Top Rated Food for Your Plecos – Reviews & Guide
If you’re on the lookout for the best food for plecos yet your time is limited, you might want to check this post to find out more about the best plecos food available for sale. Based on reviews of food for plecos fish and the features offered by some of the critically acclaimed products in this line, we have concluded that the Tetra Wafers is the first option to consider because it offers a complete diet for plecos in a formula that won’t cloud the water. The food sinks, which renders it ideal for plecos. If this item is unavailable, you might want to consider the API Premium.
Comparison table
Our Top Choice
This food can provide your pet fish with the complete diet for algae-eaters. Plus, it has a clear water formula and, therefore, you won’t have to clean the tank more often. According to the seller, this product is the ideal choice for bottom feeders.
Some buyers have argued that this product is likely to cloud the water. Still, there have not been numerous reviewers that considered this a major drawback of the food.
The length of the wafers included in the deal is of 4 millimeters. Because it is rich in beneficial ingredients, this option can provide your pet with the necessary nutrition.
2nd Best
This alternative was formulated to include a rich blend of ingredients that are highly nutritious and healthy. Also, it features algae and Omega-3 fatty acids that fish need for optimal growth and development. It does not cloud the water.
There have been owners that pointed out that this choice is rather smelly when compared to similar alternatives. Yet, it should be said that not many noted this issue.
This kind of food promotes less waste and it produces up to 30% less ammonia. According to the manufacturer, you should feed it to your pet twice a day, in accordance with its needs.
Also To Consider
If you need a product that can help your pet stay in shape for a long time, you should consider this item. The food contains alder cones and willow bark, and it is regarded as a great pick for catfish. These chips sink quickly and become smooth in the water.
A rather small percentage of users remarked that the product might not be liked by all fish. However, this has nothing to do with its quality and overall benefits.
Although these chips gain a new consistency when they come into contact with water, the seller argues that they can keep their shape for up to 24 hours. They do not pollute the tank.
5 Best Plecos Foods (Reviews) in 2021
Since finding good food for plecos fish might take time and get challenging considering the many options on the market, we have gathered a list of plecos food reviews to help you choose the right one for your fish with greater ease.
1. Tetra 16448 TetraVeggie Algae Wafers
Since pleco fish are algae eaters, you need to make sure their diet includes such foods. That’s what Tetra had in mind when formulating the TetraVeggie Algae Wafers. Committed to providing your fish with a healthy vegetable variety, this product contains vital nutrients that will keep your fish at peak health.
The all-vegetable food is based on a concentrated algae center offering high levels of fibers. The health of pleco fish is further improved thanks to the ProCare blend that combines vitamins, immunostimulants, Omega-3 fatty acids, and a biotin supplement. All these ingredients will boost the fish’s immune system and, thus, its resistance to disease.
The 2-in-1 algae food is ideal for bottom feeders as it sinks. Given this aspect, it won’t cloud the water. The wafers have a length of 0.15 inches and a diameter of 0.62-0.74 inches. The product is available in 3 sizes and comes with a resealable bag for easy storage and use.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($4.26)
2. API Algae eater Wafers Algae
Formulated to ensure that your pleco fish get quality nutrients and enjoy enhanced absorption, the Premium Algae Wafer from API is another product you might want to consider. Including a nutrient-rich blend to provide plecos with a balanced and complete diet, this formula promises to improve the fish’s health while keeping the water in the aquariums clean.
The unique protein it contains ensures enhanced absorption as well as easy uptake of nutrients. Less ammonia is released so the water stays cleaner and, thus, the environment in which the fish live healthier. The Omega-3 fatty acid content promotes healthy growth and strong health.
The product also contains Spirulina, which is a good source of raw protein, minerals, and vitamins. It provides the fish with major vitamins including vitamins A, B1, B12, C, E, as well as minerals, and garlic powder. It is ideal for tetra, angelfish, and cichlids. It is also part of betta foods working great as a goldfish food as well.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($6.62)
3. Sera Catfish-Chips
The fish foods you go for will affect your fish’s health negatively or positively. To make sure your pleco fish get the nutrients they need to stay in great shape, Sera has formulated the Catfish Chips Wafers. By combining various ingredients that meet different nutritional needs, this product promises to help your plecos develop healthily and maintain a good digestion.
