Aren't algae eaters Plecos?

[lpstong]

Plecos I have seen look like algae eaters to me. I even looked up on wikipedia.org to make sure. And the plecos still look like algae eaters to me. Is there a difference? Here is the link for wikipedia on


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_pleco

[rebelagent]

They look like an algae eater to me. They even state that they eat the algae. They even state they eat other things also. And I gues there are several types of species of the common pleco.

[William]

Plecos do eat algae but are not the fish that is named algae eater. The name algea eaters actually refers to the species Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. You can read about by Gyrinocheilus aymonieri by visitng the link below :

Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/universal-viewid165.html)

I am however sure that many people call their plecos algae eaters even if this isn't entirely correct.

[rev]

William. Many sp. of plecos survive solely on algae or rather the micro-organisms found within. Other sp. rely on algae for part of their diet & some, eg Panaque sp. rely nearly entirely on wood for their diet & should be steered away from protein rich (meaty) foods as it will shorten their lifespan.

[William]

very true. I might have narrowed it down a bit to much when I tried to state that that the Hypostomus plecostomus wasn't the fish commonly called algea eaters (often chinese algea eaters) and made it span more species than I meant it to.

You should as rev states always research the needs of your type of pleco and their dietery needs.

[rev]

always research the needs of your type of pleco and their dietery needs.

Well said. :lol: :lol: :lol: