I've notices that my Plecostomus has picked up the bad habit of latching itself onto my Oscar. He usually tries to do it when I am feeding my Ocsar and I have to knock on the glass to scare him off. The bad thing about doing that is that it scares my poor Oscar too and then he won't eat anymore after that. A few moments ago I went out into the kitchen to turn his light off and say goodnight and I notices that he has injuries in the shape of a half circle. It was probably my Plecostomus. Does anyone know what I can do to stop this?

need to separate them before damage could be done.. plecs won't stop
until it succeeded.... once it taste the slime of an o....

The one thing you can try is keeping the pleco fed to the brim.
Give him a quarter of a zuchinni to keep him busy for the biggest part of the day.
Keep in mind that your pleco may need some sort of meaty food.
Sinking carnivore pellets f.e.

But that will only help so much, and you cannot watch your fish all day and esp. all night.
As much as i like plecos, i'm sorry to say that if a pleco starts developing a habit like that it'll be hard to break...
Rehoming the pleco will be your safest bet, and should be taken in consideration.
Best not to wait until it's too late...
One night may be too much.

If there's anyone on this forum who loves pleco's, it's me, but if my oscars were at risk, i'd know what to do..

Usually this is a sign of underfeeding--although certainly there can be exceptions to the rule and you might just have an aggressive pleco there. Like Noddy said I would make sure he is being well fed. I would try feeding him a wafer and such when I am feeding the oscar and perhaps introduce some food right before lights out every night. If you sink some zucchini or cucumber right before bedtime that should keep him occupied, and if he keeps doing it regardless at least you know its time to rehome.

Can you take a pic of the plec and post it?

Also, what size is the plec and what is your usual feeding routine for him?

oooh golly gosh, hope my pleco dont start that, at the moment all is well, but will keep my eyes open, and watch this thread

He is about 6 inches long. I'm embarressed to say this but I didn't know that you had to feed them. I thought that they fed off of algae

Fightingwings wrote:


There you go. He's starving, and this type of slime coat sucking is very common in those cases. It is not uncommon for owners to think that the algae that exists in a tank can support a pleco...however it is far, far too little nutrients for him on a daily basis even for a smallish pleco, much less a larger species. He will still consume algae in the tank regardless of whether or not you feed him.

Pick up some algae wafers at the pet store, they all have them right next to all the other fish food, and will have a pleco right on the front of the bag...drop in one a day usually at lights out. I would give him 2 or 3 spaced out throughout the day today and at lights out as soon as you get them just to fill him up a tad. Plecos are generally very docile fish, and would much prefer to scavenge peacefully at the bottom rather than engage in predatory behavior--in this case most likely it was done out of desperation.

Also, you should buy some zucchini and cucumber to supplement his diet. I used to give him one of those about twice a week, and remove any leftover skin afterwards. With the zucchini cut them into slices and boil them...then you can drop them in some ice water to cool them off...after that let them dry for a bit then bag them and put them in the freezer for future use. They will last for months.

I would also pick up a veggie clip at the pet store to anchor the slices down somewhere near the bottom where the plec can easily get at it or they will most likely float away. Most all stores have them as well.

I also noticed in your profile that you have an oscar and a pleco in a 29 gallon. You need to try and obtain at least a 55 gallon at minimum for the oscar by himself. Also, if that pleco is of the common pleco variety (as is sold in most stores), he's going to grow another 8 inches or more (yours has probably not grown as fast due to malnourishment) in the span of a year. Those things regularly grow to a foot and a half (or larger). Even in a 55 gallon an oscar and a common pleco are going to be way too big. You can run into more aggression issues in such a small space for both of them, not to mention serious water quality issues down the road.

Pleco (14 inches)

thanx,JP, for stepping in.
I presumed the pleco was fed to begin with.
It's indeed a common mistake , and my(now) biggest pleco survived several years without a specific pleco diet from it's previous owner.
But now you know, so start feeding him and there's still a chamnce he'll leave the oscar alone.

plus there's a chance that you have one of the carnivorous species to begin with.
Then the pleco would need a specific different diet then a "common" pleco.
A picture could help us id him.

but JP is right and tanksize will stay a problem for the fish you have...
Any chance to upgrade to a bigger tank, like right now?
Or more trouble is on the way.

Noddy wrote:


That would be surprising if he had one...aren't they a bit more uncommon in LFS? Like a leopard plec or something?


Sorry to take the thread off topic but Noddy what ar these? L24?

those are the fancy variety of my mustang cactus pleco of the pseudacanthicus family.
Carnivorous indeed.





good example, JP!

It's the scarlet or leopard cactus pleco, L114 and L600, if i'm correct.
or L25...
Man, it's getting late...

johnnyphoenix wrote:

Wow! Those are some cool looking Plecos JP. I bet they would cost a fortune. I have a hard time paying more than 10 bucks for a Pleco, but I may double that for these guys.

cebosound wrote:


30 to 75 euros, depending on size over here where i live.
Mind you, upon introduction into the tank, your other fish will have some serious split fins for some time.
ALL the fins of my fish were messed up within 2 days after i got my cactus pleco.