plecos & fry

[vancat]

Hi all
will (or can) small plecos eat free swimming fry? I suspect they would eat eggs, but they can't get into the cave to do that. They always seem to be hanging around near mom & the kids....
vancat

 

[aspen]

i have seen royal plecos and bushynose plecos eat eggs, but i'm not sure whether they can get fry. i don't believe that an apisto could defend against any decent sized pleco, say over 3" that was determined to get into their cave.

rick

 

[vancat]

the hole in the flowerpot is way too small for him to get in there. and the pleco is only a little over 2" long. so they (2 plecos) can't get the eggs. as proven by the swarms of fry that are hatching.

i didn't think they had whatever it takes to capture moving prey either- it's just that they always seem to come around the fry. maybe they are after the BBS and decaps i'm feeding the fry...?

vancat