The food contains quality willow bark fibers and alder cones that will ensure the fish get what they need to enjoy a strong health. The chips are ideal for bottom feeders as they sink quickly. Even if they become smooth when in water, they maintain their shape for 24 hours. Thus, the food is perfect for nocturnal fish that eat slowly.
The formula will further help the fish meet their natural feeding habits and will keep the water in the aquarium clean and an environment that is clean is also healthy. It can be used for Ancistrus fish as well.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($12.17)
4. Xtreme Aquatic Foods 2171-F
If you want a formula that is free of preservatives and hormones and provides your plecos with quality ingredients to support healthy growth, you might want to check the 2171-F Cat Scrapers Fish Food from Xtreme Aquatic Foods. The product was made with the nutritional needs of plecos in mind and, thus, combines key nutrients to keep such fish vital and healthy.
The product is based on the blue-green algae Spirulina that is a great source of raw protein, minerals, and proteins, also considered one of the healthiest things to eat. Since this is a popular food among fish, many products include it given its various health benefits.
It also includes wood ingredients and Green Pea to encourage the natural eating habits of pleco fish. The wafers dissolve slowly so your fish can feed whenever they feel like doing so and have a diameter of 0.51 inches. It is ideal for bottom feeders.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($36.99)
5. Aquatic Foods Inc. Wafers of Algae & Spirulina
Another option you might want to keep in mind before hitting the button order is the Veggie Wafers from Aquatic Foods. Specifically formulated for algae eaters, this product delivers a blend of quality vegetables perfect for plecos, catfish, shrimp, marine fish, and even snails. It is committed to increasing digestibility, palatability, and coloration.
The food offers a well-balanced and complete diet that will promote healthy gill, fin, and tissue development. The ingredients used include wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, beet, parsley, dried kelp, fish meal, carrot, celery, and lettuce, just to name a few. They are highly digestible and provide the fish with various key nutrients.
Plus, the Spirulina it contains is an important source of minerals, vitamins, and proteins that together contribute to the overall well-being of the fish. As it usually happens with wafers, some of them might take longer to sink while others will reach the bottom of the aquarium quickly. The product was formulated to reduce waste, however.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($18.69)
Our Comprehensive Buying Guide
The market is quite generous when it comes to fish foods, which is great and challenging at the same time. The richness of products might make the whole shopping a bit difficult. To simplify your decision-making process, we have highlighted a few factors you should keep in mind to get the right food for your plecos.
What to feed Pleco fish
Pleco fish are bottom feeders and have a diet that is mostly vegetarian. However, in order to make sure they get what they need to develop healthily and stay in shape, you need to go for a diet that consists of around 15% protein and 85% plant matter.
You can prepare their food yourself by simply cutting some vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, cabbage leaves, cucumber, zucchini, or peas and anchoring them to the bottom of the aquarium. If you don’t always have the time to take care of that, you will need to make sure you supplement their diet with specifically formulated foods.
Ingredients
Since most part of their diet is vegetarian, you will have to focus on foods that are based on vegetables. Even if you feed them fresh vegetables you cut yourself, you will still need some supplements to make sure the fish meet all of their nutritional needs.
You might want to opt for a food that includes wood products or go for driftwood to provide them with fibrous matter. This will also act as another space where algae can grow. Some plecos fish will need meaty foods as well for a well-balanced diet.
Slow or fast sinking wafers?
You will see that most foods for plecos come in the form of wafers that sink. Some of them sink slowly while others will reach the bottom of the aquarium quickly. Pleco fish are bottom feeders and they rarely feed at the surface. It is best to go for wafers that will sink fast.
You might also look for wafers that get smooth when in water but do not dissolve rapidly. This way, you can ensure that the fish have enough food to eat when they are hungry and you will encourage the natural eating habits of nocturnal bottom feeders.
Live and frozen foods
In case you have Bristlenose Pleco fish and you intend to breed them, you might want to encourage them by introducing live and frozen foods into their diet. You can go for blackworms, bloodworms, and daphnia. Opt for formulas that sink quickly, though.
Such foods are not essential when it comes to the Bristlenose Plecos diet. They should be introduced only when you want to breed them. Wafers and pellets that are plant-based and vegetables should be enough to keep the plecos full and healthy. They will also feed on the algae in your aquarium acting as aquarium cleaners. If they start to eat the plants in it, though, it is a sign they are not fed well.
