wondering about energy vs. nutrition with pumpkin

[wijnands]

This weekend I made some pumpkin soup and out of curiosity I dropped a slice in with my ancistrus. They seemed to like the scent and were quick to taste it. I did notice it seems to disappear far less quickly than most other vegetables I feed them.
I'm now wondering if it's a good source of food for them. It sinks, even raw, and it lasts but do they get enough nutrition from it to make the feeding actually pay? Any insights?

[Linus_Cello]

I believe it has more beta carotene then zuchinni, so if you're trying to enhance the red/orange colors (like superreds), it would be good to add it to your feeding regime.

[syno321]

Zuchini, courgette, and cucumber are not high in nutritional value either, but I would certainly not stop feeding them.

[wijnands]

I hardly ever feed cucumber. I read an analysis and there's virtually nothing in it. Zucchini is better and they do get that at times. In general they eat what we eat.

I did notice that the fish were a bit more colourful. Also seems that maybe pumpkin needs some softening. I dropped this piece in sunday evening and wanted to take it out this morning but noticed it had disappeared entirely overnight. I'll try freezing, see what that does.