Algae wafers are made of starch?

[fat meloe!]

I have seen two different algae wafer brands, including one from Tetra, and the first five or so ingredients are all starchy plant parts like potato, oat, and wheat.

Is this some marketing gimmick, or is the high proportion of carbs a calorie boost for plecos? I've been feeding some koi and other non-plecos with it to supplement the usual diet.

[Shane]

The range of ingredients in "algae wafers" is all over the place with many containing almost no algae and being packed with very high protein and/or empty carbs. For true algae eating fishes, it is far better to feed fresh vegetables and use dry foods sparingly.
-Shane

[fat meloe!]

For true algae eating fishes, it is far better to feed fresh vegetables

Thanks Shane.

What about semi-omnivorous planteaters like

Ancistrus

and

Pterygoplichthys

? I know the latter has an immensely long gut and that eating large amounts of meat harms them, but I'm still unsure about how important "rich" food like shrimp and starchy plants is (important fuel in between grazing sessions or slightly beneficial dietary boost?).


I don't think the green things will be a priority koi-snack anymore.

[Bas Pels]

Generally speaking, fish don´t eat much starch in nature.

If they eat plants, it is the stems and leaves, with little starch. If they don´t, animals don´t contain much carbohydrates.

Fat is also rather rare: Wild animals don't get fat, except for a few migratory or hybernating species building up reserves. Fish don't hybernate, and migratory fishes are large, therefore not prey for other fish.

[Tidebreaker]

The range of ingredients in "algae wafers" is all over the place with many containing almost no algae and being packed with very high protein and/or empty carbs. For true algae eating fishes, it is far better to feed fresh vegetables and use dry foods sparingly.
-Shane

I heard that Cucumbers and Zucchini are good for bottom dwelling fish! So, If you want get a Zucchini and peel the skin off I also heard putting a lead fishing weight in the middle will help it sink!! :3

[Kd67]

Cucumbers and especially zucchini are very good foods for many Plecos. However most of my fish tend to eat the skin first so I would not recommend pealing it off. More importantly I would never put lead in a fish tank if I wanted my fish to live, lead is a highly toxic metal that will poison a tank. Much better to use a stainless steel fork. Or plastic veggie clip for small pieces.

[Narwhal72]

Lead has been used in aquariums for years without any apparent effects on fish. Everything from lead fishing weights used to hold food down, lead plant anchors, and bendable bubble wands all are lead or lead alloys.

I have been using lead plant anchors to hold veggies down for decades. Never had any problem with deformity or mortality.

[fat meloe!]

Personally I would still avoid lead because it could poison the fish very very slowly without causing any visible issues. Also, my common pleco eventually swam to the surface at night to eat a floating cucumber slice, making weights non-essential.

Of course, none of this is very relevant because the pleco got unintentionally killed quite a while ago.

Thanks all for the replies. I will now only use the wafer very sparingly for my koi and other semi-herbivorous pets.

[Bas Pels]

The problem with lead poisoning is, lead is mostly stored in the brain, where it slowly kills braincells.

These cells are not replaced, and naturally they decline in number during a normal lifespan. Therefore all long living species have a lot more brain than we need, in order to have sufficient brainpower in old age.

If you combine this, in a lead poisoning situation we are faced with deceasing brainpower, but it will take a while before this is noticed. But when noticed, there is a) nothing one can do and b) a serious problem.

People with lead poisoning become really stupid. The Roman emperor Nero has set fire to Rome, it is believed he was a victim of lead poisoning, as Romans used lead for their plates.

Therefore I think lead poisoning is much more complicated than, almost all heavy metal poisonings. And avoiding problems is much more important.