# Plecos and Algae Wafers- how often?



## joekidwell

I gave mine one once maybe twice a week just to be sure he still did his job.


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## wendyjo

Pretty much every day.


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## garfieldnfish

What kind of pleco, how large and how large is the tank? Any other algae eaters in the tank? Does it have a lot of algae growing? Also most algae eating plecos like zucchini, shelled peas or canned french style beans, so it does not always have to be an algae wafer.


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## EntoCraig

I feed my plecos daily, with a mix of spirulina wafers, shrimp pellets, earthworm sticks, and blanched zucchini.

Tank grown algae should be more of a snack then their main diet.


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## trixella

garfieldnfish said:


> What kind of pleco, how large and how large is the tank? Any other algae eaters in the tank? Does it have a lot of algae growing? Also most algae eating plecos like zucchini, shelled peas or canned french style beans, so it does not always have to be an algae wafer.


I have a albino bristle nose in a 20 gallon and a whiptail catfish in a 26 gallon. The 20 gallon with the BN doesn't have alot of algae and 26 gallon with the whiptail has plenty of green hair and green spot algae.


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## garfieldnfish

I doubt the whiptail will eat green spot algae. I don't know of any pleco beside the rubberlip that does. So if I were you I would feed both plecos at least every other day with an algae wafer or some other fresh, canned or frozen vegetable. BNs will also eat carnivore and omnivore wafers but should not get too much of either of those just now and then as a treat or to get them into spawning condition.
Do you have some real driftwood in the tank with your BN? They are supposed to need it for digestion and will much on the wood.


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## trixella

Yeah, I have quite a bit of driftwood in her tank. I've been giving her a wafer about every 3 days but wanted to see if that was too little or too much. My sister has a regular pleco in her 10 gallon tank that she's had for years and she has never given it a wafer (or veggies), kind of interesting... maybe she overfeeds on the flakes and that has been able to sustain it.


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## garfieldnfish

A common pleco in a 10 gal tank is not good. They should get large, 12" and larger. I would imagine her pleco is stunted. And not just because it does not get enough food but also because the tank is way too little for a common pleco, which should be housed in a 55 gal and up. So please do not treat your fish the same way.


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## flip9

I feed my BN's a wafer everyday, and veggies/bloodworms as treats. There should always be some driftwood as a source of fibre.

But for my 6" L168, i noticed it stops eating at that size and just sits there in the same spot all day and ignores food and veggies. I think its too fat to hold its own weight against the glass.


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## CKJ

Flip9 can you post a pic. I'd love to see him.

We have a new pleco and an otto and to corries and so i'm glad to see this post. Do cories also like algea wafers? 

We usually brak a wafer in half and add part on each side every 4 days. Is that too much or not enough? Don't really have much if any algea on the wals and have changed to sand a few weeks ago. Just have java moss in the tank.

Sorry if I hijacked but this is a great thread


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## JSA

I feed my 7" pleco one or two algae wafers every day, and he still keeps my 55g clean as a whistle. I know he's cleaning because before I got him, my tank was an algae farm.

Julia


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## flip9

CKJ said:


> Flip9 can you post a pic. I'd love to see him.
> 
> We have a new pleco and an otto and to corries and so i'm glad to see this post. Do cories also like algea wafers?
> 
> We usually brak a wafer in half and add part on each side every 4 days. Is that too much or not enough? Don't really have much if any algea on the wals and have changed to sand a few weeks ago. Just have java moss in the tank.


Ill see if i can, its usually hiding near the back.

Cories can be picky when it comes to algae wafers, some take time before they get used to it.

You need to watch when and how much they eat the wafers and decide from there if they need more.


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## CKJ

What drives me nuts is the buenos aries tetras will grab the wafer on it's way down and take off with it sometimes and the rainbowfish kinda like them too


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## wendyjo

garfieldnfish said:


> What kind of pleco, how large and how large is the tank? Any other algae eaters in the tank? Does it have a lot of algae growing? Also most algae eating plecos like zucchini, shelled peas or canned french style beans, so it does not always have to be an algae wafer.


This cracks me up that you say they only like the french style green beans!


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## trixella

wendyjo said:


> This cracks me up that you say they only like the french style green beans!


Qui Qui. :hihi:


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## garfieldnfish

They eat other green beans too, but the French style are already cut in half and that makes it easier for the plecos to get at the inside. And they are tender without the waxy outer layer that my plecos choose to ignore when I feed them other beans and I then have to vaccum the skin up. So I prefer the French style.


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## aprilnmarcus

*Clean tank or not?*

Do I need to clean my tank before putting my chocolate bristle nose pleco in the tank. Like should I just clean the gravel and do a small water change or should I do all that plus clean off the algea or should I let the algea stay? And when should I do water change and cleaning day before I get my Pleco or day of?


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## schnebbles

wendyjo said:


> This cracks me up that you say they only like the french style green beans!


lol!!

I always have cucumber or zucchini hanging in my tank. The otos, pleco and snails love it. They quickly go thru a slice. 

I will have to try beans. Do you just let them float or do they sink?


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## big b

Hello I was wondering if plastic forks would be ok to pin down zucchini? Like I leave it in the tank for a day or 2.


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## garfieldnfish

Depends on how dirty your tank is. Don't expect a pleco to turn a neglected tank into a show piece.
The beans sink on their own. 
Forks will work. I use metal plant weights meant for aquatic plants.


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## Diana

They like French cut because this opens the pod to expose the softer inside tissue. If all you have are cross cut, then break them open lengthwise. 

Cories are not algae eaters, and should be fed meatier sinking foods such as shrimp pellets, carnivore wafers, earthworm or blackworm sticks and similar foods. 

BA Tetras have a taste for plant material. See if they will also take Romaine or other lettuce, spinach and other greens. 

Many of my plant eating species (Loricariads and others) like Nori sheets, too.


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## mistergreen

I make my own catfish food. Blend peas, seaweed, spinach, zucchini, ground flax seed, and a little protein powder, water, and a few tablespoons of agar. Zap the mixture in the microwave and the agar will set. Cut into cubes and freeze.

It'll sink so no need for utensils.


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## Linwood

Be cautious not to over-feed.

I try to vary the amount based on how fat they look. If their belly starts looking flat at all when they are sucking on the glass, feed a bit more frequently.

Generally I throw something in, either waffers or veggies, only about twice a week.

They still breed like mad and the babies (the few that survive -- it's a community tank) grow up looking healthy as well. 

Plecos have a reputation for producing lots of poop. I think that's at least partly because people feed them too aggressively. Imagine the size of a zucchini or cucumber slice in comparison to their stomach size! It would be like a car-sized hamburger for you.

If they are not at least occasionally looking like they are getting a somewhat flat belly, consider you may be over-feeding.


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## schnebbles

I put Cucumber in because everyone likes it. The snails probably eat the majority of it and the otos enjoy it too. 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## roadmaster

aprilnmarcus said:


> Do I need to clean my tank before putting my chocolate bristle nose pleco in the tank. Like should I just clean the gravel and do a small water change or should I do all that plus clean off the algea or should I let the algea stay? And when should I do water change and cleaning day before I get my Pleco or day of?


 
I would do water change and cleaning needed before the pleco is placed in the tank.
This way the fish has roughly a week(assuming weekly water changes) to adapt to water condition's before next water change.


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