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Do most pl*co's prefer their veggies raw or blanched/boiled.

I usually feed zuchini which i blanch first. Is this beter for them, or easier to eat or is the only pro that it sinks?

how bout other veggies?

So far, I've fed most of my vege's & fruits raw.

There's a shopping list here...

Raw veg are fine as long as they are soft enough for the pleco to eat. Hard stuff like sweet potato may benefit from a bit of blanching, but it's not necessary.

Tiny babies may require their food to be boiled softer.

Sinking or not is mostly a case of adding suitable weights, either use Screwcumber or something like a teaspoon to keep the veg from floating and moving about.

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Mats

I use a stainless steel dinner fork stuck into slices of zuchini, so it sinks to the bottom.

It depends on the plecs. Blanching makes it softer so it will probably be eaten faster. I give my plecs buffet style veggies. i.e. sweet potato, zuchini, cucumber, romaine lettuce. I use a shish kebob skewer to make them sink.

I'm a big fan of giving my plecs veggies that don't turn into such huge piles of "string", like raw turnip/collard greens or arugula, and hard squashes like acorn, butternut, hubbard, buttercup, spaghetti, etc, etc. Occasionally I also use yam/sweet potato because it is somewhat nutrient-rich, but it does make alot of poop and it'll quickly foul your tank. I didn't list any of the most popular plecco foods because I just don't use them when I have a choice..

Things like lettuces, summer squashes (zucchini or yellow) & cucumber are almost nothing but water already, so in effect you're just filling their bellies without providing them with the amount of nutrients that other veggies provide. Then blanching or boiling anything also voids alot of the nutrients, so this is best saved for fry (or other small-sucker species) that can't eat the raw stuff. Maybe a fish will have to rasp a little harder on some raw greens & squashes, but I'd rather make sure they're getting what they need while eating as little as possible!

I'm also a big fan of sticking the handle end of a spoon through them after I read about that here...hehe

I use peeled raw zucchini for my albino bristle-nose and they absolutely love it. I have found
that only my Royal L190 likes raw sweet potatoes as it is very hard for most plecos to eat
but of coarse Panaque species eat wood so sweet potatoes are not a problem for them.
Raw foods are better (even for people) and I figured that no suckermouth catfish in the
wild have chefs to cook for them. I would also be afraid to use canned foods that may
contain salt or other additives or preservatives.

I use Screwcumber to weight down any raw foods and I use a skewer to remove left-overs.

The grocery store next to my house sells flash frozen zucchini which I've used with my otos. they seem to eat it from the middle out. and I remove it when its just a ring.

And the old fashion screw with a string tied to it to keep it down.

Thanks for the replies!

I tossed a chunk of zuchini in, with a teaspoon jammed in it, and they loved it.
It also stays in better shape than if cokked, making less of a mess.

And its easier to take out after a day or two.

I have been reading about the sweet potatoe.....do you just cut it in half and toss it in? Do you peel it first? Do you cook it first? I'd like to try to give mine something else to munch on - mix up their diet a bit.

When I give them zuccinni, I just cut in to 1/2" wide slices, jam a fork in it so it sinks (and makes it easy to pull out in a few days if they haven't eaten the whole thing). I don't cook it or anything.

There's an article by me in Shane's world about things you can feed your fish. Depending on the diet, it gives several different ideas on what to feed.

As to how to prepare, I'm a simpleton: Just cut a suitable piece to match what the fish eats in 24 hours, and drop it in (with suitable sinking device if needed). For most veg, that's the same half-inch thick slice as for zucchini(courgette). Obviously, if the food is small portions already, you can put in several to feed the fish - say beans or seafood pieces.

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Mats

3bdesigns I feed my Royal raw peeled sweet potatoe in about a 1" thick slice (it sinks by itself).
It can be left in the tank for about 48 hours and glad to see your from Iowa I used to live there.

Leaving a chunk of zuchini in the tank for 48 hours wasn't a good idea.

I haven't been home alot the last few days, so when i checked after 24 hours the food looked okay and they were still eating it. Last night the chunk had become real slimey, the whole tank was messy and even the mouth of the pump had goo stuck to it.

I did a 1/2 water change and hope i didn't mess up to much. All the plecs do look well fed though. And that was the idea in the first place.

My bristlenose has only just started eating (had him since sunday) and she seems to like the cucumber, as she has destroyed it!

can you feed fish carrot?
and what about fruit like grapes and apple?

Carrot doesn't seem to be a great hit with mine - sure, you can try - it's not going to hurt.

Grapes - fine in my tanks
Apple, not so popular.

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Mats

how do you prepae grapes? and how carrots?

Grapes: cut in half, spoon through to sink [if necessary]
Carrot: Slice and perhaps boil to soften - if necessary, pierce with a spoon.

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Mats

pictus_man_77 wrote:can you feed fish carrot?

My L200 chews carrot loudly! I can hear the sound of his/her teeth when eating. (Not to mention when algea on the background are scraped...)

My Gibbey seems to like all vegetables raw. I've fed him/her peeled asparagus, and even sweet red peppers. Every was eaten heartily. Raw asparagus is good in that it keeps well in the water.

Grapes, that's an interesting one.

I think their appetite may depend on what mood they're in. I've put zucchini or cucumber, and need to remove most of it in a day or two. At other times, the stuff has totally disappeared overnight!

Right now I've Sweet Potato in two tanks. It looks like it'll come out untouched. The almost half an Apple shown here, is at about 36 hrs. Obviously they prefer it peeled!

im gonna try apple tonight, do you put it in raw, or did you do anyhting to it

I'm pretty sure that apple isn't supposed to be cooked...

But as Kana says, they may well eat some food one day, and other foods another day, but give the same thing a miss the next week...

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Mats

I put three pieces of sweet potato in last night, my two panaque maccus were all over it in about an hour, they had never had it before, so they seemed not to realize that it was food. One of them is very curious though he trys everything I toss in.

The others (2 BN's, 1 unidentified ancistrus and a scobiancistrus aureatus) couldn't be bothered.

Maybe after they get used to it.

Yup, some fish take a few trys to figure out that "new" things are introduced...

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Mats

I have tried apple before, but i took it out if they didn't take to it in a short while.

Better try it again, and leave it a while longer.
Any preference to a spefic kind of apple?

I usually only have golden delicious myself, but maybe the little homeys prefer something more especiale...

I wouldn't have thought they'd be particularly picky about the type of apple - but maybe avoid the really sour kinds?

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Mats

I dont like to boil/blanch my veg but instead Nuke it in the microwave for 60 seconds. Leaves more nutrients in the food and doesnt break it up. Then simply drop it into cold water untill it sinks.

I put a slice of a golden delicious, with a tea spoon through it, in the tank last night.

No reactions. Not even the ever so curious, big male panaque maccus. my one inch BN landed on it by accident, but gave it no further notice.

I'll leave it in there untill this evening and see if they had some.

Last night i took the slice of apple out, and it was still untouched.

So either they weren't hungry, which i don't believe since they're amost always hungry. Or they just don't like it.

mine seems to enjoy cucumber ALOT