BN Poop Machines

[Second Hand Pat]

I recently bought some L183's from John to help clean the DW in my 100 gallon tank. While they did a good job on the wood I find I need to vacuum the poop from the tank nightly. These guys are really dirty fish.

[dbfzurowski]

Like all plecos all they do is eat(clean) and poop:)

[Apistomaster]

A small power head aligned to stream along the bottom will help break up their droppings and get them into the water column where the primary filter(s) will remove them.
I raise hundreds of plecos and their tank bottoms are not covered with their droppings.
Discus enjoy a little current and even a small power head like a MaxiJet 400 or 600 will help set up enough current to help reduce the accumulation of droppings where they are noticeable.

[Jennie]

I know, seems redundant to own them

[cgronko]

yeah they poo alot!!

[ericatdallas]

Yeah, I got rid of my plecos (not BN - gave it to the LFS) because of the poop strings. Although I regret it now b/c they kept the tank pretty clean of algae. I just don't turn on the lights right now but I'll probably get some otocinclus to handle it. I have two nerite snails that can't keep up...

[Apistomaster]

Discus keepers seem to be obsessed on fish droppings whether it is the color, texture or accumulation droppings seem to be a big deal.
This seems a bit abnormal to me.

[LizStreithorst]

Discus keepers seem to be obsessed on fish droppings whether it is the color, texture or accumulation droppings seem to be a big deal.
This seems a bit abnormal to me.

I don't understand it either. I vacuum the bottom with every WC anyway. I'd way rather be sucking up poo than wiping down glass.

[Second Hand Pat]

It only takes me about three mins to vacuum the poop. I have the pump returns directed so I get two piles on either end of the tank. I remove about a teaspoon worth. I may try the small power head idea. Also this tank (100 gal) is only getting one WC a week. It currently contains no discus, just dither fish.

[stanlee]

is there any hardworking pleco best suitable for discus tanks , or an alternative which is not so pooh pooh while in the tank?
cheers

[Apistomaster]

is there any hardworking pleco best suitable for discus tanks , or an alternative which is not so pooh pooh while in the tank?
cheers

This is a bit like building a perpetual motion machine. Laws of physics prevent them.
Any fish which eats must excrete. The algae eating and wood eating species of plecos can be very messy. The Ancistrus cf cirrhosus aka common Bushy nose is an example of the former and Panaque species are examples of the latter. Then there are meat eating types like I breed which do not need to eat so much bulk and therefore they produce smaller less noticeable droppings and they are great for cleaning up left over discus foods. Much better in fact than Corydoras but all living animals produce waste.

I use common Ancistrus and have some very large old breeders yet I do not have messy tank bottoms.
I also use much more current in my tanks including my discus tanks than most of you and as I explained before , when you have enough current the circulation will tend to lift waste off the bottom where it is more easily drawn into the filters. One other approach which helps is that since I use one or two large Bushy noses in large Discus tanks as my algae eaters I also keep groups of either Hypancistrus spp or Peckoltia compta(L134), both are primarily carnivorous small Plecos. They will break up the waste of the Bushy noses as they work the bottom seeking bits of left over Discus food and this has the same effect of breaking down fish droppings until they are small and light enough for the filters to remove them. I have both mechanical circulation and fish activity which tends to prevent the accumulation of visible droppings.

[Altum Nut]

I have to agree with Larry totally on this one.
I have L183 White Seam Plecos, and yes they do poop...however that poop is mainly the wood they are eating as being part of thier main diet.
I too direct a power head to one side so that it builds up in one spot and suck it up during my w/c.

...Ralph

[2wheelsx2]

So for the people who think BN's are poop machines, do you not have to vacuum poop from your discus tanks? Just wondering why it makes a difference if you're already vacuuming and cleaning your discus tanks every/2-3 times a week?

[Altum Nut]

I think people who are not that familier with keeping plecos had concerns about water fouling between water changes with the amount of extracted fecal matter they give off.
So the answers were provided simply to give them ease of mind just in case a particular routine w/c was missed.

...Ralph

[2wheelsx2]

Thanks Ralph. It just surprised me that people are concerned about pleco poop when I see how much poop the discus generate. I guess it's because in proportion, plecos generate more waste for their size because of the requirement of high fiber diets.

[BABYJIZAY]

Yeah, I got rid of my plecos (not BN - gave it to the LFS) because of the poop strings. Although I regret it now b/c they kept the tank pretty clean of algae. I just don't turn on the lights right now but I'll probably get some otocinclus to handle it. I have two nerite snails that can't keep up...

Nerite snails are ok to keep with discus?

[fishorama]

I'm considering a BN plec to keep with discus. I really like the job my BN in a non-discus tank does keeping driftwood clean. I would appreciate less glass cleaning with discus, my least favorite chore. As long as my Python can suck up the poo & I can feel confident introducing ANY other fish safely to my discus, I'm in.

I have fairly soft water & lost my nerite snail in a shrimp tank while gone for a week (shrimp too). I don't know if it starved or what but I'd like to know more too. Other than smaller poo bits, I don't know they'd be any more effective in tank cleaning...