Plecs Food With Wood Fibre

[Egmel]

i dont recall saying ALL plecos,

... all plecs, including the carnivores, evolved eating food with very little nutritional value, probably dead wood and or leaf mould. as they moved through time their diet got better, needing less bulk of food to get enough nutrition. however they still have a digestive system that need vast amounts of fiber. hence the rasping on wood...

Sorry, had to do it.

If you re-read the thread you'll find that you both basically agree but are approaching it from different directions.

Mike is saying that yes, all plecs need fibre but that it doesn't always have to come from wood. Boboboy is saying that plecs need wood since it's a good source of fibre.

So how about we agree on the fact that plecs need fibre and that if they don't have another source then wood should be available for them. It also gives the added bonus of growing biofilm (Aufwuchs?) and providing cover, so in general it's a good idea (something you've both said).

Now can we let the OP have his thread back? If he dares to enter here again.

 

[xingumike]

Grazi Egmel you did what i was about to do.

bobo, i actually can't be bothered to look into this anymore, im sure given time you can find sources that say all plecs need wood in their diet but i will discount these sources beforehand unless they come from a higher plane than PC.

I draw one conclusion from this thread, the same one i have had for a while

 

[raptorrex]

i dont recall saying ALL plecos,

... all plecs, including the carnivores, evolved eating food with very little nutritional value, probably dead wood and or leaf mould. as they moved through time their diet got better, needing less bulk of food to get enough nutrition. however they still have a digestive system that need vast amounts of fiber. hence the rasping on wood...

Sorry, had to do it.

If you re-read the thread you'll find that you both basically agree but are approaching it from different directions.

Mike is saying that yes, all plecs need fibre but that it doesn't always have to come from wood. Boboboy is saying that plecs need wood since it's a good source of fibre.

So how about we agree on the fact that plecs need fibre and that if they don't have another source then wood should be available for them. It also gives the added bonus of growing biofilm (Aufwuchs?) and providing cover, so in general it's a good idea (something you've both said).

Now can we let the OP have his thread back? If he dares to enter here again.

humm yep see your point, though that paragraph is talking generally, perhaps could have been worded a bit better.
i agree the need for fibre is the main thrust to the argument. there are two main types of fiber, water soluble and water insoluble. they both come from different sources and do different things. the soluble type is broken down and used in the body for binding body acids, so they can be used elsewhere. water insoluble fibre, seems, to have no other function except bulking up the digestive tract by absorbing water. as this fibre comes, for the most part, from different sources. the thrust of my opinion is that the none soluble fibre has many less, commonly found, veg and fruit that carry any amount of it. this would seem to indicate that feeding enough of this type of fibre, using only shop bought produce may be complicated at the very least. therefore bog-wood, apparently entirely made of the none soluble fibre, is likely to become the most important source of this type of fibre in an aquarium. given the fact that many keepers are unable to offer an entirely natural feeding regime for plecos, especially in a community tank, it seems fair to say it is something that you should offer you common pleco, as it offers a ready supply of this important item. not doing so may lead to problems with your fish.

 

[Egmel]

humm yep see your point, though that paragraph is talking generally, perhaps could have been worded a bit better.
i agree the need for fibre is the main thrust to the argument. there are two main types of fiber, water soluble and water insoluble. they both come from different sources and do different things. the soluble type is broken down and used in the body for binding body acids, so they can be used elsewhere. water insoluble fibre, seems, to have no other function except bulking up the digestive tract by absorbing water. as this fibre comes, for the most part, from different sources. the thrust of my opinion is that the none soluble fibre has many less, commonly found, veg and fruit that carry any amount of it. this would seem to indicate that feeding enough of this type of fibre, using only shop bought produce may be complicated at the very least. therefore bog-wood, apparently entirely made of the none soluble fibre, is likely to become the most important source of this type of fibre in an aquarium. given the fact that many keepers are unable to offer an entirely natural feeding regime for plecos, especially in a community tank, it seems fair to say it is something that you should offer you common pleco, as it offers a ready supply of this important item. not doing so may lead to problems with your fish.

So how about we agree on the fact that plecs need fibre and that if they don't have another source then wood should be available for them.

 

[Scooty Puff Jr]

Assuming the food is not overly processed, the hemicellulose necessary for nutrition in certain genera (mike has listed them correctly-all other animals use it only as a source of dietary fibre-even then, usually unintentionally due to grazing practices) should still be in there, which would make the food an all around good dietary supplement to whatever fish you are feeding them to.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i think one of the main things you have forgotton is youve told someone to put bogwood in there aquarium, who may have fish which will not react well to lower ph. i think yoou should ask what fish they have before telling them to do this and ways they can counter act the ph drop if they need it in there.

and i do agree that most plecs should have bogwood

AND i dont think anyone stated (i didnt see anyone mention anyway?)that it is bogwood you would need not mopani wood as its too tough and they cant get proper nutrients from it.

 

[Darkstar]

that it is bogwood you would need not mopani wood as its too tough and they cant get proper nutrients from it.

It's not that they cannot get enough nutrients from it, it's more to do with the hard woods wearing their teeth down until they it gets to a point where they can no longer rasp at the wood effectively and so, supposedly, starve to death.

i think one of the main things you have forgotton is youve told someone to put bogwood in there aquarium, who may have fish which will not react well to lower ph. i think yoou should ask what fish they have before telling them to do this and ways they can counter act the ph drop if they need it in there.

This isn't really an issue imo.

 

[xingumike]

lol you got this one covered D