Royal feeding. when do feed?

henward · Post by **henward** » 14 Apr 2012, 06:32

i recently been feeding my royals at night, last few days, i switched to day time feeds.
they dotn seem to come out much, only a couple.
their stomachs are usually full and rounded, but today, they are quite 'deflated' and not a nice round bump. probably indicating they are not eating in the middle of the day.

shold i revert back to night feeds?
i mean i dont have to force them to eat during the day, i am happy dropping jbl novo plec when its lights out when they all come out and just swim around.

what od you think?
stick to night feeds?

plecomanpat · Post by **plecomanpat** » 14 Apr 2012, 19:48

There are factors to consider...what are the tank mates? How many royals are there....size differences....genetics...as some are more aggressive than others. I have several different tanks with royals of different varieties...I feed daytime and nightime, a varied diet of mostly fresh veggies and occasionally bloodworms or mysis,etc. They all " come out of the woodwork " at feeding time, some jockeying for position but nothing maor as far as scraps go...as I have noticed that the panaques are somewhat docile compared to for instance the Leporacanthicus, or pseudos. If night feeds work for you and keep your plecs happy and healthy...then yes by all means. ENJOY

Scleropages · Post by **Scleropages** » 14 Apr 2012, 20:33

Whenever my panaques show sunken in abdomens and/or eyes, I think low pH. Make sure you're monitoring your pH regularly. It tends to go south in a hurry with plecos that regularly munch on wood. And, I assume you have plenty of wood in your tank for them to eat--a must with panaques.

henward · Post by **henward** » 14 Apr 2012, 22:23

yes i think forcing them to change natural habits is not a good idea.
i am going back to night feeds as well as morning feeds.

as for ph, the ph is around 7 to 7.2
is this too low?

plecomanpat · Post by **plecomanpat** » 15 Apr 2012, 01:58

not in my opinion...my tanks are all running on Michigan well water...around 7.3 ph...been that way for 5 years...I personally don't think that ph plays that major of a factor...unless of course they have been in 6.0 ph and you introduce them into 8.0 , thats a huge change. I beleive that the fish can be acclimated to a different ph and do fine. I personally have a lot of wood in my 180 gal show with many panaques and have never had a ph crash...ENJOY

Suckermouth · Post by **Suckermouth** » 15 Apr 2012, 02:45

What else are you keeping them with? My Panaque will come out and eat during the day just fine on veggies and whatnot. Granted, he is the largest fish in the tank by far and there is low traffic outside of the tank. Things that give your Panaque reasons to hide may cause them to be less likely to feed in the day.

henward · Post by **henward** » 15 Apr 2012, 05:03

Its with a sailfin, blue phantom, cactus pleco, sunshine and large to small clown loaches.

at night,t he clown loaches sleep and dont feed, i notice during my moonlight hours (there is a moon light on the tank)
they are more active.
bu they seem to have gone off the jbl.

i put hikari today, and they all seem to hvae gotten excited.
but i will start to feed nights again as that seems to have worked before.

if someone could help.
coud you give me a link of a stomach of a royal thgat doesnt look healthy?
and a stomach that is ok.

because the main thing is, for the last few weeks, they have been rounded and quite plump, then last few days, looks like they have been less plump.

Imagine, if you have a peson who is very big bellied and take out all the fat, you get that spare skin that kinda looks 'loose' fitting...
make sense?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Apr 2012, 14:53

Using several kinds of food is definitely not a bad thing. But I'm not sure that the choice of food is the whole story here...

--
Mats

Scleropages · Post by **Scleropages** » 15 Apr 2012, 15:27

henward wrote:as for ph, the ph is around 7 to 7.2
is this too low?

No, your pH is fine. Just remember to keep checking it bi-weekly. If it starts to go below 6.0, then it is getting too low.

Have you tried feeding them zucchini (courgette)? If not, quarter a zucchini, stick a stainless steel fork into each piece, and then place them in the bottom of the tank. After you do this a few times, all your fish will attack it moments after it's dropped in the tank. I have yet to keep a panaque that doesn't like zucchini. And, my clown loaches go crazy over it too.

henward · Post by **henward** » 15 Apr 2012, 21:24

haent tried courgette with my royals yet, i was scared cos of my experience last time.
but i may try again.

i fed hikari pellets over night, and their bellies look back to normal again flat and gently rounded. i think i was just being paranoid. isaw them feeding under my mooin light after lights out.

will keep trying jbl, or maybe even try both, why not i supposed.

Lframe · Post by **Lframe** » 17 Apr 2012, 11:38

Also can try Tetra algae wafers too.and apples