# pleco wont eat algae



## ecl (Dec 29, 2010)

We bought a clown pleco and he has not been eating the algae in the tank at all. He is going since Ive added algae waffers so I know he is eating something but would really like him to clean the tank also.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

How long have you had him. Also plecos don't eat all types of algae and should never be bought just for algae control.


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## ecl (Dec 29, 2010)

every pleco I had kept the tank clean, and its just normal algae. I dont buy them just for algae control I like the way they look, and they are fun to watch


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I have several clown plecos and never see them going after algae, they like to hide a lot and hardly ever see them. The only one that really helps with algae is a bristlenose pleco. Commons will eat algae while young but as they get older they don't. Many plecos don't eat algae at all, but are omnivores and require protien. Most if not all plecos require wood in there tank for hiding and for rasping.

Right now I have probably over a 100 of them. Of all kinds and sizes.


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## ecl (Dec 29, 2010)

yeah he likes to hid, we make a game out of it with the little ones since he blends in really well with our gravel. he eats the algae off the rocks ok just not the glass its just odd. Ive had many plecos and all have taken care of my algae even our 8-9 inch one did, but also had other things in their diet. Ive had a couple of the bristle nose plecos but cant keep them alive.


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## vdanker (Jan 3, 2012)

Have you tried a Chinese Butterfly Loach?


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

I have several "standard" type Plecos. They eat all kinds of Algae, but don't like the Hairy kind. They will also eat small bits of Salad Shrimp and Cory Pellets. As they get bigger they tend to get shyer and even feed on the surface.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

A little research goes a long way - the clown pleco is part of the Genus Panaque. If you'd googled it before you bought it, you would have found that it doesn't eat algae - Panaque cats eat wood and associated micro-organisms. Mine were ideal for preparing driftwood, although their wood based waste was weird to deal with. I've never kept messier creatures, and gave mine away because they were chewing through a lot of nice driftwood.

So to keep them, you MUST have driftwood. They're "wood cats".

There is actually no one creature called a 'pleco'. There are hundreds of species of Loracarid cats, each with its own needs. Very few are algae eaters.


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