How much food?

[Alcon]

My pleco is getting insanely huge. Have had him for 17 years or so. Keep upgrading the tank and he keeps growing!

Lately he has been feeding upside down from the top of the water when I drop flakes in for the other fish. I'm worried he might not be getting enough food.

I'm currently feeding him Omega One veggie rounds and he is getting 4 a day and a pinch of xl granules that he picks up from the bottom. I also over feed the flakes a bit since he gets anything that falls, but now he isn't waiting for things to fall and will eat off the top of the water.

I read before somewhere that this can cause buoyancy issues with air bubbles getting into their digestive system, so am wondering if/what I should do something to correct this.

Do I need to up his tablets? Usually I do 3 at night and 1 before work in the afternoon. He never leaves any of them. If I put more than 1 in the afternoon he sometimes will leave it.

Here is a picture of Lurch.

 

[Colin_T]

Give it more food. If it eats it that is fine. If it doesn't eat the food, remove the food so it doesn't cause water quality problems.

You need some plants and algae in the tank for it. Without plant matter in its diet, it will have health issues. You can leave the tank light on longer to encourage algae to grow on the glass. You can put smooth river rocks in a bucket of water and leave it out in the sun. When the rocks get covered in algae put them in the tank for the pleco to graze on.

You can feed them on slices of cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, green leafy vegetables like spinach, and various other fruits and vegetables. Just make sure they are free of chemicals and wash them well before use.

Do not feed it potatoes or onions, or onion relatives (spring onions, leeks, shallots, garlic). These are bad for the fish.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

A glorious-looking Plec and when's the next tank upgrade? You'll be putting him in the bath soon.
Many modern zoos now operate a 'life enrichment' policy, which essentially means that their critters have to hunt around to find their food. Perhaps you could get clever with hiding stuff your Plec likes, so he has to engage its brain and senses to find and enjoy it. If he learns that there's food to be found on the base of the aquarium, he might stop going for it on the surface. That said, over the last 17 years, he will have learned a thing or two...

 

[FF_Member146894]

Perhaps you could get clever with hiding stuff your Plec likes, so he has to engage its brain and senses to find and enjoy it.

have you seen how huge the pleco is compared to the tank? what do you mean by "hiding food"
any algae that naturally develops in there is not going to be enough, too.
so, unless you're planning on getting a 250 gallon+ tank soon, your problems won't go away.
that's why common plecos aren't meant for aquariums

 

[Alcon]

Thanks for the tips! My mom got him when it was really tiny. Had no clue how big it would get. My mom passed away and I couldn't let him go so have been trying to keep him happy.

 

[Fishmanic]

How large is your tank? He does look big and healthy.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

have you seen how huge the pleco is compared to the tank? what do you mean by "hiding food"

Off the top of my head...a large piece of bark, with a slice of courgette/zucchini underneath it.

 

[FF_Member146894]

Off the top of my head...a large piece of bark, with a slice of courgette/zucchini underneath it.

my point is that the pleco's going to be bigger than any piece of decor

 

[Colin_T]

put a piece of pvc pipe in the tank for it to hide in.