 Re: How do I keep a pleco alive for more than a mo
A few clarifications on plecos.
1) there are hundreds of species of fish called plecos, although most aren't actually plecos.
2) There are a few that get huge, many that get 12-18" and lots that stay from 3-12".
3) most plecos don't eat algae as a staple food.
4) many plecos are purely carnivorous.
Basically, you want one of the smaller species like a bristlenose or clown pleco. Both are more expensive but they stay small and are the best ones for algae eating. Before you buy it look at it's stomach. If it is at all sunken in, don't buy it. It's probably already dead, it just hasn't realized it yet. Find one with a full round belly.
When you introduce it, make sure you have a pice of driftwood for it to graze on, they need it for digestion. Feed a variety of foods, algae wafers, blanched veggies, shrimp pellets, frozen bloodworms, and even small earthworms.
If you manage to connect all these steps together you should have a healthy pleco with colours you never knew they had before.
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-------------------&&Later&&&&James |