Pleco and corry feeding

[svachon9]

New 4 week old tank 90 gallons with L260 Pleco and one other kind 2' grows to 4", 2 Skunk Corries and 1 other Cory.  I alternate several different types of wafers (Omego 1 Rounds, Xtreme Scrapers, Hikari Sinking wafers). 

Couple questions.  How many wafers, once per day should I feed (again 2 Pleco's about 3" each, and 3 Corries)? 

Also I put the wafer in at lights out time and I know they will disintegrate.  In the morning it all seems to be gone.  How do I know they are eaten and not disintegrated into the water?  If uneaten, would I see some left over in the substrate in the morning? 

3rd question, I'd like to feed blood worms but I don't want to overfeed the tank and pollute the water, and it seems that it wold take a lot to get the bottom uneaten by my other fish.  Any suggestions on this?  Feed them at lights out?

[Colu]

L260 is a hypancistrus species they require a more protein rich diet can you take I picture of your other pleco if we can identify the species it will help work out an appropriate diet 

[Lennie]

On 12/22/2023 at 10:37 PM, Colu said:

L260 is a hypancistrus species they require a more protein rich diet can you take I picture of your other pleco if we can identify the species it will help work out an appropriate diet 

Actually on planetcatfish and some other sites Hypancistrus are mentioned as carnivores but my biologist friend who studies loricariidae evolution as her PhD said scientific literature has never suggested them being carnivores, and she said these fishes will go for meaty foods doesn't mean it's what they are adapted for in the wild. 

I used to feed mine heavily on a carnivore diet due to my similar researches but not anymore.

 

I tagged the related part of Rebecca's video, hope it's helpful!

 

[svachon9]

There is so much conflicting information on this (as is most everything on the internet related to fish), I went to 4 different websites and two said L260's were omnivores and two said they were carnivores.  

Anyway, I tried putting 4 Omega1 wafers at the bottom, at light out and check in for over 2 hours and neither pleco came out to eat but I did see the cory's at least around the food and in the morning most of the wafers were gone.   So something is eating, I guess.  I just want to figure out if the plecos are eating and what they like, but I can't ever see them eat to know for sure.

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/22/2023 at 9:24 AM, svachon9 said:

Couple questions.  How many wafers, once per day should I feed (again 2 Pleco's about 3" each, and 3 Corries)? 

Anywhere from once every 2-3 days up to about once a week if you're seeing a lot of leftover food.

In terms of how much, the large wafers I break apart sometimes and put 1/4s around the tank. The mini ones are about that size and you can just toss those wherever.

If you have larger bottom dwellers, you just wouldn't break them apart.

So how much is the big question. The corydoras and a oleco would all be about one wafer. Maybe one and a half per feeding.  If they ignore the food, just feed less or adjust time so that you're feeding as the lights go out.

On 12/22/2023 at 9:24 AM, svachon9 said:

How do I know they are eaten and not disintegrated into the water?  If uneaten, would I see some left over in the substrate in the morning? 

You can use a feeding dish too to help monitor the eating. Basically I would expect it to be eaten by the fish unless you're seeing piles of food mulm.

If you're over feeding them you'll see a lot of mulm. Even with good filtration.

The can feed, let the lights go out, then check in about an hour or two if they are eating using a flashlight or tank lights.

On 12/22/2023 at 9:24 AM, svachon9 said:

3rd question, I'd like to feed blood worms but I don't want to overfeed the tank and pollute the water, and it seems that it wold take a lot to get the bottom uneaten by my other fish.  Any suggestions on this?  Feed them at lights out?

Thaw the worms, add in very few and make sure they eat them. Adjust accordingly. You can cut cubes too or just feed excess to another tank. If you need to get them to sink, then just turn off the filter for 20-30 minutes or so.