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are algea waffers nessesary in a new tank of i an keeping a pleco in it, if so, how long do i have to feed them the waffers

Yes, especially if its a new tank (because there is no algae in a new tank). Even after your tank becomes established, you should still feed your pleco an occassional wafer, along with a few veggies, like zuchini.

"I am a believer in punctuality, though it makes me very lonely" EV Lucas

The plec has to eat somehow.

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

Yes, they do need something to eat, and there is nothing better than Hikari Algae Wafers Trust me with a new tank s/he'll need them, and even when the tank is established s/he will appreciate them And as it's been said, some veggies are always welcome as well just nuke them a bit (20 seconds?) till they are just barely softer than normal and then let them cool, or run them under cool water and uh drop them in the tankif they don't sink shove a fork in themoh and cut the veggie so the pleco can get to the innardsheidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Actually it depends on you're pleco. All of the above members forgot this, but not all plecs eat algae. Zebra plecs eatmeat (ie. bloodworms). Granted this isn't a common plec, but other ones like clown plecs and their relatives rasp off of driftwood.

If you are going feed veggies like zuchinni and cucumber, be sure to remove the seeds. They can make a mess and generally aren't eaten.

You can keep feeding him wafers for ever, but i recommend to give him a variaty of foods, from vegetables to sinking pellets. You can also leave a rock in the water in the sun for a few days & Algae will grow & then you can put the rock in your tank & the Pleco will eat the Algae.


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Ive noticed that newly introduced otto's ocassionally have issues with the recognition of tablet foods and wafers, particularly if you already have large plecs or siamese flying foxes the otto's may be too nervous to approach the sometimes rather brusque behaviour the feeding site.

But theres no need to panic, simply pour a little tank water on a dish and park it directly on top of the drip trays under the lights and in about three days it will probably grow some algae, thusly you will have something to feed to your otto it can recognise quite quickly.

another tip with otto's is to provide large leaved plants like echinoda's which rapidly reach the surface of the water thusly attracting a bit of algal growth at the top of the leaves , because otto's are lightly bodied and can adhere to the leaves it gives them a reliable foodsource that other fish find difficult to get to. I keep plecs, siamese flying foxes and amano shrimp, and without echinodas keeping ottos would probably not be practical in an aquarium where algae is competed for. In addition ottos, are very voracious and if you do scrape algae from the rear of your tank, now would be the time to stop.