Do common plecs eat other fish?

[skippyroo]

Hi guys,

I have two common plecs both quite big now probably over a foot each. I have had them for 2 years and they seem happy and healthy and have never been any trouble. However in the last fortnight I have introduced some new small neon tetra and lampeyes and about 4 of them have now totally disapeared. There is no sign of any bodies and the last time I saw the fish they were swimming around fine!

Does anyone know if these big plecs will eat smaller live fish?

I don't have anything else in the tank big enough to eat any of the fish.

I am baffled!!

Could there be another explaination?

 

[Drac39]

Pleco info

Says here they are herbivores,but I dunno it isnt the best of sites

 

[PETsMARTchick]

Plecos will eat smaller fish, especially when they get large. Make sure you have plenty of hiding spots for smaller fish.

 

[ryan]

They are unlikely to eat any other fish. The large herbivorous Plecs are the only spcies which would be able to. But their mouths are designed to rasp surfaces and vegetation for food rather than catch small and fast fish. I think there is little chance of the Plecs causing any harm to other fish. I have kept large Gibbiceps Plecs with small Tetras before with no problems.

 

[skippyroo]

Do you have any idea where else these fish could be going?

I had a major clean out last weekend and pulled up the ornaments no bodies any where but another 4 fish have gone missing!

Nitrites, Ammonia and Nitrates are fine so there is no other reason these fish should be dying! I am totally baffled!

 

[smithrc]

its quite likely that any that fall unwell and get slow anr being picked off and eaten by the others overnight... the skelenton then falls apart easily and joins the bacteria in the gravel...

the plec isnt going to be the preditor.

Strangly enough - my parents bought a schoal of 12 lamy eyes and they now only have 5 left... no bodies have been found - MIA.

 

[noelberg]

Don't think common plecs will catch live fish ... at least not likely (I've seen weirder things), but I've seen them munch on plenty o' dead ones at the lfs.

Have you checked your filter? Some filter baskets still have large enough holes for a neon to fit through.

Good luck with your MIA fish

 

[skippyroo]

There are no fish in the filter either, that was the first thing I had a look at!!

I would have thought I could see some remnance of a body/skeleton if they were dying in the night!!

I am down to one lonely lampeye now but he seems to be holding up lasted a whole week on his own!

Do you think it would be cruel to get more to keep him company before discovering why the others went?

He just looks so alone!

 

[SP74]

the pleco might have eaten the bodies. my silver cat fish were not doing to well and when i woke up in the morning the pleco was eating a dead one. Maybe the lampeyes stay still too long at night and the pleco gets them? try getting a nightlight for your tank.

 

[Bomag]

your plec will not eat or catch live small fish but when they have died for whatever reason they will suck and suck and suck until that body has gone
so there you go hope it helps

 

[Fatty]

Hi, all

I've joined this forum, specifically cos I have had 7 or 8 fish dissappear from my tank!,

By using a tank divider I have definately found out that my culprit is either my common plec (only 2.5 inches) or my Gibbiceps (only 4 inches).

I know that it isn't supposed to happen but I can say with confidence that one of my plecs (or both) have eaten about 8 fish, 4 zebra danios, 4 Buenos Aires tetra (some which were an inch long!)

I do have a wierd tank that's why i needed to seperate the plecs, as I have a 9" sarasa comet in with my tetras, but ever since I seperated the plecs I have not needed to buy anymore fish, they are all happily co-existing with my comet.

Ok, so it's only been two nights, but up to now I was loosing 2 fish a night until there would be two tetra and one zebra danio which would always evade the plecs.

I reckon it's the Gibbiceps, I will take him out see how the tank copes with the one common plec.

So my answer to, do plecs catch and eat perfectly healthy fish is YES!, in the dead of night!

And my plecs are fed on algae wafers, cucumber and there is always plenty of algae in the tank. (incedently they don't seem to bother with the wafers)

 

[kalev]

well my plec is only about 3 inches long and i have seen him kill and eat a fish so i wouldnt be to suprised if it happened

 

[Pleco-Heaven]

Ive got a 6 inch gibbiceps in with 1 inch tiger barbs (only one death and that was probably the firemouths).

 

[ddm18]

Yup - pl*cs eat fish! Some time ago I witnessed a 12" common pl*c eating a perfectly healthy cory. I literally saw the pl*c 'pounce' on the cory, I waved my hand around outside the glass to no avail, then went to put my hand in to separate them, but the pl*c whisked his prey under a rock.

Also, there was a similar thread to this not so long ago, and the outcome was that, although uncommon, pl*cs do occaisionally eat small fish, particularly neon tetras, which rest near the floor during the night.

 

[Dwarfs]

I just looked at your sig, and you have 2 large plecos in a 20 gallon?