Bristlenose Plec Acting Aggressive...

[eaglesaquarium]

I bought a BN pleco (about 2-2.5 inches long) about a month ago. Everything seemed to be going just great. My son had been begging me for an algae eater (suckerfish as he calls them) since before we had a tank, but I wanted to wait until I had some algae for it to eat naturally AND I wanted to make sure that I found one that wouldn't outgrow my tank.


Here are the dimensions:

l - 30"
w - 18"
h - 24"


The tank has been set up (and fully cycled) since April and I've slowly raised the stocking since that point to where it is now.

What I have noticed for the past two days is that when I feed the tank, the BN will run other fish off the food. Today I noticed him swim directly at my dwarf gourami and the DG backed away and tried to find other food. Then I noticed him swim right at a panda cory and scare it away from some other food. The tank has plenty of surfaces for the BN to hang out on and eat algae from. I've got two huge rocks, two nice size pieces of mopani, and even some little cave type things for him to hang out in, if he so chooses. Ultimately, he seems very peaceful most of the day, but when food is put into the tank, he seems to become a bully.

I've also noticed that my cories are far jumpier than they had been when I approach the tank. (I guess they think I am coming to feed the tank, and they need to hide from him.) If he is currently sitting on top of an algae or shrimp pellet, he seems content with that, but when he swims away, he looks like he's trying to get others to move away from the food.


I have 7 cories (4 trillineatus and 3 pandas) as well as the BN pleco. The rest of the fish are completely unaffected by this behavior, EXCEPT for the DG. Thoughts? I thought BNs were supposed to be PEACEFUL!

 

[creeker]

Mine does the same thing. Pushes other fish off the Hikari wafers. No harm is done though, and as soon as they back off he goes back to eating.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Should I be worried about the cories though? They seem a bit more figgety than they did? Maybe I should try to give them some more cover, just for their own sense of security?

 

[snazy]

Are you giving everyone enough food? I normally drop the tablets at several places so there is no crowding as even the guppies come to nibble.
When I feed my pleco, there maybe several tablets around, but he tends to go for the ones the cories are at, although there is one next to him for example. I figured he just can't see the food, so instead he goes where all the hassle is and he has learnt he can definately find something there. Poor thing can't see beneath him.
I feel sorry for my pleco rather than the rest as when he finally finds a tablet,the cories and guppies don't back up and go all over him, under him, on the sides,etc.... and then he gives up and hangs on the wood.I give him some lettuce instead(only veg he shows interest in)

And I don't think the pleco would harm any of your fish. Don't expect it to live on the algea on the tank walls either. Mine finished that off in no time..Yours sounds like it's starving

 

[Liquid skills]

Yeh i agree with dotting the wafers about your bn is just acting normal they are terrtorial and do like their food
What your seeing isnt much agression just dominance "that peice of food is his/hers and no one elses lol all mine do this male and female

Try giving the blood worm once aweek this realy cheers them up

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, I don't think that he's starving. I drop in two algae wafers, about 6 or 7 shrimp pellets, plus the flake for the top dwellers. And I do spread them around. The dwarf gourami also dominates some food.


I do normally feed bloodworms once a week. Usually I give them a half a block, but the other day I gave them an extra treat and fed the entire block to the tank over the course of a few hours.


It's good to know that it is normal. Would extra food actually be the key to calming this situation down? I'd be happy to feed more, but I don't want to overfeed either. I know that plecs can be poop machines, but I don't see a need to encourage that too much. Since I've added the plec and DG (added at the same time) I have upped my food for the tank a bit, and starting adding the algae wafers more often, usually 5 times a week now instead of once or twice. I read that the DG, as well as the BN would benefit from the wafer. Maybe I'll start feeding twice a day.

 

[snazy]

Feed the pleco something that the rest don't eat, like veg for example and he would be happier and not that persistent at stealing. He'll still try to get the food from other fish as long as it falls to the bottom though

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ok. Any thoughts on what that would be?

 

[snazy]

Ok. Any thoughts on what that would be?

Anything really: zucchini, cucumber, romaine lettuce, potatoes, mushrooms, peas, green beans, broccoli, etc..

Some of them need to be peeled obviously, may be even blanched and then you have to find a way to weight it down so it doesn't float. I use a small ceramic bowl that I bought from the chinese shop. . My pleco is not interested in any bar the lettuce, but most of them really love zucchini, so that's what I would try firss

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I give my tank peas once a week and they ALL go nuts for it. I was wondering what things the plec would eat that the others would mostly ignore.

 

[snazy]

I give my tank peas once a week and they ALL go nuts for it. I was wondering what things the plec would eat that the others would mostly ignore.

Yeah, I'd say nearly every fish likes peas. Try whatever you have in the fridge and see. Rest of the fish may come and nibble out of interest, but they don't have the proper attributes to eat every type of veg.

 

[snazy]

I give my tank peas once a week and they ALL go nuts for it. I was wondering what things the plec would eat that the others would mostly ignore.

Yeah, I'd say nearly every fish likes peas. Try whatever you have in the fridge and see. Rest of the fish may come and nibble out of interest, but they don't have the proper attributes to eat every type of veg.

 

[Liquid skills]

And to add no more food wont stop him

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Thanks. I think I'll just keep an eye on it.