Help my clown pleco is starving

[Kerneels]

Hi, I have one clown pleco and I feed him daily but he doesn’t eat at all he also doesn’t really move around a lot he stays sucking on my filter pump, he rarely moves and he doesn’t eat so the other fish are starting to eat his food but I don’t know what to do with him to make him eat please give me advice as soon as possible

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Hi! We're going to need some more information please in order to be able to help. Would you please copy paste this template and fill out the answers, since we can't see the tank or the fish ourselves, the more information you can give us, the better we can help


How long have you had the pleco?
Is there are driftwood in the tank?
Tank size:
tank age:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:


Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[AilyNC]

Are you sure he's not eating? He's nocturnal so you could try a Pleco food or sinking pellet at night when lights are out & before you go through bed.

 

[Kerneels]

How long have you had the pleco?

about 3 weeks

Is there are driftwood in the tank?

no I can’t find any all my local pet shops are sold out

Tank size: 40 liters

tank age: almost a month old

I don’t know I don’t have a testing kit
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:

tank temp: 77 C


Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
he doesn’t move from the filter he just moves to different sides of the filter, my filter is located in the middle of the tank, my pleco is brownish with light brown spots

Volume and Frequency of water changes: I do a 20%ish water change ever 2 weeks

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: I add water conditioner, oxygen drops and I added stress guard a week ago

Tank inhabitantsnly decorations (I don’t have live plants but I’m going to get some)

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): I got new fish 4 days after I got the pleco

Exposure to chemicals: not that I know of

Digital photo (include if possible): this IS all I could do it’s from the top of the tank

 

[Kerneels]

Are you sure he's not eating? He's nocturnal so you could try a Pleco food or sinking pellet at night when lights are out & before you go through bed.

I have a sinking pellet but he doesn’t eat it I’ve tried cucumber but he only ate a tiny bit

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

How long have you had the pleco?

about 3 weeks

Is there are driftwood in the tank?

no I can’t find any all my local pet shops are sold out

Tank size: 40 liters

tank age: almost a month old

I don’t know I don’t have a testing kit
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:

tank temp: 77 C


Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
he doesn’t move from the filter he just moves to different sides of the filter, my filter is located in the middle of the tank, my pleco is brownish with light brown spots

Volume and Frequency of water changes: I do a 20%ish water change ever 2 weeks

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: I add water conditioner, oxygen drops and I added stress guard a week ago

Tank inhabitantsnly decorations (I don’t have live plants but I’m going to get some)

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): I got new fish 4 days after I got the pleco

Exposure to chemicals: not that I know of

Digital photo (include if possible): this IS all I could do it’s from the top of the tankView attachment 119076

What other fish are in the tank? How many of each species?

Did you cycle the tank before adding fish? How did you cycle it?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

My best guess, is that you don't see him eating. My ABN Pleco was just like this for a while after i got him. I wouldn't even see him come out. One night, I saw him eating the pellet from earlier that day, and kept looking for him when the tank lights were out. Eventually, he got brave enough to come out and eat when the lights were on.

 

[Kerneels]

What other fish are in the tank? How many of each species?

Did you cycle the tank before adding fish? How did you cycle it?

2 albino Corydoras
2 guppies
6 danio zebra fish
2 platty fish
2 black mollies

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I just bought a baby bristlenose pleco (not much bigger than a fry) - they are bottom feeders so I was worried my pellets would all be too big. Tried some micro-pellets - he ignored them, he ignored any flakes that fell down - he spends all his time sucking off glass that doesnt seem to have algae on it. I've been worried about him. But last night I finally saw him eat a regular sized pellet and this morning I saw him poop, a lot. So obviously he is eating. Other than reading up on your pleco and making sure he doesn't require a special diet, I'm not sure what you can do. You may find in a year or so he's actually outgrown that tank too.

 

[Kerneels]

My best guess, is that you don't see him eating. My ABN Pleco was just like this for a while after i got him. I wouldn't even see him come out. One night, I saw him eating the pellet from earlier that day, and kept looking for him when the tank lights were out. Eventually, he got brave enough to come out and eat when the lights were on.

But he looks so thin and sad I’m just worried about him so do you think I should just give him time?

 

[Kerneels]

I just bought a baby bristlenose pleco (not much bigger than a fry) - they are bottom feeders so I was worried my pellets would all be too big. Tried some micro-pellets - he ignored them, he ignored any flakes that fell down - he spends all his time sucking off glass that doesnt seem to have algae on it. I've been worried about him. But last night I finally saw him eat a regular sized pellet and this morning I saw him poop, a lot. So obviously he is eating. Other than reading up on your pleco and making sure he doesn't require a special diet, I'm not sure what you can do. You may find in a year or so he's actually outgrown that tank too.

But he is already quite big but in the beginning he ate and then now he stopped but I’ll keep feeding him just incase

 

[AtomicFish]

Im not a pleco expert so Its hard to say why he stays on the filter. I know plecos can get quite big.

 

[Colin_T]

Have your lights on for longer each day (up to 16 hours) to encourage algae to grow on the glass. The pleco will graze on that.

Get some driftwood when you can and they eat that too.

Add an algae wafer or bottom feeding pellet at night after lights out and the fish should eat that.

As others have mentioned, most plecos are nocturnal and sleep during the day, and spend the night looking for food.

 

[Koglin]

Some fish have to get use to the sinking wafers or pellets if they haven't had them before. You might call the place you got your pleco from and ask them what theyre being fed, and try that if it is different from what you've been feeding.

Adding more hiding places (driftwood/live plants, or even just making little rock caves) could also make him feel safer which will encourage him to move around and explore more, which will help him come across food more often.

Seems like having more hiding spots makes them feel more confident to roam because they know they can run/hide at any moment if needed. Like having the security to move around more freely because you always have a safe spot nearby.

And luckily, adding deco and mixing things up is always fun!

The other big thing, is since your tank is only a month old - really need to test your water. If your tank wasn't quite done cycling adding the fish may have wonked it out a bit. If it IS still cycling, this could be adding to why he just stays there. Toxins could be affecting him 1 way or another. Lotta bad things can happen to fish from a cycle, sometimes they'll even stress themselves to a sad and tiny watery grave.

If you can't get a test kit yet, call some of your local fish stores and see if any of them will test your water for free if you bring them a sample.

Either way, I hope everything works out! Best of luck

 

[FishGuest5123]

I have a sinking pellet but he doesn’t eat it I’ve tried cucumber but he only ate a tiny bit

He has to have driftwood in order to digest his food. You can use cholla wood or even dried out oak branches. Feed him at night with a quality pleco wafer after lights are out. They love cucumber too.