Loaches Online Forum

My Clowns are due for a treat- the only fruit I have at the moment are gala apples...I was thinking of peeling a wedge and cooking it until soft for them...not sure if they'd like it or if it would even be good for them as it seems unlikely they'd encounter one in the wild...anyone tried this?

Kate

Never tried. Sounds like a good idea.

I fed a raw, peeled apple slice to my clowns one time. They seemed to like it. The second time I tried it, the apple was softer and made a terrible mess of the water. I quickly removed it.

That said, they seemed to enjoy it, and no one got sick or anything.

Well. I guess they like it!

I peeled and blanched 1/2 an apple, cut in two pieces- put each quarter on opposite sides of the tank (the strategy here is that I have a large pleco that likes to hog the goodies, so one is for him). The plece has yet to take any notice...the clowns took their time eyeing the new food suspiciously- first shoaling back and forth to get a look at it as a group, and then one at a time...finally, the alpha decided to give it a try...the others followed suit, and they are now too busy trying to keep each other away to get more than a bite or two before another scuffle breaks out! It doesn't look too serious, but I've rarely seen them fight over food...and no clouding water yet, but I'll keep an eye out- thanks for the input, Loachmom

I'd say they give apples a solid 10 fins approval

Kate

haha, good idea, i should try it too.

Kate, you made it sound like so much fun that I had to try it again. I just put a slice in so they can have it for a few hours this evening.

Mine also are playing "It's mine, all mine, and you can't have any!" Fun to watch. My clowns will be going to live with another loach keeper ( a member of this forum) this Saturday. This is their going-away treat.
I've decided not to get a larger aquarium for them, and they are growing quickly. They will like their new home, I'm sure.

Oh believe me, I know the "Gimme!" game. When I feed my clowns and modestas algae discs, it's the funniest thing I ever saw. My two big clowns will immediately grab the discs and carry them around like frisbees, all the while sucking away at them. My biggest modesta will brazenly try to snatch the disc from my biggest clown's mouth, and once he successfully stole the disc and charged off with it!

I'll have to try this apple idea. My guys like zucchini, watermelon, cantelope, and romaine lettuce. I feed them frozen bloodworms once a week. My fish are very spoiled! But they are so adorable when they all come out and beg.

I've got to try apples on my kubs then...

has anyone tried pineapple? I hear its good for intestinal worms in humans... hmmm...

Good luck with your re-homing this weekend, Loachmom. I know it's hard to say goodbye, but I'm sure you've made a good decision. Nobody takes better care of a loach than another LOLer

My clowns don't seem to care for algae disks- pleco likes them and he carries them back to his cave. The clowns seem to immediately take a bit of shrimp off to hide and eat when it's offered...funny to see the littlest ones taking off with a chunk of shrimp nearly as large as they are

Rocco, I've wondered about pineapple myself...and citrus, though I think both might be messy in that pulpy-shreddy kinda way...not that any of us mind cleaning up after making the 'kids' happy!

Kate

Here's a thread...
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... ht=oranges

tariesindanrie wrote:Good luck with your re-homing this weekend, Loachmom. I know it's hard to say goodbye, but I'm sure you've made a good decision. Nobody takes better care of a loach than another LOLer

Thanks Kate. And you're right about the care part; I feel really good about this rehoming.

I tried raw apple with my clowns. They ate some but didn't seem thrilled. I think they were disappointed it wasn't zucchini. I may try again.

I also tried baked winter squash (some orange kind, buttercup?), again tried but not fabulous. The green tinged part under the hard skin seemed the most eaten by the scribble plec.

Loachmom, I know how sad it is to give up your clowns, you have my sympathy too.

I tried it a while back but i didn't weight it, left it for the danios, they seems to like it quite a bit.

Butternut squash is a favorite in my tanks, but I do not put very much in at any one feeding.
Pumpkin, tomorrow!

I have not tried Apples.

I have fed oranges, and it is not messy.
Slice very thin cartwheels, leaving the skin on. The fish will eat the same part that we eat, and the snails (if any) will cling to the rind. I do this to capture snails out of non-loach tanks, and toss them into loach tanks.

I tried apple. My clowns really seemed to like it at first, but once it started going brown (oxidizing) they lost interest. It also looked pretty ugly in the tank. I went back to zucchini, which most of the loaches and the plecos really like.