bristlenose pleco fry not eating

J

JuanitoW

AC Members
Jun 19, 2008
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I recently received 7 new bn plecos. I put them in my well aged planted tank in an isolated chamber about 10"x5"x10" along with cherry shrimp and assassin snails.

I fed them spirulina tablets but since I've gotten them they haven't been eating! All they do is suck on the glass, which has no algae. I'm worried that they might not have enough to eat, so do you guys have any suggestions to get them to start eating? I'm sorry if this has been posted before, but I'm really worried!
 
Offer them some blanched zuchinni. That should do the trick.
 
Mine are fairly fat, and they never stop sucking on the same piece of driftwood. There's probably algae there, just algae you can't see.

Are they actually fry? How small? Tiny fry might not be safe with assasin snails. Full grown shrimp aren't.
 
pinkertd said:
Offer them some blanched zuchinni. That should do the trick.
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I'll give that a go. Thanks :D. Any special instructions on how to give it to them?

Dwarf Puffers said:
Mine are fairly fat, and they never stop sucking on the same piece of driftwood. There's probably algae there, just algae you can't see.

Are they actually fry? How small? Tiny fry might not be safe with assasin snails. Full grown shrimp aren't.
Click to expand...

They are 1.5". I thought that shrimp were safe with assassins until I saw one eating a shrimp alive. I think I might release the plecos into the main tank. I have no driftwood though. Hopefully my otos won't outcompete them for food.

Thanks for the help guys :D I love this place.
 
I used to raise their frys. I bought lots of zucchini, blanch them by letting them boil for 30 secs or so (you can experiment how long - I honestly don't recall anymore), then cut them into slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Then I freeze them in zip bags. When I need to feed them, I simply take the desirable amount, put them in hot water, until no longer frozen then put them into the tank. You may need to weigh them down using a fork or something similar.

You will need to take uneaten portions out of your tank after a day or so otherwise it will become yet another source of ammonia in your tank.

I don't think Otos will out-compete plecos even if it is a small one. :)
 
I dont even blanch my veggies, my plecos love zuchini, cucumber, and I always throw in xtra algea wafers just in case. they will get to food. I think its more important to get them in a bigger tank so they can grow up big & strong . IMHO ~ I am moving my 5 small 2" browns that I have had a LONG time over to my 55 to see if this works :) hope my angels are nice . LOL ~ but I am sure the plecos know how to get out the way ~~ ( I would also get some wood asap !! they LOVE wood, mine even chew' on my wooden air thingy the co2 is bubbling from ..
 
Definitely provide them with a piece of malaysian driftwood, they really need it. And yhbae's memory is correct, blanch the zucchini for 30 seconds, I use the microwave. Most times the fresh zucchini is just a bit too hard for the baby plecos to eat so you really need to make it a bit softer for their little mouths. Once they get a little older, no need to blanch. I also feed baby BN's the dark outer leaves of romaine lettuce. Again, it's a bit harder for the babies to eat when it's fresh, but on a veggie clip, after about 24 hours, it begins to soften up for them and they'll relish it and leave behind the "veins" of the lettuce leaf. Romaine can be kept in the tank longer than the zucchini.
 
you can freeze zucchini and it breaks down too.
 
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