best veg

Question
Hi ya,

I have 2 plecos, 2 zebra donios, 2 black phantom tetras, 1 white fin tetra, 2 penguin tetras, 2 platys and 3 mollys.

I've been feeding my fish flakes and algae tablets along with fresh cucumber slices, is there other vegetables that i can feed my fish.
Any advice  would be great.
Thanks
Merrick


Answer
Hi Merrick,

What you're feeding now sounds good. Try getting a pack of frozen bloodworms sometime - most fish go nuts for it! I like San Francisco Bay brand and Hikari brand frozen foods. Hikari makes some of the most palatable flakes, along with Omega One. My fish love Hikari's Micro Pellets. Another one is Omega One veggie flakes...I bet your platys and mollies will love it, livebearers need lots of greens foods.

As far as vegetables go, cucumber seems to be one of their favorites but it is mostly water. Same with melon or cantaloupe - my fish really like it, but it isn't too nutritious...mostly roughage. Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collards, and curly lettuce are healthy choices for the pleco to munch on (and the others may pick at it too) - the way I feed it to them is I clip a slice of it with a big "Chip Clip" like a magnetic clip that you would put on your refrigerator. It sinks to the bottom, and then I retrieve it later the next day.

Other veggies to try are zucchini and squash...you might try wetting a slice and putting it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to soften it up - try 15 seconds if your microwave is a big powerful one, mine is a little dorm one. A very convenient way of feeding vegetables is getting a little can of unsalted veggies. I have found corn, green beans, and peas without salt added. Just pop the top open (it keeps for up to a week) and drop in a few - by far, the peas are their favorite. Just pinch the skins off, and everyone will nibble at it as it sinks! It's a terrific way of keeping your fish from getting bloated from too much dried food...and variety is the spice of life.

You might want to check out this:
http://fish.mongabay.com/food.htm
It's a list of foods you can feed freshwater fish.

I hope that helps, take care!
Nicole