Feeding and Nutrition :: Plecos

[Cim*Forever]

Okay, so I finally decided to try my luck with a pleco. So far so good, BUT I have decided that they should put a sign on the pleco tank that says: Poops WAY more than a normal fish!

My pleco does a great job of cleaning the plants and the algea that accumulates in the corners and such, but every morning I wake up to a corner that is full with his waste. (the furthest away from the filter of course). So out comes my turkey baster and my bucket and I clean is up.

Im not sure whats better, having cleaner corners and plants, or not having to clean up the access pleco poop that doesn't reach the filters.

What do you guys think? What are your experiences with your Plecos?

Edit: Sorry if this isn't an appropriate topic for this discussion board.

[imderanged]

I added a pleco too and noticed the same thing. He does eat the algea, but my algea wasn't THAT bad to start with. I just kinda like the way he looks! And it seems like Sylar doesn't bother him. I dunno if its his dark coloration or what. Sy chases the minnows all day but leaves the pleco alone. I put up with the poop just cause I think he's cool.

[Bumby's Mom]

Never had that problem with my pleco... maybe it is certain breeds?

[megcornell]

Any large fish will produce quite a bit of waste. In my experience, smaller plecos are good at eating algae but they convert that algae into a lot of waste.

[res08]

I have a pleco in my fish tank. I notice his poo is green. Since turtles have been known to eat their own poo, I wonder if they'd go for a pleco's green poo.

[Cim*Forever]

Humm it seems all replies are quite accurate to my experience hahaha. Anyways, my turtle doesn't seem to be eating the pleco waste, which I must say I am happy about. My pleco is only about and inch long, he's tiny and effective. Hes a messy little bugger though.
I think I'll keep him around, he's an interesting addition.

[powerofvoodoo]

I've definitely seen my turtle eat my pleco's poop, so yes, it will happen, but there's still a lot of waste that is not eaten.

[Jackson]

Plecos DO produce a lot of waste. And keep in mind, they can get over a foot long (Depending on the species) which means even MORE waste.

I don't have one with my turtle but I do have one who's been with me for over a year now. My RES lived with Platys for 6 months who were suppose to be food...Never touched them even when they'd sit in front of his face. I put him in with my Pleco (Who WAS a good 6in, now he's more like 4 1/2-5) and within 30min-1 hour I came back and my Pleco's missing his whole dorsal fin, has a chunk out of his back, his tails gone and bleeding and he's in my Sliders mouth jerking back and forth as fast as possible trying to get away while my turtles trying to finish off his "meal". x.x; I screamed my head off calling for my boyfriend to come help me get him out of his mouth and into ISO FAST. Never again. xD I've learned my lesson. Not like I needed the extra waste anyways but he'll be staying in ISO until I can get another large tank set up (Have a few but I need the stuff to set them up since I started selling off all my fish things) to move him in or sell him once he's healed and hopefully regrown his tail if it'll ever regrow since he got him down to the body pretty much and it's amazing the poor thing even lived. :S

Other than that terrible experience with Turtle vs. Pleco, I really enjoy mine. He's a nifty little guy despite the fact he's a pooping machine.