About two weeks ago I got a bristlenose pleco (Buzz). I also bought him a mopani wood branch because I had read that roughage is important for pleco's digestion. During the first three days or so that he was in my tank, Buzz did a great job cleaning up algae. Then he discovered his mopani wood and since then he has done nothing but slurp on his branch and churn out mopani wood poops (lots and lots and lots). Meanwhile brown algae is regrowing on the tank sides and ornaments.

Any thoughts about how to handle this? Is the wood critical, or can I take it out for a while?

Hmm, I don't know anything about plecos, but I would think that you could just take it out for awhile. Put it back when he needs a special treat!

You could probably store the mopani in a bucket/tub with tank water.

i have the same problem only i have a clown pleco, the only thing he contributes to the tank is his waste

My pleco never ate algae, no matter what
You could take the branch out and see what happens, just give him some other food as well (cucumber is great)

Pleco's do not eat brown algae unless they are starving, it's not really part of their proper diet. They also do not eat blue/green algae that forms in little dots and is extremely hard to remove.

Your pleco is probably sucking on the wood because it is hungry and that is all there is to eat. Leave the wood in the tank and purchase some algae wafers and bottom feeder pellets, Nutrafin has a brand of bottom feeder basic pellets that plecos love, it even has a pic of a pleco on the container, lol. They also like sinking shrimp pellets by Wardley. Also like peas and cucumber, pumpkin and sweet potato.

One tank is not enough to keep a pleco going on algae alone. I used to swap my pleco around several tanks to keep him fed.

Brown algae is a stage that tanks go through before they are totally mature, I'm guessing your tank has been established less than a year, the only way to deal with it is to physically wipe it off the glass and wash the ornaments. It's a pain in the rear but once you have passed the brown algae stage it doesn't return. Good luck.

That is good to know about plecos not liking brown algae. I do have some Omega One veggie rounds that I have been feeding him every two to three days -- they seem quite large relative to his body size. Would it be more appropriate to break one into pieces and feed some every day?

I am also curious to know about the brown algae being a stage that immature tanks go through. What causes it, and what finally makes it go away?

Yes your pleco will appreciate some food each night. They are grazers in the wild and are constantly looking to suck on something while they are awake. You may be suprised at how much they can eat in one night. Try breaking it into little bits and each night give him some, if its all gone in the morning you can try to give a little larger piece the next night. This way you will learn how much he likes to eat each night.

Good advice from kusackaid.

I'm not sure how or why brown algae comes before the green algae or why it never seems to return once green algae has started. All I know is that it is part of tank maturing. Check out the forums on water quality and tank maintenance to see if you can find any useful info, if not you can start a new thread about it.