Loaches Online Forum

My Yoyo's have learned to take flake food from the surface. I only feed that tank flakes about twice per week, mainly for the gourami and danios. At the same time as the flake I add Hikari sinking pellets for the loaches, but the loaches now seem to be overlooking the sinking pellets and going up for the flakes.

Is it a problem? Is flake food bad for them in any way?

Kylie

The only problem I have heard with flake food is not related to Loaches, but fancy goldfish. With their distorted internal organs they can gulp too much air while surface feeding.

I feed Omega One flakes, with very good quality ingredients. I have seen one of my Plecos eating like you describe, he swims upside down to eat the floating flakes, but my Loaches wait for the food to fall.

Kylie:

kb46 wrote: Is it a problem? Is flake food bad for them in any way?

I have never observed my Yoyos hustling from the surface but I have observed them hustling flake remnants from the bottom and I have not observed any adverse effects.

TR

Some of my striatas will swim at the surface when i put flakes or other non- sinking food in.

I have clowns, kubotai and striata, and they all take flakes from the surface (at least the smaller ones). I feed flakes about 4 times a week, along with either shrimp pellets or algae wafers. (The other days they get frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, glassworms etc., and zucchini once a week). No adverse effects as far as I can tell.