Raw, Cooked Or Blanched? How Do You Prepare Veggies?

[Teelie]

I've had my bristlenoses for a few months now and I just cut a slice of cucumber, zucchini or squash, stick it on a clip and let them eat it. I always feed it raw and so far I have not seen any problems with this but recently I have started giving them it more often. Usually it's all gone but the skin within two days and lately after a day or two, I add more.

So my questions are this, is there any unforseen problems with feeding them raw vegetable matter? I of course give it a thorough washing under water then dry it off before serving it up. And I've begun to feed them it more often, especially since I now have 5 of them in my 55 (only two are near maturity, the other three are still small) but they eat, a lot.

How much is too much too often? I give them the usual algae wafers along with other foods for the other fish they occasionally nibble. I also have bogwood and am constantly finding lots of waste during water changes showing their metabolisms are healthy and active. I'm just concerned they might be too active (I'll shortly be doubling the filtration capacity to the equivalent of a 145g tank to keep up). Should I feed them only once a week and only a few slices? Currently it's 4 small-medium sized slices and between them, the ottos and other fish, they seem to make quick work of even that much.

 

[LisaLQ]

I feed raw, 3 times a week. Wafers secondary to that (well, I'm supposed to - but I do sneak a couple in every day really because I spoil them a bit too much - and pay for it water quality wise lol).

I only leave veg in overnight though - with the exception of sweet potato, which can last two nights.

 

[nmonks]

I'd suggest it depends on the plecs.

Panaque will demolish raw vegetables without any problems at all, and have the gut bacteria to break down the cellulose cell walls, so for them, raw is fine.

But common plecs, smaller Ancistrus, and things like whiptails and Otocinclus will appreciate it if the veggies are softened a little. The problem is that these catfish have a relatively poor digestive system for breaking down the cellulose in plant cell walls (as opposed to algae) and so while they might *swallow* raw vegetables, they won't necessarily be able to *digest* what they swallow. Soft fruits (like cucucmber and courgette) are fine raw, but leafy things (like lettuce) and crunchy tubers (like potatoes) are ideally softened by blanching or freezing.

As LisaLQ says, mixing the greens with algae wafers is a good idea. The exact ratio of the two probably doesn't matter much. The main thing is to make sure your plecs get proper meals, not just "leftovers" and algae.

It's normal to get a lot of poop from bogwood-eaters especially, and plecs generally. It's harmless stuff because it is very low in protein and doesn't have much effect on water quality. Siphoning out is the easiest solution. I find it is possible to arrange the flow of water and the level of the sand so the poop collects in one spot, making quick removal easy.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

On top of their normal foods (algae wafers, catfish pelets) my plecs get fed raw cucumber on a regular basis (usually a couple of times a week or more) and prawns on a less regular basis (no more than once a fortnight usually) and other foods like mussles, squid, cockels etc.
All the wood eating pleco's have stacks of mopani, driftwood, bogwood etc to chew on as well .

 

[Teelie]

I'd suggest it depends on the plecs.

Panaque will demolish raw vegetables without any problems at all, and have the gut bacteria to break down the cellulose cell walls, so for them, raw is fine.

But common plecs, smaller Ancistrus, and things like whiptails and Otocinclus will appreciate it if the veggies are softened a little. The problem is that these catfish have a relatively poor digestive system for breaking down the cellulose in plant cell walls (as opposed to algae) and so while they might *swallow* raw vegetables, they won't necessarily be able to *digest* what they swallow. Soft fruits (like cucucmber and courgette) are fine raw, but leafy things (like lettuce) and crunchy tubers (like potatoes) are ideally softened by blanching or freezing.

As LisaLQ says, mixing the greens with algae wafers is a good idea. The exact ratio of the two probably doesn't matter much. The main thing is to make sure your plecs get proper meals, not just "leftovers" and algae.

It's normal to get a lot of poop from bogwood-eaters especially, and plecs generally. It's harmless stuff because it is very low in protein and doesn't have much effect on water quality. Siphoning out is the easiest solution. I find it is possible to arrange the flow of water and the level of the sand so the poop collects in one spot, making quick removal easy.

Cheers, Neale

That makes sense. I've got quite a number of fish in my tank at the moment who all enjoy a nibble on fresh vegetable so blanching probably would work best for every fish involved. I always drop the algae wafers in with the fresh stuff so they can choose or not have to fight over food. I've also picked up some sinking shrimp pellets recently and have the usual flake and crumbled foods.

 

[raptorrex]

That makes sense. I've got quite a number of fish in my tank at the moment who all enjoy a nibble on fresh vegetable so blanching probably would work best for every fish involved. I always drop the algae wafers in with the fresh stuff so they can choose or not have to fight over food. I've also picked up some sinking shrimp pellets recently and have the usual flake and crumbled foods.

only thing with par boiling is, it removes large amounts of the good stuff from the veg! i tend to let my cucumber soften a bit before i put it in the tank.

 

[nmonks]

True, but you don't need to boil fruits at all (i.e., cucumber, melon rind, courgette, etc.). It's only tubers and leaves that need softening, and then only gently blanched, not cooked. It's academic if the food has lots of vitamins but the plec can't digest them. So you need to strike a balance between providing food that's soft enough to eat, but raw enough to be nutritious. Regardless, use a good quality plec wafer as a supplement to keep your fish getting all the vitamins it needs.

Cheers, Neale

only thing with par boiling is, it removes large amounts of the good stuff from the veg! i tend to let my cucumber soften a bit before i put it in the tank.

 

[raptorrex]

True, but you don't need to boil fruits at all (i.e., cucumber, melon rind, courgette, etc.). It's only tubers and leaves that need softening, and then only gently blanched, not cooked. It's academic if the food has lots of vitamins but the plec can't digest them. So you need to strike a balance between providing food that's soft enough to eat, but raw enough to be nutritious. Regardless, use a good quality plec wafer as a supplement to keep your fish getting all the vitamins it needs.

Cheers, Neale

only thing with par boiling is, it removes large amounts of the good stuff from the veg! i tend to let my cucumber soften a bit before i put it in the tank.

good piont!