Learn What Pleco Eat

Known for their algae-eating feeding habits, pleco is the most-sought-after pet fish for the tanks. They also tend to attach to the glass of your aquarium with the help of their mouths. In the wild, pleco would attach themselves to the surfaces like rocks in their aquatic habitats. There are quite a several species of pleco – found in a variety of different sizes! Grazing in the water, different species of pleco forages specific diet. Typically, pleco are omnivores – feeding on insects, plants, and even vegetables! So what do pleco eat specifically?  We’ll find out in this post. So you’ll have an idea about their varied diet and dietary habits.

Insects, Animals, and Fishes

Depending on what’s available in their environment, pleco would eat almost anything. Their dietary habits include foraging algae as well as some other meat alternatives. Hence, there are insects, worms, and some other fishes that pleco would love to gulp. That being said, pleco eats fish, snails, live fish, guppy, mystery snails, mollies, small fish, and other fish.

Pleco can also detect the presence of small eggs of other fishes. Eggs also make up the diet menu of the pleco if you don’t already know! Pleco eats cichlid eggs, fry, fish eggs, larvae, tadpoles, and mosquito larvae. Besides consuming others’ eggs, pleco eats their fry and their babies as well. Additionally, pleco eats fish poop, fish food, shrimp, and dead fish. Their diet isn’t only inclusive of feeding on fish and their eggs. As for the bugs and worms, pleco eats bloodworm, meat, poop, worms, uneaten food, and leftover food.

Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants

As odd as it may seem, some types of pleco also consume wood along with the algae. While their favorite food remains the algae, pleco eats plenty of other diet options. These provide them with a nutritious diet to help them grow and survive. Plecos eat algae, plants, leaf litter, moss balls, moss, mold, seaweed, and wood. Being the scavengers, plecos can consume a variety of algae found attached to the aquarium and aquatic surfaces.

Plecos eat red algae, brown algae, and algae off glass. Other than these, plecos can devour small and cut-up fruits except the citrus ones. Plecos eat fruit, mushrooms, peas, pellets, pumpkin, potatoes, watermelon, water lettuce, and carrot. And of course, oftentimes, pleco eat their own poop, picking at compounds found in their poop.

What pleco don’t eat?

Certainly, there are a bunch of fish and other feeds that shouldn’t be fed to pleco. Whether they are inhabitants in the aquarium tank or the wild, pleco would avoid eating certain foods. Hence, pleco doesn’t eat catfish, goldfish, koi, neon tetras, planaria, tomato, turtle poop, tetras, water plants, and waste. Their diet should consist of all the required nutrients like fiber, for example. While they can have plenty of other food sources, different species of pleco might differ in their dietary habits. Pleco can enjoy algae, but they also can be fed a specialized diet like algae wafers. Make sure you’re feeding the new addition to the tank – pleco the balanced portion!