Is my plec eating all my guppies?


They are either dying of a mysterious death or the plec is hunting them down.

Now, I know that the plec will eat them once dead, but will they predate on them?


Should I remove the plec, and if so what is a good size aquarium for him to growth healthly.

Thanks

Rachel..... :whistle:

Yes, it's possible. Plecos are omnivores and have been known to eat careless neon tetras and other small fishes. If you witness your pleco attacking or chasing your fish around, the pleco isn't being provided with enough food. Supplement him with algae wafers, slices of cucumber, or zucchini. :)

How large is your fish and your tank?

I had a Pleco eat half of my neons, they wait until the other fish go to sleep then they pounce and gulp.

Almost any fish will eat fish that fit in it's mouth.

nice glaive sounds about right, but yeah when the fishies go to sleep in plecos favorite places i wouldent be surprised at the ocasional casualty.

The truth is a bit weirder, i can break "plec" down as thus:

Panaques, these guys eat mostly vegetation and get big, they require wood in their diet to aid digestion and are much less likely to predate on other fish

Peckolita, these guys require more protein in their diet than other locarids and will likely prey on careless fish, however these guys tend to be smallish fish and prefer molluscs as they cant swim away

Pleco (typically hypancisterous species) are omnivores and large fish to boot, they are mostly nocturnal and will consume fish that are "asleep" at the bottom of the tank if the chance arrises, but dont get me wrong they arent super predators, just greedy and opportunistic, if fed correctly they tend to be quite harmless, just that most fish keepers dont give them a true varied diet with protein in!