Plecos and Otos don't eat algae...

[Auratus]

My rubbernose pleco eats flakes and so do my otos.

The rubbernose catches a flake in the air then pulls it down with him and eats it. My otos do the same thing. Why don't they do their jobs and clean the sides of the tank

I used to have a pleco that would flip upside down and skim the top of the water and eat... it was really weird.

IS ALL OF THIS NORMAL?!?!?!

 

[diVer]

Both my pleco and otos eat algae, there isn't any to be seen in the tank, and they also eat algae wafers. I've never tried flakes though since I don't want to waste them, the puffers won't touch them.

 

[Mustang5L5]

My ottos and pleco don't touch flakes or algae wafers. If they happen to lang on one they just ignore it. All the other fish in the tank fight over the wafers though.

They always seems to munch on a large peice of driftwood in my tank, so i guess they are eating something

 

[Shizat]

usually they start eating flakes when they are desperate for food. I see a lot of people throw a pleco in their tank right after their tank is set up and there is no food for it to eat and has to resort to eating flakes or dies.

 

[Angel Lady]

Plecos are supposed to eat too they should be fed just like every other fish in your tank I give mine shrimp pellets and algee disc I make sure he gets his food to.So the next time you feed your fish you should put a shrimp pellet or a algee wafer or something for your pleco to. just remeber he needs other food to not just algee he is a fish to with needs just as the rest of the fish. And FOOD is the biggest one.

 

[Auratus]

I put in algae wafers for my otos and ghost shrimp and they love it but the pleco doesn't touch it.

The otos have been in the tank for almost a year now and the pleco has been in my 26 gallon for almost a month. But both tanks are well established. One has been running for a year and another has been running for 6 months.

 

[freshmike]

My plecos in the 90 gallon like to go right up to the top and eat hikari pellets....I mean, food is food to fish....

...also in the 180, I have 7 plecos that wouldn't eat algae if their lives depended on it

Some will, some won't....just sounds like you plecos and ottos are spoiled, you should be pleased!

 

[pendragon]

Various species of pleco span the spectrum between algae-only eaters and mostly meat-eaters, and all points in between. Some species of pleco eat algae well, some only when they can't get anything tastier, and some not at all (the high-dollar zebra pleco comes to mind). Different species of pleco have different dietary needs, and will eat different things. The notion that all plecos are good algae eaters is a fallacy that the fishkeeping hobby has been largely unable to shake, for whatever reason. Some are, many aren't.

Otos, on the other hand, are straightforward vegetarians as far as I know, though it wouldn't surprise me to see one nibble a bit on a meaty treat once in a blue moon. However, there are supposedly something like 15 (essentially identical) subspecies of otocinclus that are all sold in the hobby as the common oto, so it's not unreasonable to think that perhaps one (or more) of those subspecies could find other kinds of food tasty. I do think it's pretty uncommon, though.

pendragon!

 

[cutechic]

I bought 2 otos a while ago. One has doubled its size and is constantly eating the algae from the tank. He used to eat flakes but not anymore. I feed them algae wafers, but I've never actually seen either eat them. I know my platies love them, but I guess the otos must be eating some wafers, because they're still alive today! One of my otos hasn't grown at all though , in a couple weeks I'm moving him to the 10 gallon.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I have 2 plecs and although I have never seen them eating algae they definatley like the plec tablets and algae wafers I put in for them.

I have other fish which I never feed and they eat only algae. These being my 4 hillstream loaches in the coldwater tank. My 4 otos eat algae mostly but after feeding will be don with tyhe corys getting food off the bottom.

I think very few plecs actually eat algae and those who do may not be inclined to do it longterm.

 

[Yenko]

My dad has the same problem with his flying foxes. They ate alage for about a day, then discovered that flake food tasted better.

 

[Angel Lady]

My guppies and red tail shark eats the algee the plecos wont touch it that is the reason why I say they need more than just algee they eat just like my other fish I buy shrimp pellets just for the pleco. The two black moors that I have is starving my pleco it is always swimming around looking for food I am going to have to move him before he starves to death. I wonder if you can put two plecos together I always heard they would fight.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

My guppies and red tail shark eats the algee the plecos wont touch it that is the reason why I say they need more than just algee they eat just like my other fish I buy shrimp pellets just for the pleco. The two black moors that I have is starving my pleco it is always swimming around looking for food I am going to have to move him before he starves to death. I wonder if you can put two plecos together I always heard they would fight.

Depends what size and type of plec and what size tank.

I have 2 plecs in a tank together and they are just dandy.