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I recently bought a bulldog(rubernose) pleco for my 33 gallon cichlid tank(2 or 3 weeks ago). I added him to the tank and within a week he had the whole tank cleaned up. Then came the issue of feeding him in the mean time. I tried adding sinking algae wafers at night but the other cichlids still seemed to get at them at eat them before he could. I would go and check with a small led light to see what is going on. Since then he has been added to a planted ten gallon tank on his own where zucchini, algae wafers and dried seaweed have all been tried and he still does not go for them. All he does is scan the glass for non existent algae all day. I can tell he is not eating as i have not seen him poop in over a week which is very unusual for any pleco. Any advice on how to get him to eat would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Might have to resort to pet rocks, ie pebbles in a tub of tankwater , left on a window and left to go green. Not all fish will take artificial foods, or substitutes, although eventually most will. Could well be he doesnt like a competitive feeding suitation, and maybe therefore hes not especially suited to that particular community.

lhg has a good solution while you try to wean him onto different foods. Some algae-eater keepers do in fact purposely grow algae by keeping pebbles or rocks in water on your windowsill. It appears to be a very efficient algae eater so I wouldn't be too worried about plaguing your tank with algae.

I haven't kept this species but am surprised you can't get it to feed, because fish that I see as often at the LFS as the bulldog plec are usually easy to feed with processed foods. I'm even more surprised that the zucchini didn't work; how long did you leave it in there? I left a piece of cucumber in with my plec overnight and it absolutely demolished it. This morning I found just the skin tied to the rock.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I had this same problem with my rubberlip, he wouldn't touch anything I put in the tank. Eventually after continuing to put wafers, and fruits and veggies in the tank everyday he realized this stuff was his and now he eats everything I put in there. He also got over his shy spell and is always out of his cave, he's a great little addition to my community tank!

Justin

Colts Fan For Life
30g platy tank: 2 sunburst wag platys, 2 redtailed white calico platys, 2 red wag platys, 1 fry(not sure who it belongs to), 1 Golden CAE.
Bettas:1 VT male

Not all animals, especially wild caught fish (and limnivores at that), are so receptive to new feeding techniques. Try some finely mashed peas and flake scattered across the substrate to stimulate biofilm. Otherwise, check the temperature, if it is above 80, try tuning it down some.