Feeding them cucumber

[@ombomb]

I tried feeding my fish some cucumber last night having read several people say it was good for them on here, particularly plecs (or which I have 2). I cust them a nice slice of cucumber and dropped it into the tank, expecting to see them go crazy for the stuff, but they all completely ignored it, even the swordtail which will eat anything! I would have happily left it in there for the plecs, but the cucumber just floated on the surface, before getting caught by the current and being lodged by the heater.

Do you normally weigh the pieces down, or do they sink over time?

 

[cla55y19]

i weigh my down with some lead and by the next day all is left is the green skin my fish love it i think if you weigh it down you will get more of a result coz i dnt know if ur plecs would be able to eat from it whilst its floating around ?

 

[maxpayne_lhp]

We weight them down, you can attach it into a rock.
For the first thing, sometimes, they won't care for extra food. Is your tank full of algea? Besides that do you feed your fish on sinking pellet, or other pre-done vegy food?

 

[@ombomb]

I feed them flakes, the odd sinking pellet and frozen / live food. I gave them the cucumber just before the normal feeding time when I thought they would be hungry.

Also, my tank is very clean and they are eating other things with their normal gusto!

I'll try again tonight with some weighted down.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Yeah, they are more likely to eat it when its submerged underwater. Try squeezing the centre with your fingers to release the tiny amounts of air, this might help.

Your plecs should love it, but it may take a while for them to find it. Give them a couple of tries. As for you swordtail, i dont know whether he will go crazy for it.

 

[Bloo]

I got myself some "Screwcumbers" on eBay and they work a treat

 

[Mr Miagi]

I got myself some "Screwcumbers" on eBay and they work a treat

oh dear...... Bloozoo, u must have money to throw away?

Tucked under a rock will do the trick!

 

[Bloo]

lol it's not that expensive and truth be told, I really can't be bothered to get my whole arm wet every other night. On top of which, I have some really strong plecs and they would just wiggle it free from underneath anything within seconds - and it would float to the top
I put in huge chunk of cucumber, so would need a massive amount of little plant weights to weigh it down too. Not practical.

 

[abstract]

i've never had a problem with them not sinking after blanching them

 

[maxpayne_lhp]

It looks good and convenient... but be a lil wet is also fun! FIsh love my arms!

 

[Bloo]

Quite personally I dont like the blancing thing for 2 reasons: firstly it takes time & effort to boil water and chuck it in for a few minutes before putting it in the tank. Secondly I believe it loses some of the nutrients and prefer giving fresh only. Microwaving is not an option either as I don't believe in microwaves as I think they are evil. That's just me

 

[abstract]

i don't bother w/ boiling the water either...but i do use the microwave for about 2 minutes...dip and cold water and you're good....i've heard that boiling removes nutrients, etc...but i would love to see some concrete numbers on exactly how much...IMO the tradeoff of losing some nutrients while killing potential contaminants on the veggies (even organic veggies can have "stuff" on them) is worth it

 

[eudielynn]

My plec won't eat them unless they are blanched. I tried putting a plant weight in the middle and dropped a piece right in front of him. It was still there the next morning. If I blanche them, he can't wait to get hold of a piece. He and the snail have even had a tug of war over blanched cucumber. I also put a piece in my betta tank for the snail in there. It was totally gone the next morning.

 

[@ombomb]

I got myself some "Screwcumbers" on eBay and they work a treat

Brilliant!!!



I have one on the way!

 

[debiasir]

i weigh my down with some lead and by the next day all is left is the green skin my fish love it i think if you weigh it down you will get more of a result coz i dnt know if ur plecs would be able to eat from it whilst its floating around ?

exactly what i do and the same result the plec eats everything bar the skin