Which Pleco Pellet Do You Reccommend?

[Alm0stAwesome]

My two little BNs have totally cleaned my tank and are now showing interest in feeding time for the other fish so I think they may need a bit more in their diet. I'm shopping for pleco wafers and I can't decide between Hikari Mini Alage Wafers or Tetra Pleco Multi Wafers. Do you guys have an opinion on which one is a better "staple" for for them? I plan on feeding veggies occasionally as well.

Cheers ma dears!

 

[ZoddyZod]

I give mine the hikari ones, but not the minis.

brocolli, peppers, boiled mini-corn, cauliflower.....are some of the things mine also get.

 

[KittyKat]

Hikari algae wafers are the best that I have tried. One normal sized wafer every other day should keep two plecos happy, although I would have been feeding them a staple food all along, even when there was algae.

If you like, I can send you some of the Hikari pellets to try out

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Thank you, that is a very kind offer! However with two votes for hikari from a pair of experienced members like yourselves I think I'll just go ahead and get it

Trust me they have been getting plenty to eat, the poop says it all! These guys are just babies, so do you think a mini wafer every second day would be enough? It's the minis that my LFS has in stock ya see...

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Nevermind! They've got both in...should I just get the regular ones?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Nevermind! They've got both in...should I just get the regular ones?

I like the regular sized ones as they are good for BNs to graze on, without being tempting for other fish to try and steal because of their size. Once they break down I often see my rams and angels go for them, but they can't handle them initially, giving the BNs plenty of time to get stuck in.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

That's a really good point.

I already put in TetraWafers Mix which I soak and then break up, everyone in the tank eats it but the plecos very rarely get any.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Get the bigger ones, you can break them into smaller pieces if needed. Aside from the sort of fresh veggies mentioned you can also feed veggie sticks or flakes, spirulina sticks or flakes as well as an occasional meaty treat. They are actually Aufwuchs feeders not pure vegetarians. They tend to eat throughout the day and night so they will do best when they can feed this way. Aufwuchs feeding refers to the fact that they rasp algae, and the microorganisms it contains, off of stuff like wood, rocks and plants.

Aufwuchs feeders can easily become fans of the flake and other meaty foods which we often feed to our fish. If they are fed on this sort of stuff regularly they may not get enough veggie matter which can be detrimental. This is why gold nuggets can be so hard to keep alive or seem not to grow. They are being fed once a day and their food intake is insufficient as a result.

 

[mrwickedweasel]

My guys normally get hikari wafers, the standard large ones. But i have now began to offer new era pleco pellets. They have largely been received well by all my plecos