PlanetCatfish.com

Hi,
I would like to know what foods can i use to supplement the diet of my Leporacanthicus L240 and L241 and of my Panaque L190.I am currently feeding my Leporacanthicus prepared foods(Hikari carnivore sinking pelets,sinking wafers, once or twice a week algae wafers,Tetra Prima,tabimin) and Aqua yums frozen bloodworms once or twice a week as a supplement.Is there any other non-prepared food i can feed them?I forgot to mention that my tank contains snails and their number is kept low...so i think that they eat some snails too.
As for my Panaque i feed him mostly prepared foods(Hikari algae wafers or Tetra plecomin every day but because he is in the same tank with my Leporacanthicus,everything that i feed them is also available to him and vice versa), frozen bloodworms and once or twice a month cucumber.I once tried feeding him zucchini but he ate only a tiny bit in the two days i left it in the tank.Another time i tried feeding him lettuce but he didnot touched it at all.So,is there any other thing apart from cucumber that i can feed him?

Thank you in advance

Kostas,
All of the gut studies of wild Panaque I have read have turned up only wood in theit diet. Wood should be their main food and always available in any tank where there are Panaque. Just to make sure they are getting everything they need feed vegetables once or twice a week and high protein foods (either live, frozen, or dry) once s week as a treat. All dry fish foods are high in protein. Do not be fooled by labels that advertise certaein brands as "algae pellets" or "formulated for plecos." Most of these are the exact same food marketed for predatory fish, they have just changed the label (if you do not believe me compare the ingredients and protein conents of several foods next time you are in a pet store). My guess is that your Panaque is ignoring the veggies because there is so much high protein food available. Just like most humans, myself included, will pass up a salad to eat pizza. Try not feeding him for a few days and then introduce carrots, broccoli stems, asparagus stems, or squash. Cucumber and leafy vegetables are a bit soft for Panaque.
-Shane

Hi Shane,
Thank you very much for your reply
I have three kinds of wood in the tank,one large mopani,one small malaysian wood and a coconut shell and i am going to add also a very large mangrove when it decides to sink.
As for the dry foods i have noticed what you say but the foods that say ''for plecos'' have added spirulina and so i think that they are a bit better for them.

My guess is that your Panaque is ignoring the veggies because there is so much high protein food available

I think you are right because the day i feed Panaque vegetables i also feed my Leporacanthicus as always.But why my Panaque eats cucumber greedily even though i do feed my Leporacanthicus the day i feed it?

carrots, broccoli stems, asparagus stems, or squash

I will try them and see if he likes them.Can i also feed him coconut flesh?I like coconut so its almost always available at home.
I would also like to ask you how much i can expect my 3" Panaque to grow yearly.

Thank you in advance
-Kostas

Hi,
I would also like to ask you if it is ok to feed my Leporacanthicus saltwater shrimps,prawns and mussels.I have read many times that these are an excelent food for Leporacanthicus but then again i think that it may not be good to feed a freshwater fish with saltwater inverterbrates.Do you know anything on this subject?

Thank you in advance

I have fed saltwater prawns/shrimps and mussels to my fish. Not as a staple diet, but as one of many different food-items. They do contain salt, but it shouldn't be a big problem as long as the fish also gets some other food.

You could reduce the salt in there by rinsing them well with tapwater. Put the food in a bowl, fill the bowl with cold tapwater, leave it for a few minutes. Poor the water off, and refill. Put the bowl in the fridge for a bit. Drain off the water, and rinse again with tapwater. That should remove a lot of the salt that was in the food originally.

If you're in the US [sorry, didn't look at your location originally], buy some fresh catfish nuggets [not the ones with breadcrumbs in the freezer department] from your local supermarket. They are freshwater fish, and will not contain much salt. You may want to boil them quickly before feeding, to make sure you kill any nastiness [bacteria or parasites] that may live in there. Non-US may look at other fresh-water fish that are sometimes available at low prices.

--
Mats

Hi,
Thank you for your reply
Salt content of saltwater fish and inverterbrates is indeed one of the reasons that i am concerned about.But this is not the only factor that may make them unsuitable.I am also concerned about the nutritional value of these foods as freshwater fish tend to be a little fattier than saltwater fishes.So this lack of fat of these foods may cause problems to the fish long term.
Unfortunately,there are no freshwater fishes available at the freezer department(i checked twice before starting the thread) but sometimes fresh trout is available.Is it ok to feed them lightly boiled trout pieces?

Thank you in advance

I fed my Panaque a lot of squash. Evry time she got too thin, like after a long holiday or so, she would demand cucumber the first day, them back to squash. Main course was still roots and BTN