Will clown plecos eat shrimp? Is raw or cooked better?

[bekateen]

Hi All,

I've read that some plant- and wood-eating plecos like to eat an occasional shrimp, and this helps them get into condition for spawning. I'd like to try this with my clown plecos (

Panaqolus maccus

), but (A) I don't know if clowns eat shrimp (see below) and (B) I don't know what kind of shrimp to use. I've read several threads which say feeding both raw and cooked shrimp is okay. But is one better than the other? Does it not matter? And does the type of shrimp matter? I have some cooked "cocktail shrimp" (see photo), and twice I've placed one (after thawing and rinsing it) in the tank with my clowns, and so far neither shrimp has been touched.

Thanks for your help,
Eric

[Shane]

I have used both raw and cooked to feed fish and have not seen any difference. That said, I am not sure your panaquitos will eat it. My group is spawning on a steady diet of wood. I do throw in some earthworm sticks 1-2 times a week. I am sure they do not need anything but wood, but throwing in occasional food makes me feel better.
-Shane

[stuby]

I'm not much help with feeding clown plecs shrimp. I feed mine 5 to 6 days a week on a mix of pellets.... and the wood that they so love. Mine breed all the time too..... some protein is fine in their diet but I wouldn't feed shrimp myself. I would be afraid it wouldn't be good for them.... I do feed other plecs shrimp, brine and regular sometimes just not any of the panaquitos sp.

Chuck

[bekateen]

Thanks, Shane and Chuck. As I mentioned, so far my clowns haven't touched the shrimp. I've got 5 pieces of three different kinds of wood in that tank, and every morning I can see where the clowns polished parts of the wood clean of its biofilm (aufwuchs, slime, whatever), so I don't believe they lack for food. And I imagine that they may pick at any uneaten flakes, pellets, or live tubifex I offer my C141, the only other residents in this 15 gal tank. So perhaps the shrimp are a totally unnecessary addition.

But so far not one hint of spawning. Maybe I should try @jac 's idea of crushed oyster shells to raise the tank's calcium levels rather than worrying about food. I should also try to rephotograph the fish, to confirm that i have a mixed sex group and that they are in good condition. The last time I posted pics, folks thought I had two males and a female; I've since bought one more, hopefully female.

Cheers, Eric

[Shane]

What are you using for spawning caves? Also, mine are by far more reproductive when in a sp tank.
-Shane

[catfishchaos]

My 4 shred down zucchini and I do see them eat the blood worms and carnivore pellets I feed my L134, you can tell if they ate them because they will be bloated like balloons.

[bekateen]

My 4 shred down zucchini and I do see them eat the blood worms and carnivore pellets I feed my L134, you can tell if they ate them because they will be bloated like balloons.

About once every 7-10 days, I'll stick a wedge of sweet potato, zucchini, or cucumber in the tank. In the past I've seen evidence that they've eaten some veggie, but for the most part, they ignore these too and I typically end up removing uneaten veggies the next day or so.

What are you using for spawning caves? Also, mine are by far more reproductive when in a sp tank.

For spawning caves, currently I'm using four natural bamboo tubes, 1" diameter x 5 - 6" long, closed at one end (one tube for each clown pleco). In the past I had 1" diam PVC and 1.5" diam ABS plastic pipes (again, closed at one end), but the clowns seem to like the bamboo, so I took the ABS and PVC out (I'm using those with my albino BNs now, which have spawned in these four times since February). There are also many nooks and crannies created by the different pieces of driftwood and a couple of pieces of slate rock in the tank.

On your previous advice, Shane, I removed most of the gravel substrate (there's only a thin layer now, just to cover the bottom) and the tank is covered on 3 sides by black paper for privacy. Temperature 80F; pH 6.3; TDS ~200-300; ammonia and nitrites, 0; nitrates, 20. Other details of the tank, including the presence of a Hydor Koralia nano recirculating pump and an airstone, were described in another thread (viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41417).

Originally, I had a few

Apistogramma agassizii

in with the clowns, but those were removed quickly. Then I had the clowns alone for a few months and nothing had happened yet. I added the

C141

in March when I returned from a trip away from home and had managed to find a couple of C141 in a pet store far from home; I didn't have another tank for the C141, so after quarantine I put them in here. Ironically, the C141 spawned once soon after entering the tank; sadly, none of the eggs hatched and the C141 haven't spawned again since.

Cheers, Eric
P.S., Please pardon the condition of the tank in the photos - it's time for a vacuuming.
P.P.S., If the clowns don't want the shrimp, I'll just feed it to my kids. They don't sleep in bamboo pipes, but they like shrimp! No harm, no foul! LOL

[stuby]

Clown plecs take patience to breed..... I had mine for a couple years before they started breeding and I think the guy that had them before me had them for a couple years also. How big are they and how long have you had them?

Chuck

[bekateen]

The newest, youngest I've had for only 2-3 months. It may still be a subadult. The other three are shown in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41320. One I've owned for over 2.5 years, the other two I've owned for half a year. I can't tell you current SL for any one of them because I almost never catch them out of their caves.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

How big are they and how long have you had them?

Hi Chuck,

While cleaning my tank today, I was able to lure all four clowns out of their tubes for new photos and SL measurements. I posted the results on my other thread about sexing clown plecos: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41320&p=286833#p286830.

Cheers, Eric

[stuby]

Tank you, very nice and fat guys and gals! I would say they are big/old enough to breed by the looks of them...... all I do to get mine to breed is do a large (~50%) water change after a week or so or no water changes. There is a slight drop in temp and TDS with the large water change... nothing to drastic.

Chuck

[bekateen]

Thank you, Chuck; yes they are little pudges, aren't they? And that's mainly on just a wood diet. Do you agree I have 2 males and 2 females?

My normal water change routine is one big water change (about 60%) once per week. The aquarium is refilled with only cold tapwater, dropping the aquarium temp from 80F to 74F. As with my other tanks, the water is dechlorinated with Seachem Prime and pH-adjusted with a mixture of SeaChem's Neutral Regulator and Discus Buffer (1:2 ratio). On weeks where I hope to stimulate spawning, I don't plug the heater in; the temperature rises slightly from 74F to 76-78F naturally within a day, but won't go back up to 80F without the heater. If I don't get a spawn, then after a few days I plug the heater in and start again a week or two later.

[stuby]

Fish #3 may be a female as well..... I don't see much fur on that one, but I do agree on the rest. Have you seen any of the females trying to get in the males cave or hanging around his cave at all?? Sometimes if you have to many females they fight over breeding rights and they never seem to get it done.... if you have another tank try pulling the two other clowns out leaving the male and the best female.
I never go to that extreme on cool water changes..... temp may drop 3 to 4 degrees and goes back up. I heat the room and that is around 80 to 82.... tank temp depends on where it is in the room and rack.

Chuck

[bekateen]

I often see one female at a time loitering around the caves of others, but maybe not the male's cave. But usually all four fish are alone in separate caves. As I mentioned above, within a day (probably hours) of adding water, it's back up to 76-78F. That's only 2-4F below normal temp of 80F.