Twig Catfish (Farlowella) Questions

[folyet]

I recently purchased 2 of these fish about 2 months ago. They are more active then I thought they would have been, and they have completely eaten every spec of algae of the glass as well as from 2 rocks in the tank. I also put in zuchinni or shelled cooked peas or cucumber in once a week or so, and they do eat it, especially the zuchinni. I even had an ornamental log from my guppy tank that was covered with algae, and I put it in there, and within 5 minutes they were on it and stripped it clean in a couple of hours. I also drop in algae wafers cut into small bits at night when lights are turned off, so I am not sure if that gets eaten by them, as I do have some cory cats and emerald cats as well.

My main concern is I am worried that they may not be getting enough food, especially algae. Is there any way to tell if they are eating enough, and is there any other types of foods that they may like or need to eat. I also have 4 logs in there where they spend lots of time on. Their bellies seem ok, but sometimes hard to tell as they are always in unusual positions so tough to get a good read on their bellies.

Any input or advise would be greatly appreciated

 

[MartinS]

As long as you regularly give them algae wafers, the occasional zuchiini slice and/or peas to supplement their diet, they should do fine. You could, if possible, set up a small tank on a bright windowsill and add a few large pebbles, once covered in algae, transfer them to the main tank. Can i suggest not moving items from other tanks - I'm not suggesting you have any disease, but that's a surefire way to spread it if you do. Try and keep nets and such seperate for each tank to ensure you don't risk any cross contamination.
HTH
Martin

 

[magpie]

Mine will come down at feeding time and eat off of the wafers. Mine like both veggie rounds and algae wafers. They also love the zucchini.

Do you have a planted tank? Mine loooove to hang out on the plants as well as the driftwood, and they seem to munch up algae that grows on the leaves as well. I think their bellies are kind of hard to tell if they're doing OK due to the fins, so I find that a hard measure. I worry about mine, too, but they seem to be doing OK.