L128 - Blue Phantom Feeding

[thinkrevolutionx]

I just picked up 3 juvenile blue phantom plecos from a LFS, I intended to grow them out in a 20 gallon tank so I could add them to my community 150 gallon tank when they were better able to fend for themselves .. but I have been (for a week now) completely unable to get them to eat anything. I've tried cucumber, algae wafers, blood worms, pellets that my other plecos love, zucchini , flakes - you name it, they refuse to eat it. They just scour the walls looking for algae.

Afraid that they would die, i've added them to an established 75 gallon, but I fear for their safety in there. I'd much prefer to have them in their own tank so I could feed them specifically, but it's not working out. In the 75 they are happily eating algae all over the tank, and i'm purposely leaving the lights on extra so they have a decent amount of it.

Any pointers?

[racoll]

Sometimes not feeding for a while is normal, but there are two main concerns here:

(1) the fish are not happy due to the water being too cold, not oxygenated enough, or not having enough hiding places.

(2) the fish are sick and/or starved, which can often be the case with retailers. Check for sunken eyes and belly.

Keeping the lights on longer is good, but not 24/7 at it will stress the fish.

[Linus_Cello]

Yes, it may take some time for them to settle in.
You may want to try garlic extract (supposedly an appetite stimulant), or rubbing cut garlic on the zuchini, wafers etc. I'm a big fan of NLS Thera A+ pellets, which contains garlic.

[Sam]

Hi, I managed to get my juvenile L128s feeding on sweet potato just cooked al dente this lasted just under a week; I then gave jmc high protein tiny pellets which they ravaged.. they moved on to tetra pro vegetable that i'd initially tried first to no avail, they then would accept king brittish cory pellets but completely left my tank algae alone?? hope this helps in future

[Sam]

How did it go? did they feed?
sorry just hoping it worked for you and them

if not then I guess we can't win them all