why is my mom's algae eater eating her plants?

Question

My mom has a 55 gallon aquarium with an 8 inch Pleco and a bunch of other fish (mostly mollies and platys and two catfish) We feed the fish 4x daily and on the last feeding (around 9 or so) we drop in about 5 algae wafers in there, the two catfish eat some of the algae, but the algae eater scares them away from it and eats what he wants and then the cat's get to eat. Well, I have been noticing bits of mom's live plants floating around and I thought it was the Silver Dollars because they are herbivores, but today I noticed it was moms Pleco ripping peices off of the plant and eating it. Why is he doing that when we feed him so much algae wafers?

Answer 1

The short answer is that's what plecos do, they eat plants. They algae wafers might not be enough for him or he wants other materials in his diet. Try feeding him some spoinach and zucchni from time to time, that will be a great treat for him and might keep him off the plants.

MM

Answer 2

You may want to put in some of those algae wafers at an earlier feeding (maybe there's some boredom going on), and definitely spread them out. A 55 gal has a lot of length, so make use of that. If you are putting in 3, put one on each end, and one in the middle. If you are putting in 2, then just put one on each end.

Also, do you have some wood in the tank for the pleco? Sometimes they need the wood to digest properly, and it may be that he's going after the plants in search of that. If you don't I would strongly suggest you get a small piece of driftwood or bogwood for him. Note that sometimes wood will drop the pH a bit and/or give the water a slight yellowish tint. Don't worry, your fish will be fine - the tint is just from the tannins in the wood.

I would also vary the diet to make sure the nutritional needs are being met. Instead of algae wafers, try rubber banding 2 slices of zuchinni to rocks (to hold them down) and putting those on either end of the aquarium. You can also do that with some spinach. You can also feed sweet potato, beans, cucumber, pumpkin (may dirty the water a little), capsicum, eggplant, carrot, lettuce (like Romaine - not Iceburg), corn, and potato. Some of these veggies can be left in longer since they will last longer (2 -3 days), but some will need to be taken out after a day. The silver dollars will also probably enjoy a lot of these.

Answer 3

Plecos are known for their destructive habits and yours is obviously no different. They are very hard on plants, so only sturdy, quick growing plants should be kept with them. Plants with broad leaves (like Swords) will generally be the first to go as they allow easier grazing for such large fish. Just try to feed him less algae wafers, but more often. Maybe 2 wafers every few hours. It may or may not work, but it is worth a try. Also, 4 daily feedings might be a little much unless you don't give them much food at each feeding. The only problem with little amounts of food, fed often is that slower fish may not get a chance to get to it. Go somewhere in between with your feeding schedule. Maybe only 3 times a day...

Nosoop4u

Answer 4

I know this is old but I get defensive when I see so many people saying negative (and untrue) things about the Chinese Algae Eater. If you properly care for your CAE you won't have the aggressive issues. They need caves or some other hiding place that it just for them. They need adequate space. There are some fish they co-habitate with better than others. People who have problems with them simply don't meet their needs but rather expect the CAE to behave like other algae eaters. Mine started out in my gold fish aquarium. I knew he would eventually require different accommodations but I was still setting up my other tank at that point and wanting to take advantage of his cleaning abilities in the meantime. He was wonderful and really seemed to enjoy hanging with the goldfish. As time went by and he grew (very quickly) he was eating too much to keep up with. Just as I was going to start offering cucumbers I caught him trying to suck my goldfish. Since goldfish are an easy target for the CAE I knew it was time to relocate him. I only had Danios and Neons in the new tank so I immediately added the CAE. I hadn't decided what other fish I was going to add but after researching I decided my best bet was Barbs. I added 1 Tiger Barb, 2 Albino Tiger Barbs and 2 Green Tiger Barbs. Also, in this aquarium there are a couple of cave like areas. I cannot have any other bottom dwellers because that is his domain. Although at 5 inches so far, and the biggest in the tank, he certainly goes wherever he wants. I have absolutely no issues in my tank. He has everything he needs to feel comfortable, at home and secure that he is the Alpha fish. He gets annoyed with the Danios bold attempts to nibble at his algae wafers and will bully them off (they come back). I think the energy of the Danios and their attempts to play with him sometimes are over whelming and other times he really seems to just join in on the game. He doesn't really interact much with the Barbs. One of the Neons likes to hide out in his cave with him during down times and at night. My point is that I understood his requirements. I chose fish and environmental elements on what he needed knowing his needs were very particular. I wasn't thinking I wanted Barbs originally, but I did want him. I did want a happy community. I have really enjoyed the Barbs and am so happy he made me pick them. I also have a pond snail family growing. It doesn't seem the CAE is interested in the snails. I have been wondering if he eats the eggs, which is why I came here. It is evident that only one snail from each batch is surviving. Which is great since I like some snails but don't want them taking over. Since adding a fish that eats snails such as a Loach is not an option (because of the CAE's territorial needs) I was hoping to find something stating that the CAE loves snail eggs and will help keep the population low. But as usual when you mention the Chinese Algae Eater, all I find is people bashing the fish instead of being helping. I'm just going to cross my fingers and if the snail population becomes too much I'll just remove them I guess. In response to the original question which I'm sure he has found an answers to, your snails should be safe with your CAE. My snails seem to stay hidden on and around the filter where they have protection. By the time they are noticeable they have grown a hard shell and don't seem to mind the Barbs tasting their shells so much.

Answer 5

first of all how many fish are in there. 4x a day feeding sounds like alot, i feed forty fish two pinches a day and they are fat! lol

second, if there are a ton of fish in there he could feel crowded and tear away the plants as a way to mae room for himself, i had a 6 inch pleco and he always messed up the plants. they were plastic plants though. we finally put him in a less cromded aquarium and he is happy as can be now

Answer 6

plecos can eat and eat, for a fish that will rach over 20 inches he is a growing boy and will eat what ever he wants.

i wouldnt rule out the silver dollars though.

anyway, place the alage waffers on different sides of the tank so that the catfish can get some and the pleco can eat his.

plecos can be aggressive for food so it isnt unheard of.

Answer 7

He does it because underwater live plants are highly algaeic. He must be a hungry boy!

Love,
Snag