 6+") in a 75 gal and I feed algae wafers every day, zucchini twice a week and canned green beans and peas now and then. But they share their tank with carnivorous plecos so they have access to meaty discs as well and will eat them. I saw them munching on meat wafers many times and it has never caused a problem. My plecos are 10 and 12 years old. They have a large piece of driftwood but I am sure the tank and the wood would never be enough to sustain them. But they seem to know what their bodies need and eat accordingly. I never really worry if they get too much protein.


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## Qwe (Jul 8, 2013)

Htwo0h, many people tend to respond to threads without actually reading the whole post. Just gotta sift through and find the good replies ;-)

I think you're fine. I'd say offer more variety, but I just listened to a breeder talk about only feeding his bristlenose zucchini, so I guess a variety isn't necessary, but I'd still consider it...


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Many different species of Pleco's .
Some are omnivores,some are herbivore's,some are Carnivore's.
Diet and water quality, or lack thereof,are all important per species.


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