Herbivorous Fishes .... Which Are The Common Ones?

[beginner]

Hey folks, I intend keeping some Herbivorous fishes. Can anyone be kind enough to list a few of the common ones. Being a vegetarian, I would prefer keeping herbivorous fishes. Cheers.

 

[loachman]

Hey folks, I intend keeping some Herbivorous fishes. Can anyone be kind enough to list a few of the common ones. Being a vegetarian, I would prefer keeping herbivorous fishes. Cheers.

Most fish are omnivores so they'll eat some meaty foods, but these are primarily vegetarians:
american flag fish
most plecos
ottos
Siamese Algae eaters

 

[beginner]

Hey folks, Can I please have some more names of Herbivorous Fishes. Please suggest some common ones. Thanks Loachman. Cheers

 

[dthoffsett]

Well, if you have a 55 gallon tank or larger, you could go with the mbuna (rock-dwelling cichlids) from Lake Malawi, Africa. There are hundreds of different species to choose from.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=27706

 

[three-fingers]

You should note however that with most fish, feeding them fresh greens alone isn't going to keep them healthy...that's why herbivorous fish food contains other things too (like fish, molluscs ect.).

You would need to research an individual herbivorous species really well to be sure you could feed it on fresh greens alone.


Something along the lines of Panaque sp. would probably suit you, since they feed on things like wood .

 

[Musho3210]

look into marine tanks as well, very popular herbivorous fish there like tangs

 

[raptorrex]

Silver Dollars, Pacu, lol 30 inches plus when full grown. most Plecos. that said all fish will eat protein/meat. or at least it seems that way.

 

[Ilya]

My tank is completely omnivorous.

Zebra Danios
Emerald Green Corydorus

 

[Musho3210]

Silver Dollars, Pacu, lol 30 inches plus when full grown. most Plecos. that said all fish will eat protein/meat. or at least it seems that way.

Herbivores that eat protein and meat eat it to fill them up, herbivores digestive tract is quite short thats why they poop a lot, being short they need to constantly eat algae to fill it up, so they always get a hungry feeling, once they eat meat it fills them up but it doesnt really deliver nutrients to them. This is called oportunistic herbivores.

 

[raptorrex]

Silver Dollars, Pacu, lol 30 inches plus when full grown. most Plecos. that said all fish will eat protein/meat. or at least it seems that way.

Herbivores that eat protein and meat eat it to fill them up, herbivores digestive tract is quite short thats why they poop a lot, being short they need to constantly eat algae to fill it up, so they always get a hungry feeling, once they eat meat it fills them up but it doesnt really deliver nutrients to them. This is called oportunistic herbivores.

hey man top explanation thanks!!!!!

 

[dwarfgourami]

As has been pointed out, most herbivores do supplement their diet to some extent with other foods. How vegetarian are you, though? I seem to remember having had this discussion on forums before with fishkeepers who decided they did not actually mind swatting a mosquito- and hence could contemplate feeding their fish bloodworms, or perhaps even small crustaceans. All depends on how you feel.
I would not be prepared to swear to it that some fish that are labelled herbivores do not actually derive nutritional benefits from the occasional insect meal- I'd like to see some reference first, Musho.

 

[Musho3210]

science teacher, but i will look to find anything online. We had a class which went on about herbivores, opportunistic herbivores, omnivores, opportunistic carnivores and true carnivores. Just a bit of general knowledge dogs are opportunistic carnivores so make sure you feed them as much meat as possible and dont worry about fruits and veges etc.

Its all got to do with the digestive tract and stomach