can Plecos survive on just wood

[Fishmanic]

I have 2 plecos in my 29 gallon tank. One of them has a good appetite and will eat algae wafers or shrimp pellets that I drop into the tank. The other one hides all the time on a large piece of driftwood. I never see him eating algae wafers or pellets. He hardly ever comes out. Can Plecos survive by just eating driftwood?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

One of my male BN's (the randy one) is rarely out of his hiding place and compared to the other male and the female, never seems to eat anything. However, he always appears well fed and he too likes to gnaw away at the wood quite a bit more than the other two.

Unless your's shows signs of a severely skinny frame, weird poo, sunken belly and/or is extremely lethargic, I wouldn't be too concerned.

My randy male scoots about like an idiot despite never being seen actually eating anything, so unless I see different behaviour or any obvious signs of distress, I just think he is a silent midnight muncher and not like the other two who will gobble anything infront of them regardless of time of day/night.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Is it super skinny? If so, it’s definitely not getting enough to eat. If it’s nice and chubby, it’s getting enough to eat, it’s just you don’t see it eating. When I first got my BNP, I never saw him eat. Now that I’ve had him for some time, I occasionally see him eating the algae sticks.

 

[Guyb93]

I would guess that it’s possible considering that the wood will have some sort of algae or bio film even if not visible , if foods there and it’s not eating it it must be sustained somehow

 

[Crispii]

First and foremost, not all plecos share the same diet requirements. So saying whether plecos can survive on just wood alone without determining the genus/species is vague. While there are some plecos species that are predominantly wood eaters (Panaque and Panaqolus), there are others that are carnivorous (Pseudacanthicus), herbivorous (Ancistrus) or omnivorous in nature. As for the one pleco that is not eating, it is possible that the dominant pleco is preventing the subdominant pleco from eating. Plecos are dominant/territorial fish and they can fight when kept in small tank. As for whether or not a pleco can survive on wood just alone, I say no. Like I stated earlier, not all plecos share the same diet requirements. And even if you have a wood eating species, offering vegetables from time-to-time would benefit their health instead of just relying on just wood alone, even though wood is the main part of their diet.

 

[Colin_T]

@Crispii covered it pretty well.

What species of pleco?

Increase the lighting times to encourage algae to grow on the back glass.
Offer frozen foods a few times a week and it might eat that.
Maybe put some smooth rocks outside in a bucket of water and let algae grow on them. Then put the rock/s in the tank for the fish to feed off.

 

[Fishmanic]

They are BN plecos. This has been going on for months..one eats voraciously....the other just gnaws on driftwood. They never interact with each other.

 

[Colin_T]

make sure there's plenty of algae in the tank and offer other types of foods too. It will be fine.

 

[AquaBarb]

Ive had my King tiger pleco 6 months now and eats nothing but what he finds on wood. Doesnt touch waffers, pellets, flake or veg at all. Ive dropped live foods right in front of him and he doesnt even have a sniff.

 

[Moby]

Ive had my King tiger pleco 6 months now and eats nothing but what he finds on wood. Doesnt touch waffers, pellets, flake or veg at all. Ive dropped live foods right in front of him and he doesnt even have a sniff.

I’ve recently got a king tiger pleco .I’ve tried the same and he just seems to hang out on the wood.I did try dropping in a wafer before going to bed and it’s gone in the morning.I don’t know if the pleco ate it or barbs or oto’s ?

 

[GaryE]

It sounds to me like one 'pleco' is being dominated by the other, and is afraid to appear at feeding time.

 

[AquaBarb]

I’ve recently got a king tiger pleco .I’ve tried the same and he just seems to hang out on the wood.I did try dropping in a wafer before going to bed and it’s gone in the morning.I don’t know if the pleco ate it or barbs or oto’s ?

Yeah i tried that too. Left it till an hour or 2 after lights out but my barbs and cichlids just polish them off and my king never even bothers. My Bn's the same

 

[Byron]

As it has been explained to me (forgot by who now), no "pleco" eats wood as nutritional food. The wood is necessary for a healthy digestive tract, but it is not a source of nutrition. With this in mind, I agree with finding the dietary requirements of the specie3s and ensuring those requirements are met.