Anyone with experience with Gold Nugget Plecostomus?

by **Sumthing_Fishy** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:03 am

Hi. I have a gold nugget pleco who basically stays in his tree trunk 24/7. He is always upside sucking the top inside of the trunk, and I never see him get out to eat. I took his tree trunk out of the aquarium and he lied under a piece of driftwood and never came out. I put algea tablets for him to eat, but never see him eat it, and he has not gotten any bigger. I had another gold nugget pleco that was bought as a pair with him, and he died about 2 months after I got him, and he did the same thing. What do you recommend feeding them, and do they all hide all the time? I have had him for about 4 months now, and he is still the same size as when I got him. Thank you.

by **spongebob4460** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:09 am

do u place the algae wafers out at night, before the lights go out? i believe they only come out at night to eat... maybe your other fish are eating it before the pleco has a chance, that used to be my issue, even after lights out.

by **Sumthing_Fishy** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:13 am

I put about 6 algae tablets in and turn the lights out at bedtime. I have 2 common plecos about 12 inches long each that eat them all up, but I never see the gold nugget eat one. I have seen him a few times on the glass slivering around once I took his hiding place out of the aquarium, but didn't eat algae tablet. I heard they take a long time to grow, but how long to grow 1 inch? lol

by **spongebob4460** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:18 am

i'm not sure about their growth habits... maybe try to search www.plecofanatics.com for a similar situation.

by **Poetic_Irony2267** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:20 pm

believe it or not, plecos can be a highly aggressive and territorial fish, he may feel threatened by the pure size of the other common plecos that you have, they are like mini spiny armored vehicles and can and will bully others around, think of them to be like an odd version of cat fish, cat fish can be fairly aggressive in nature, and are extremely territorial especially in a tank situation, this may be the cause of the gnp hiding all the time, and or staking his claim to the territory he has as his own, i know that when i had my cichlid setup that my 16 inch long common pleco would stake his claim in the largest cave and would quite literally run off any fish that came into his area, and i had some pretty mean nasty cichlids, texas cichlid, jack Dempsey... also i would like to add that if your tank size is only 30 gal, your tank is overstocked, the 1 inch per gal rule is deff something to keep in mind, especially when you have a 12 inch common pleco in the tank, it doesn't seem that there is much swim room for a fish that big in a 30 high or even a custom 30 gal long, i also noticed that your tank seems to be a little on the cloudy side in all of your pics, which is an indication that your tank is overstocked, be aware that the silver dollars will get extremely large, and will also outgrow this tank if it's only 30 gallon. i would suggest upgrading to a larger tank where your plecos have more swim room and have the more area to claim as their own, as well as this will improve your water quality.
I hope this helps,
Brandon

by **Sumthing_Fishy** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:47 pm

Thank you. I've been trying to come up with a larger tank, but cost too much money brand new, and can't seem to find a used one in my area. Hate to drive clear across the country for a deal on an aquarium.

I put the gold nugget in a 10 gallon tank by himself with some baby platies, and he stayed hid behind the water pump pipe. If I slid the pump to one side, he would slide with it so he totally is covered by the pipe.

He doesn't seem scared of the big plecostomus, and he will run them out of his tree trunk. He will scurry down from the ceiling of the trunk and meet them at the entry tunnel or the big center hole and they immediately leave. Fish and the cory catfishes can come in, but not the big plecostomus or the other gold nugget I had. He came out and got on the glass when I took that trunk out, and he would stay with the big plecostomus on the glass, hiding almost under them, like under their side fins. When they moved, he moved, and they didn't bother him, and he didn't bother them, but he sure didn't want any other plecostomus in the trunk. I even put him in a baby breeding net with a big flat sea shell, and he hid under it for a few days, and the algae tablet untouched. The only thing I have seen him actually enjoy was a bulb of a plant that he finally ate up. He doesn't eat squash, zuchinni, etc. either.

I had just set up that tank and then took the picture back in September. All those fish came out of a 10 gallon tank, then upgraded to the 30 gallon, but they are all still having babies. I've put most of the females in the 10 gallon tank, but they will still have babies without the male once they have been fertilized. I rinsed out the new aquarium, but did not wipe off the inside glass before I put anything in it, and it took me 2 weeks to realize that water changes, filter changes, and the tank was still hazy that there was a hazy film on the inside of the glass. The water is actually clear in the tank now, but I have to change the filter once a week. I'm trying to get the right light in the room and take an updated picture since the film off the glass is gone.

Thanks for your help.

Anyone with experience with Gold Nugget Plecostomus?

6 posts