Feeding freshwater fish

Question
I know that tropical freshwater fish like to eat certain vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber and peas.  But, do they like to eat fruit such as bananas, apples etc.?  If so, would these be of nutritional value to the fish.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanking you.

Carole  

Answer
Hi Carole,

First of all, I sincerely apologize for not getting back to you sooner, my interenet has been down and I have not been able to answer questions for nearly a week now!

You're absolutely right, many tropical fish love cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, collared greens, etc., and the peas (without the skin) will act as a wonderful laxative if you ever have a fish suffering from constipation.  (It's more common than you'd think.)  As for the fruits, I wouldn't add them to the tank.  Your fish may try to eat them, but fruits are not going to give them any nutritional value like the vegetables do.  (Adding a banana to your tank is also a really bad idea...  The mushiness will take forever to get out and it would most likely mess up your water chemistry.)  It's also not something most tropical fish -- save for some really large Amazonian fish -- eat in the wild.

I hope this answers your question, let me know if there's anything else I can do for you!

-Lindsay