New Pleco with pics and question

[Sondan]

Hey all,
I just bought this beautiful "yellow" albino sailfin Plecostomus and I was wondering how people prepare food for him. I know they blanch it but what does this actually mean, how do you do it, and are there anything else you feed your Plecostomus? Sorry the pictures are not the best but it is all I have.

Albino Sailfin Plecostomus1
Albino Sailfin Plecostomus2

This fish cost me $32 and I thought that was outrageous....until I saw FreshMike's pictures. I had a hard time buying this fish at that price but some of his fish are more then twice mine. So with that...what are some of the more expensive Plecostomus you can buy? And if you have not seen FreshMikes pictures in the aquarium section... GO LOOK !!!
Signed,
Sondan

 

[MAM]

oh he's gorgeous!!!!! i saw a similar one at my lfs, about the same price. too big for any of my tanks though, but i'd be willing to pay that for certain plecs.

sorry, not sure how to blanch food myself...................

 

[BobTheDog]

Hey Sondan. I recently got a 3" Peppermint plec that I paid $28 for, so I feel your pain!!! But, he was so darn cute I just couldn't resist.

As far as blanching zucchini for your plec, there are 2 ways to go about it. First, you can put it in boiling water for 30 sec or so. Or, you can put in the microwave for a bit. Overall, the idea is to soften up the zucchini to make it easier to eat. I personally zap man in the microwave. The goal is to get it soft but not mushy. Also, you don't want to leave it in the tank for too long. A couple of days at most. It will start to break down and rot and you want to pull it before it falls into multiple pieces and you then are not able to remove it all.

Hope this helps!

P.S. Freshmike's plecs ROCK. Love the Gold Nugget.

 

[Cian McLiam]

Im not 100% about blanching, I think it just means boiling it to make it more digestible. One thing I can tell you is that there are loads of foods you can pop straight in after rinsing, such as Zucchini, Courgette and Cucumber. My plecs love these foods as well as sinking algae pellets. Wrap alittle plant weight aroung the veggies to weigh them down.

Hypancistrus Zebra (L046), Golden Nugget (Baryancistrus species) and Royal Panaques are among the most expensive, but if you buy a sub-adult or larger of many L numbers, expect to pay big money!
Nice Fish btw.

Ken

 

[freshmike]

Who's this freshmike guy?

 

[snowyangel]

Who's this freshmike guy?

No one special
j/k buddy