big spot gold nugget diet question

[crf50hugo]

I picked up a big spot gold nugget pleco about 3" from my lfs they told me he was eating algae wafers. The tank that it is in is a 120 gallon 4x2x2. It's tank mates are 2 big anglefish, two discus, 9 cory cats and 8 black neon tetras. There was a bsn pleco but think the gold nugget killed it, they fought a lot. Well I see that the nugget goes for the algae wafer but is getting the sucked in belly. I have started to give it zucchini and whole shrimp, now it is eating both. The question is what else can I give it because shrimp is expensive and fowls the water( I do 50% water change every day because of the Discus anyways so it not that big of a deal). I want to try to keep to adulthood. Also can I put more in with it or is that asking for problems? Thanks for the help.

[MatsP]

In nature, these fish probably get a reasonable amount of protein, but it is mixed with large amounts of fiber, as they are "aufwuchs-grazers" - they scrape whatever grows on the surface of rocks and such.

If it's eating well and has a sunken belly, it may be suffering from worms. Medication based on Fluebendazole or Praziquantel is generally useful to combat this.

May I suggest you have a look at this article by Ingo Seidel:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... m+pleco%3F+


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Mats

[crf50hugo]

I read it a few time already

[crf50hugo]

I got a good amount of flow, the return pump is putting out 400 gpm and a powerhead that is pushing 550 gpm. In the sump I got two big air pumps for o2 and the powerhead is angled up for o2 exchange. The nugget is not really shy and the color is bright. I just want to give it a better diet.

[MatsP]

So a mix of vegetables and a little bit of meaty product would be a good thing. Perhaps a "shrimp mix" (Blend a mixture of peas, green beans and shrimp into a paste, and freeze it). I can't give exact proportions, but if you search the web for different recipies, and use about half the recommended amount of shrimp/prawns, it should make a decent recipie, I'd say.

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Mats

[crf50hugo]

Well been a while that the nugget has been on the shrimp and zucchini diet and he seems to go for the shrimp more than the zucchini. Is this a sign that it is lacking something?

[MatsP]

It's probably the same as if you give your kids a bowl of sweets and a bowl of "good food" in front of your kids. The fish will take all the protein it can get, and the kids will eat the sweets as long as there are some there... Neither really knows what is good for them...

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Mats

[crf50hugo]

Ok so I should stop offering shrimp

[MatsP]

Well, once in a while as a treat is fine. But it shouldn't be a large part of the food.

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Mats