New clown pleco: a few questions

[Scuba Kid]

i just bought a clown pleco (he's a cutie ) and i was wondering:
how big do they get? The woman at the LFS said they stay small and that's what i thought since it's a fancy but im just makin sure.

what should I feed him? I had a pleco before (reg. pleco) and it died because I suspect it never ate. The woman at the LFS said they'll just eat algae and leftovers and that i shouldnt worry about it but should I feed him something else?

and this doesnt pertain to the pleco, but I got some driftwood for it because I heard they liked it, so how much will it bring down my ph? is it dangerous for my other fish?


thats it. thanks!

[shev]

Driftwood is hugely important for clown plecos, they need it. it will probably lower the ph a little, but keeping up with regular water changes will keep it in check and keep it from tinting the water.

Mine eats peas, and frozen foods like blood worms and brineshrimp. he also eats pellets, brineshrimp and spirulina, and algae discs a little, veggie rounds. however, they will not be a clean up fish, and eat what the other fish dont.

[Scuba Kid]

just out of curiousity:
why is driftwood important to them? (i guess it's good that i got it!)


and, i have 2 peices of driftwood that I got from the beach and I rinsed them and everything, but how do I get them to stay under? the big piece I have is already made with suction cups to the side but I want these 2 pieces to be on the bottom. I tried to make them suction to the bottom but it didnt work. Is there a safe glue I can use to attach them to rocks, or something?

[shev]

clown plecos originate in south american rivers and they live in the rooted systems of trees. driftwood makes up a lot of their diet, they scrape away wood fiber. they are cafofllauged to blend in with the wood, and I'd go as far to say they feel safer with some.

after a while the driftwood should become waterlogged, boiling it helps. you could take it out and silicone glue it to a rock. I suggest some southamerican or african hardwood, or bogwood. I'm not sure if driftwood from the beach is a good idea.

[zenyfish]

Originally Posted by Scuba Kid

just out of curiousity:
why is driftwood important to them? (i guess it's good that i got it!)

They are woodeaters, the wood fibers helps with their digestion. They will eventually die without it.

[Scuba Kid]

and is it common for young plecos to not eat? because it's day 2 and he hasnt eaten anything that ive seen. He hasnt even been on the drift wood. He's been on the glass behind it. Also, Ive tried feeding him peas and romane lettuce and he hasn't touched either. Im going to turn the light off now and see if anything was eaten by morning (I know they're nocturnal)

oh and, how come I cant use beach drift wood?

thanks

[Lexus]

He may be eating and you may not know it.

[Scuba Kid]

Well I noticed this morning that he hasnt moved from his spot. The romane lettuce was eaten but not by the pleco. It seems my tinfoil barb has a new favorite snack.
However, one of my plant's leaves have been bitten a lot. Im not sure if this is from the pleco or the comet goldie though.

[MiSo]

my clown pleco is extremely shy. he barely moves from "his spot".
and he never strays too far.

[mlefev]

I know a couple people that had them and they seemed like they picked out a home in the tank and didn't leave it much. My pleco is the same way...he thinks it's cool to hang out on the heater (even though it's warm in the apartment and it doesn't turn on). I think they just like having somewhere to call home...lol

[Scuba Kid]

lol, right. I notice mine comes out a bit now (he's eating algae!) but every time i come near he goes right back to his little hideout. he's fun to watch though

[shev]

Oh, I could be wrong about the driftwood, I guess it just matters what kind of driftwood it is, not where you found it.

so what kind is it?

[mlefev]

lol identifying driftwood...that could be difficult. What region did you pick it up in would be the first question...There are some species that the driftwood will originate in depending on where you are...ie driftwood from California is not the same as driftwood from Florida

[shev]

heh, thats true. I meant is it generally hardwood, or soft? is it green or been dead a long time? does it smell? maybe of pine?

[Scuba Kid]

well i live in Rhode Island...They both seem pretty soft...one is dark and notted...the other is smooth and very light-colored...here's a picture:

http://www.freewebs.com/scubakid/May28^09.JPG

[shev]

uuuuuh, I'm not sure about the top driftwood.

you did boil the hell outta them right?

do you have something to test your ph?

http://www.freewebs.com/scubakid/May28%5E09.JPG

[Scuba Kid]

i didnt put them in yet.
yeah, i can test my PH

wadda you mean you're not sure about the top one?

[shev]

Well you can leave them to soak in a bucket, then test the ph and see if it was altered much.

[Scuba Kid]

okay. thanks

[lalo]

just so you know some Plecos (if not all, not sure) are nocturnal, so thats mostly when they eat, they will spend most of the day sucking on some corner or the driftwood, have you tryed feeding him algae waffers or any other type of sinking food, maybe ithe is not used to the peas or other veggies and doesn't know its actually food yet

btw, from what I've read they can grow up to 4" (10cm).

Be carefull, since my first Pleco starved to death (I was a newbie) and didn't even knew about any sinking food for plecos so I just fed him the flakes I fed all of the other fish. I also had no driftwood and the tank was barely new so there was not even some algae on the sides of the tank. There was nothing there for the poor guy to eat .