who is eating my plants?

[samuel]

My tank is home to tiger barbs, buenos aries tetras, albino cory's and a pleco. Last week I replaced the arificial plants with real plants, this made the tank more realistic and natural looking.

My plants have been totally defolliaged., no more leaves except for the stem. It's not like the fell off the plant and been sucked up by my pump...my pump is clean.

Which of these fish have the apppetite for plants?

thanx

 

[yvez9]

i'd say the pleco
do you know what kind it is?

 

[paulthegreat]

Sounds like a pleco thing to me. If I do not give mine an algea tab every couple of days he starts to munch the plants:

 

[Germyzero]

It is definately the Pleco. Start buying algae tabs to satisfy your Pleco.

 

[pahansen]

I'd go with the pleco every time. Even with algae tabs it might not stop. I keep live plants with my pleco, but I had to try a variety to find out what he wouldn't eat. In my experience, plants that have broad leaves are the tastiest. So out went the swords, which are my favorites. Well, actually the pleco was my favorite, so that's why the swords went and he stayed!

Anubias have tough leaves and were totally unappetizing (apparently), so those worked well. And it gave a nice broadleaf effect as well.

Here are things that have worked well with my pleco:
varieties of myrio (fine leaf, fluffy plant)
pennywort
African water fern
anubias
anacharis
rotala varieties

Your mileage may vary. Not all of these plants can go in the same tank. Some require low light, others brighter light (I changed bulbs a bit ago). Generally, I found that if the pleco couldn't hang on to the foliage, he left it alone.

And you're right -- they eat the leaf away (mine ate hole after suspiciously-sucker-shaped hole) to the stem. Probably because then there's nothing left to hold onto! My sword plant's leaves had a stem, and the edge of the leaf about 1/16" wide -- everything in between had been eaten away! I have a Gold Nugget pleco, by the way.

Good luck,
Pamela

 

[FrAnK3333]

Im am told java ferns dont taste good to fish and plus they are hardy.