Please Help! Platies Eating Algae Eater's Food :(

[Tash22]

Hello everyone,

I've recently set up a tropical freshwater aquarium (first time!). I have a deilemma with my new algae eater (Bristle Nose Pleco) and my 3 Platies (Red Wag). I bought algae tablets for my Bristle Nose, and it seems as though the Platies ADORE IT! They will get to the algae tablet before my pleco does and eat it all. I've tried breaking the tablet in half, hoping that the Platies will just leave the other half alone, but of couse they are little pigs and devour that half too. If my Bristle-Nose find the tablets, he is on that thing and there is NO WAY the Platies can bully him off. The majority of the time though, the little guy does not stand a chance at fiding the tablet before the Platies do. I'm afraid of over-feeding the Platies and underfeeding the Bristle-Nose. Any advice? Is there a device that I can put the food into and place it near the Bristle-Nose so the chances of him getting to it is better (I have a tall tank as opposed to long). I'm obviously a newbie and this is stressing me out a tad.

Please help!


Thank you greatly

 

[sadguppy]

Pop it in just after the lights are turned off, more chance he will get to it. Also try popping in some cucumber (wedge it under something or stick a fork through it to weigh it down) as BNs love the stuff!

 

[snazy]

It's inevitable. The platies attack anybodies food but even my tiny baby bristlenose managed to withstand a big bunch of grown up platies, really funny fighting for his wafer. I always need to drop some more algae wafers so the pleco can find one and the platies are more destructed. Vegetables is a better idea, lanched zucchini, raw cucumber, some different types of fruit, whatever you have in the fridge a couple of times of week to make sure they don't starve by accident.

P.S.: I wouldn't put the pleco food after lights are off. All the platies will wake up immediately and attack the food. It's better to feed all fish at the same time. While the platies eat their flakes or whatever is left of the few second frenzy, the pleco has a chance to take hold of the algae wafer. Otherwise he'll stand little chance if just one wafer is put in the tank.

 

[BigFish01]

Yeah feeding them after dark dont work for me either. I have clown loaches and they attack the wafers like nobodies business. Unfortunately for my little plecos the clowns are like 10x the size.. I just drop a couple in and watch. If they are hungry they come right out and jump on it. Quite entertaining to watch a little 1" fish beat on the clowns.. Should take a video of it sometime

 

[snazy]

Here is a video of my bristlenose from a while back when he was smaller, fighting platies for his wafer. I moved the adult platies out from that tank and at the moment there are baby platies only and cory fry growing up so he is actually the bully at the moment in the tank but back then I felt sorry for him

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjp1-wcFndg