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I really want to start feeding my Jose Zucchini; however, I am afraid of over-feeding her.
How do I know how much is enough, and how much is too much?
With algae wafers, I just give her one and wait a few hours until I give her another.
I really need help to know how to safely feed her vegetables.
Thanks!

Feed as much as gets eaten in about a day; if you're seeing food left over, then you're feeding too much.

agree with above. And if you are concerned about bloat, don't give it too much protien/meaty/fish foods. Read the ingredients on the wafers as some have fish or shrimp in them. De-shelled peas once a week are great for cleaning them out and most love them . HTH

Georgie

Suckermouth wrote:Feed as much as gets eaten in about a day; if you're seeing food left over, then you're feeding too much.

My Jose (L001) is now 10 inches TL.
As a starting point, would a 1/2-inch cube be about right?
I don't want to risk over-feeding, I really love this fish!
Thanks!

zeebo wrote:agree with above. And if you are concerned about bloat, don't give it too much protien/meaty/fish foods. Read the ingredients on the wafers as some have fish or shrimp in them. De-shelled peas once a week are great for cleaning them out and most love them . HTH

Georgie

Great! (She has no problem with excretion. )
Do you just feed a couple, and will the peas foul the tank? How do you feed peas without making a mess? Are these fresh, frozen, cooked or raw?
Thanks!

mg7454 wrote:

Suckermouth wrote:Feed as much as gets eaten in about a day; if you're seeing food left over, then you're feeding too much.

My Jose (L001) is now 10 inches TL.
As a starting point, would a 1/2-inch cube be about right?
I don't want to risk over-feeding, I really love this fish!
Thanks!

I usually do slices but my guess is that a half inch cube will be quite manageable for a 10" Pterygoplichthys to eat within a day.

Thanks Suckermouth!
I will be feeding by the slice; however, the 1/2-inch cube gives me an idea of how much of a slice to feed her.
Don't they prefer to eat them in an elongated slice?
Thanks so much!

For reference, a 1/2" cube wouldn't last very long. My Panaque L191 will demolish a 1/2" x 1 1/2" slice in a couple of hours, and I expect your fish to do "better" than that. Although it may take a little while for the fish to "discover" that what you put in the tank is actually something edible.

--
Mats

Thanks Mats!
She has not discovered the zucchini yet, but it was the first night. I tried putting a wafer in the zucchini slices (2 slices) and left them overnight. She did not even find the wafers in the zucchini.
These were round slices, I think I will try the elongated slice tonight.

She is happily munching on a Hikari Algae Wafer at the moment.

Just a caution about zucchini format: don't feed them in rounds unless you slice through the rind in some places. Years ago in Tropical Fish Hobbyist (I think) I read an article about someone's pleco that ate the softer centre out of a zucchini round and then got stuck in the rind, which jammed the fish's gills shut, and the poor thing suffocated.

hi, with veggies you really don't need to worry so much about overfeeding, it is your water that will suffer if you leave uneaten food in too long. Protien foods are more of a concern for certain plecs who's system can't handle so much protien and that is where the problems begin. Some plecs eat only protien ,but yours should get less protien and more veggies.

as for peas, I use frozen peas, nuke 1 minute in a some water. Remove from mircowave, toss some ice cubes in to stop them from over cooking. Then gently pinch the clear outter skin off and discard. Feed only the inside part. I only drop a few in the tank each week. The dither fish love them too, but they are difficult to find if left uneaten, so start out with 2 peas and see if he goes for them.I have 3 tanks so I nuke and de-shell about 8 peas each week and divide them up.

If your plec is not eating the zucchini with a wafer stuck in it, hold all food for a day/night ,then try again. Always remove uneaten food in am and replace at night with new food. You can also try adding liquid ''garlic guard'' purchased at aquarium stores , a few drops on the veggie and wafer should tempt him. It stimulates their appetites. First try holding food back for a day and he should be hungry enough the next feeding. You might want to withhold food before trying peas as well. Remember , he does not recognize veggies as food yet, but once he gets a taste, he will get it !

I should caution you again to check the ingredients on the wafers, as some alage wafers DO contain protien. You would want to be aware how much protien he is getting and cut back, or buy wafers with no protien,then no worries. HTH Georgie , good luck

characinfan wrote:Just a caution about zucchini format: don't feed them in rounds unless you slice through the rind in some places. Years ago in Tropical Fish Hobbyist (I think) I read an article about someone's pleco that ate the softer centre out of a zucchini round and then got stuck in the rind, which jammed the fish's gills shut, and the poor thing suffocated.

I have never had that problem, nor have I heard anyone else have that problem since I joined this site - I feed zucchini (well, we call it courgette here in England, but it's the same green squash-type vegetable). Several of my fish quite like the skin, and will eat that before getting to the white parts inside.

--
Mats

Hello everyone!
First, I thank all of you for your great advice!

Last night, Tuesday, I left the zucchini in the tank; this morning, I found that my girl will eat her vegetables!
She left only the rind!

Wednesday, I am slicing the zucchini lengthwise. She seems to like it that way.
Thanks for the warning about the rind, a good thing to know!

Just one little thing, it seems that eating zucchini has turned my L001 into
an Upside-down catfish!
She eats it while swimming upside-down; also, vertically or horizontally!
It makes no difference to her...it's just delicious!

I cut her a piece of raw zucchini, about a 2 and 1/2-inch slice by 1/4-inch thick.
I just let it float around in the tank. She finds and eats it just fine.
It is hilarious to watch her dance with it!
Next morning, there were no left-overs!

Next item on the menu, Peas!