Do Plecos eat or fight with other fish?

D

dempsey6

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Jul 13, 2010
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I have a big 7-8 inch marble pleco and I saw him eating a smaller (dead) 3-4 inch pleco.

Now I dont know if he killed it or it was one of the flowerhorns or maybe a red devil... also my 4 inch firemouth cichlid has lost usage of his left-side fin. Again, I don't know if the pleco is responsible for this attack or if it was a fight between him and another one of the cichlids.


Any tips or opinions from experience pleco owners :)

PS: Is my firemouth gonna die without the usage of one fin or will he actually recover?
 
i wouldn't point any fingers at the pleco in this case. Your pleco is eating already dead fish.

I would quarantine your injured fish and help him recover by providing 100% fresh water with lots of daily water changes. If it comes to it you might want to medicate.
 
I think it's the flowerhorn. In my experience those guys can be quite nasty.

I would quarantine the Firemouth. You could put some salt into the tank. That usually helps them repair their fins faster and helps boost immunity. I think something like 1 tbsp per 5 gallons should work well.

If you don't have a hospital tank you can do the salt in your main tank 1tbsp per 5 gallons shouldn't be to bad for you pleco but any more and he might get pretty unhappy.
 
I don't know about "attacking" other fish but sometimes starving or underfed plecos will try to suck the slime coats off other fish they're kept with.
 
Having 4 different species of Plecos, I have found that when bullied they will fight back. I have seen times when the plecos chase other fish out of the way or ram them with it's blunt nose. Usually it is not intended as a kill strike but as a warning that they have been pushed around long enough.

On the other hand, Flowerhorns are aggressive by nature and have been known to kill at will.

I think if you monitor your tank more closely, you will be able to tell who the aggressive killer might be.
 
excuzzzeme said:
Having 4 different species of Plecos, I have found that when bullied they will fight back. I have seen times when the plecos chase other fish out of the way or ram them with it's blunt nose. Usually it is not intended as a kill strike but as a warning that they have been pushed around long enough.

On the other hand, Flowerhorns are aggressive by nature and have been known to kill at will.

I think if you monitor your tank more closely, you will be able to tell who the aggressive killer might be.
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I completely agree with excuzzzeme since I have had the same results. I have seen on rare occassions where a pleco will chase a goldfish in order to get there slime coat. If I had to guess I would imagine your flowerhorn is the killer. When stocking an aquarium you need to choose your fish and tank mates wisely
 
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