# does my pleco need algae wafers?



## 3617

hi i currently have 6 giant danios in my tank and im sure they would produce of algae for my common pleco to eat, so do i have to buy extra food for him? or he doesn't need it since the danios would be providing him poop and such


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## JimW/Oscar

3617 said:


> hi i currently have 6 giant danios in my tank and im sure they would produce of algae for my common pleco to eat, so do i have to buy extra food for him? or he doesn't need it since the danios would be providing him poop and such


Pleco's don't eat 'poop', in fact they produce far more of it than many fish.
You pleco will eat left over fish food your danios miss and will eat algae growing in your tank. Spirulina disks are good for your plecos as are sinking shrimp pellets.


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## 3617

JimW/Oscar said:


> Pleco's don't eat 'poop', in fact they produce far more of it than many fish.
> You pleco will eat left over fish food your danios miss and will eat algae growing in your tank. Spirulina disks are good for your plecos as are sinking shrimp pellets.


oh i never knew tha tplecos produce more waste than other fish, so that means i will have to clean the tank more often? and how does pleco help the tank beside cleaning the glass


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## FishMatt

Plecos help in many way by cleaning the glass, Picking through youur gravel, Cleaning your Decor in your tank, And clean a few types of artifical plants. And HBH algae grazers are good for them and if you have other cats. You may have to clean more but I don't with mine, Mine dosn't seem to poop like crazy Sometimes it gets taken into the filter but not all of the poop will get into the filter.


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## JimW/Oscar

3617 said:


> oh i never knew tha tplecos produce more waste than other fish, so that means i will have to clean the tank more often? and how does pleco help the tank beside cleaning the glass


Well, depends on the fish I guess. Nothing tops an oscar in waste creation, they should call them water pigs.


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## Superfly724

JimW/Oscar said:


> Well, depends on the fish I guess. Nothing tops an oscar in waste creation, they should call them water pigs.


That goes for pretty much all fish that get to the size of a small dog. :lol:

As for your question, believe it or not, starvation is one of the leading causes of Pleco death in the aquarium. It takes 1 night for a pleco to clean a 55 gallon tank, and a good week for the algae to grow back. They like to eat vegetables such as zucchini, and mine personally loved the algae wafers. If you're Pleco isn't leaving a huge mess of poop everywhere it's a good sign he probably isn't getting enough food.


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## Erotik

3617 said:


> hi i currently have 6 giant danios in my tank and im sure they would produce of algae for my common pleco to eat, so do i have to buy extra food for him? or he doesn't need it since the danios would be providing him poop and such


If you feel like your Pleco isn't getting enough to eat, Algae Wafers won't hurt. And your other fish will more than likely peck off them too.


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## Corwin

lol

and yes you do need to supliment their diet with algae waffers because from what ive heard and read even if your tank was covered in algae the pleco wouldnt get everything it needs from the algae because they are omnivores and need other foods as well, something which the waffers would provide for them.


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## FishMatt

I'll be sure to feed him more. But he has race to the food because all of my cats like them. The algae grazers have meaty food in them too


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## 3617

thank you guys! i'll go buy him some algae wafers now since everybody has it
and by the way i don't know what plecos' poop look like can anyone show me?


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## FishMatt

I don't have picture lol But it's a long string of poo greenish color.


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## SGT Z

Haha, yeah, my pleco makes poop almost as long as a human's before it finally falls off.


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## Revolution1221

FishMatt said:


> I'll be sure to feed him more. But he has race to the food because all of my cats like them. The algae grazers have meaty food in them too


Its good to through one or two discs in there depending on his size right before you turn off the light. They are nocturnal where as the other fish are not so it will give him a much better fighting chance at getting the food he needs!


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## charking

when i had my 14" inch pleco it was hell to try and get all the poop out. i still have bits in my tank now! and hes been gone a month! :/ &&& i syphon the gravel 2ce a week!! i'm pretty sure its not all plec poop tho.. and some of its broken bog wood..


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## FishMatt

Thanks Revolution1221 I don't know why I didn't think of that


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## Revolution1221

FishMatt said:


> Thanks Revolution1221 I don't know why I didn't think of that


no problem matt


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