General Care Discussion :: To those with Pleco's

[biomanz]

How do you feed them? Whenever I put the tablets they (supposedly) eat, my two turtles go at it. I haven't tried at night when they sleep but they awake quickly and I'm pretty sure they'll sniff it once I drop it in and go in like vultures. And there isn't a place where only the pleco could access. As for pleco's feeding on left-overs, I wish there were any...

[RunninWideOpen]

you don't feed them. the whole point is to get them to clean the tank, by eating turtle waste, food particles etc....

i've never fed any fish in my turtle tank...and they're multiplying.

[biomanz]

But after the pleco initially cleans up the tank, the natural growth of algae won't be sufficient for them, or so I've read. Unless they like cleaning up the turtle poop...

[RunninWideOpen]

I've never fed any of my plecos or guppies. There's plenty of junk in a turtle tank for them to eat.

They do just fine......until they get eaten. Come to think......I should probably go get some more pleco's. I've only got 1 left now. lol

[iac637]

we have one that started at about 2 inches when we got it it is now at 5 and we never feed him so I think there is plenty in the tank to eat

[Bumby's Mom]

Have you tried one of those "vacation feeders"? Its like a white block that has food inside of it, you could put that in a place where the turtles can't find it.

[FLhaven4strays]

I don't feed them. I don't even feed the feeder fish Jimi lives happily with.

The only time I've ever given a pleco alge tablets is when I put one into a new fishtank - the setup was only a couple weeks old & I knew there wouldn't be enough 'gunk' for it yet. Don't feed them - they'll clean up the mess so you don't have to (until they're eaten...)

[biomanz]

Good to hear my pleco shouldn't starve to death. But now I wonder if I could feed my shellbies the pleco food broken in pieces. It's even "rich in vegetable matter" though it probably lacks calcium, but the turtle pellets don't offer that much Ca anyway. Only thing that seems weird about the pleco food is an ingredient "dried bakery products."

[mikee]

Bio-M -- Your plecos will eventually will get eaten by your turtles. Some last longer than others but they will get eaten. I have a couple of guppies that have been in the tank for 6 months and are doing fine. In fact she is having babies while dodging the turtles. The babie last about a day or so and they are gone. One day, while trying to stay out of the way of the others, they will be caught and eaten.