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Hi there... I have recently been given a sailfin pleco but i have no idea how to feed it or wether he eats at all I have bought some algea table and high spectrum food tablets for ground dwelling fish. I put 3 tablet of each food everynight but I think that my severums or the other inhabitants get to it before he does... in addition I have noticed that since I have been feeding him my water has become cloudy. can some offer me some advice... he is too cool and i want him to be right at home in my tank...
any help will be appreciated

If your water has become cloudy than you need to not feed as much! They are nocturnal so try feeding him/her after the lights are out!

Try some cucumber (zucchini) - they love it. Lettuce works too but you need to 'scrunch it up' first.

Lettuce is low in nutritional value, and plus, sailfins don't usually go for the stuff. Also, I'm not sure what exactly you speak of, because sailfins will eat just about anything. Blanched veggies, dead fish, flake, pellet, algae (moreso when young--once they hit 6"ish or so they seem to shrug of their algae eating duties), peas...the list just goes on and on. Severums, being inherently messy eaters, will likely leave enough leftovers for the plec to get by. Supplement his diet with fresh veggies every now and then, driftwood, and an occasional blackworm/brine shrimp treat.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Klee 2004-08-02 09:53][/span]

My bn will eat frozen bloodworms you could try them.

My sailfin eats algae tablets stuck to the side of the glass of a night time she also likes blanched zuccini as well as blanched pumpkin although sometimes you don't need to blanch the pumpkin i've heard but i do just in case. My sailfin also likes the blood worms as well as nibbling on mealie worms. She also LOVES driftwood so make sure that you have some in your tank it's vital for their health.
Hope this helps.

Thank you for the great advice... Is driftwood part of their diet? or is it just something they use to knaw (if thats what they do) I have plenty of driftwood he basically stays stuck to it all the time I have tried bloodworm and brine... but again i have not seen him eat but he has grown a little bit...I will try peas

yes i think it is part of there diet. You could try shrimp pellets with the tank light out and the room light on you might have a chance to see him.

i used to get worried about my sailfin not eating but as he has gone from being about an inch and a half big to being about 9 inches big, i feel i have done something right Now though i see him munching on cucumber every single time it goes into the tank he is there eating it all up and not leaving any for any one else, its really cute.

How long have u had the sailfin?

My Sailfin has been around close to a month now (3 weeks I think) at first he was only around a conner of my tank but now he seems to venture out a lot more... I am really impressed with this catfish he looks awesome and I cant wait to see him increase in size he is currently around 2"... How fast do they grow? does anyone know?

People argue over sizes a lot, but I know for a fact I've seen one that was at least a foot and a half long. They probably max in the home aquarium at like, 20ish inches.

Hey Necio I'm pretty sure that the growth rate is fairly slow. I've got Salmon Catfish and by the time they are 2yrs old they should be about 2 and a half foot (apparently) When i got my sailfin they warned me only to keep it in the tank with the salmons up until the time that it would fit into the salmon's mouth as food. I was told that while Salmon catfish have a fairly quick growth rate, the sailfin was only about half of the salmon's. I don't know if this is any help or if this advice is even correct, just what the LFS told me when i got mine. I've had my sailfin for about 3 months and i'd say she's probably grown about half an inch to an inch roughly.

thanks Angel2211.
Yesterday I notice that the sail or dorsal fin was a bit tatered or bitten, I think my have been one of the severums (I Hope coz, i will be very devastated if he is sick). Does anyone know any health issues that this marvelous fish my have...

hey, iv had the same problem feeding my pepermint bristle nose that are in my green horse face tank too. but wat iv done which works great is turn all the lights out & wait 5-10mins, then throw in the algea tablet.

i use my mobile phone as a torch LOl (works great too)& the pepermints are out & about munching on thier tablets

hey That's a great idea skunk... I might just try your technique