will they live?

[TheeMon]

ok i figured the topic would get your attention

ok i had cichlids in the past but recently got rid of my last one now all i got is 2 plecos... plecos live off of alge n stuff right? im wondering if they'll be fine if i dont feed them... i know that sounds mean but i wanna know will it work? will it hurt them? because for as long as i can remember ive had fish tanks-friends have had fish tanks everyone has, and noone ever fed there plecos- not even alge wafers... since i had cichlids i did(mainly kuz my cichlids liked them too) but now my cool fish are gone i wanna this: (puting it seprate for those who didnt read the top)


will plecos live in a fish tank w/o other fish and w/o me feeding them? i keep the light on them 24/7 so alge will grow?

and yes ill keep the tank up i wont just let them die

+ if you guys say yes, i can take out all the decorations too right?


edit: forgot to say the biggest one is 4-5inchs the smallest around 2 (prolly over guessed but oh well)

 

[BettaMomma]

Um, why would you want to do this?
I think it sounds ridiculous.

 

[SworDTail KeePer]

well I think they could ut I would not leave the light on or it might disturbe them or make them not eat or somethiing like that but other that that they should be fine.

 

[CTS]

Um, why would you want to do this?
I think it sounds ridiculous.

yup i second that!!!!

 

[TheeMon]

i figured the light would make alge grow faster for them to eat it...

the reason i wanna do this is these guys are sooooooo cool...(not plecos in general just mine) and i wanna keep them and im not geting more fish for a few more months... ive been feeding them everyother day or every 2 days but even when i doo they seem uninterested in my alge wafers, i figure once this bag of wafers is done ill stop feeding them all together... unless they show signs of distress

 

[Skylar]

I highly doubt they'll live for long. Once they clean most of the algae off, they'll need something more in their diet, be it algae wafers or fish food.

 

[TheeMon]

first dude i love your name...(thats my kid brothers name skylar) 2nd i got a plan... i got a spare 10gal imma fill with water and place the big rocks that are in my 40gal now in there and put it near the window... once they got some serious alge growth on um imma put them back in my pleco tank

also ive always left my light on 24/7... + the tank is a big tank and 90% of there time is spent in 1 spot- unless there all playfull and stuff they stay in there "little spot" they dont eat the rest of the tank... so if they get hungry theres alota other spots too

 

[Tolak]

You ever eat vegetables? Save some for the plecs. Mine eat zuke, cuke, peas, lettuce, carrots, probably others I'm forgetting. Put a bit to the side, no butter or salt. Plecs love veggies, mine like zuke the best.

Lights on 24/7 probably isn't too cool for them. Plecs are nocturnal for the most part, and all fish need a light/dark cycle. Lights on all the time tends to stress them.

Tolak

 

[Dwarfs]

Most plecos eat more than just algae, I usually find one of my plecos eating an abandoned peice of shrimp after my other fish are done with it.

So I agree with the others who disagree with this idea.

 

[BettaMomma]

I'm not sure that I understand your process here...
They don't really like what you're feeding them or seem too interested in it so you're going to stop feeding them?

Try some different food. If they're the only ones in the tank, and you feed them a combo of different regular fish foods, won't they find it and eat it eventually???

 

[pica_nuttalli]

unless your tank is just monstrously huge, it probably would never be able to grow enough algae to sustain two common plecos -- especially if either of them are grown.

the living algae in the tank would also have to have some other "food" source for it to draw energy and minerals. so you'd need to feed the tank either way.

plecos are nocturnal fish, meaning they are most active at night. they probably munch on the algae wafers you put in when it is dark. leaving the lights on 24/7 is a bad idea and would probably damage their eyes as well as making them very uncomfortable in the tank (especially if you removed all their decorations).

since this is obviously not the answer you were looking for, you may be considering getting rid of your plecos. many LFS will take back plecos, especially larger ones. you might not get any money out of it, but you won't lose on the deal either.

-------------------------
edit: i assumed that these are common plecs as those are the type most typically sold to newcomers to the hobby, especially as a clean-up crew. plus two commons would be the worst-case scenario.

 

[pahansen]

Maybe I missed something, but did he ever say these were common plecos?

You definitely don't want to stop feeding them, even if you are expecting them to eat algae. Many types of plecos are omnivores -- they need different kinds of food, not just algae. My Gold Nugget will eat algae wafers, but he also eats sinking shrimp pellets, vegetables, and any leftover food on the bottom of the tank. Not once have I seen him actually eat algae. I had to get a Siamese Algae Eater for that. If I tried your diet plan, I'm sure he would die.

As for light, the plecos would be better off with too much dark rather than not enough, as other people said. Of course, that would work against your algae harvest.

-- Pamela

 

[TheeMon]

well its been 4 days since i fed them... they seem fine...

its worrying me though i wanna feed them... but they look totally healthy...

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

How big are the plecs, how big is the tank they are in and are you certain of their species/type of plec?
Not all plecs eat algae, and even the ones that do may not eat all types of algae, so you can rely on getting the right algae to grow in your tank to feed them alone. Just because the fish "look fine" it doesn't mean you are not making them mal-nutritioned, the effects of mal-nutrition in a fish may not show visably until it is getting too late; how many algae wafers do you feed them on a genural basis and are the large wafers or the small ones?

 

[Raechal]

I would continue feeding them. Just because your parents fed you something you weren't interested in, would they stop feeding you all together? I don't think so. If they aren't interested in it, they probably will be during the night. You shouldn't keep your lights on 24/7 as mentioned above, Plecs are nocturnal and usually will come out at night and scavenge for food (algae wafers). I almost never see my rubber nose plec during the day and if I do, he is hiding away in the plants or in a cave. Then I will drop an algae wafer in the tank right before I turn the lights out and in the morning it is gone.

What kind of algae wafer are you feeding him? Try Haikari algae tablets as my common plec prefers those over any of the other algae tablets I have.