Re: pl*cs

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: pl*cs
From: Mick Nally <mick at roch-inst_co.uk>
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 08:43:47 +0000 (GMT)
In-Reply-To: <199512012039.PAA17453 at looney_actwin.com> from "Aquatic-Plants-Owner at actwin_com" at Dec 1, 95 03:39:02 pm

Pl*cs nad plants.

>> <<As long as people are defending fish, I thought I'd defend this one [mine]
>> have never had any interest in any of my plants at all.  I would think
>> that, providing that they can munch on enough sinking veggie food, they
>> wouldn't bee too keen on plants, because they can't "attach" to them

> In my experience, there are a few plants that will get chowdered by pl*cos,
> and the rest are left alone (unless no food is given).  That is why I usually
> try a "sacrificial plant" before I introduce a lot of anything into my tanks!
>  My fellas were raised on beet greens, in large part, but in spite of my
> rather light feeding regime they still don't go for the plant leaves.

My own pl*c has grown from 3" to 10" in about 2 1/2 years. It does a good job
of cleaning the glass and eating algae off large plant leaves. I've never 
actually seen it eating plants but it is now a large and very strong fish so
most of the damage it does is through its clumsiness. It quite often digs up 
plants when it is foraging for food and I find it very difficult to introduce 
new plants because they can't be left undisturbed long enough to allow their
roots to take hold.

Despite all that it is a fine fish.

Mick