loach fruit feeding tool?

[mr white]

hi, I was wondering what sort of fork/utensil to put fruit in my tank for my loaches... is there a requirement about what I should use? or how long it should be left? I hear that metallic objects in the tank are bad news.

[LoachOrgy]

i use a stainless steel spoon through cucumber or orange and sometimes squash. I stick the pointed part through where it is covered so that the spoon part is sticking out. I find my loaches like playing with the spoon as well. When the cucumber runs out they make loud noises indicating they want more lol..

i also use a clip that i got from petsmart. it looks like a saltwater clown fish. but what this does is it has a suction and a clamp that you can attach to the side of the aquarium. it is nice because the loaches have to come up to it and get in your face if you want to see them. they often show a good pecking order this way as well. the alpha loach will push the others out of the way and they start taking turns eating it one after the other. its very entertaining.

[mr white]

wow! i wish we had a petsmart here, i'd love to have that!
is there a certain time limit on keeping a metal utnsil in there?
I'm still trying to get my clowns to eat shrimp out of my hands.

[LoachOrgy]

you could probably order it from petsmart online. look up fish feeder clip or food clip. i am not sure the exact name. if its stainless steel, then it shouldn't rust but i remove mine after they eat it. the spoon never stays in the tank more than a day.

[Emma Turner]

I tend to use the little weights you get for bunched aquatic plants. You can buy them as a pack of little individual weights, or a big strip that you can cut to size. You just push the weight through the fruit, curl it round to make it grip, and drop it in. Once the fish have eaten all the fruit, you can just net the weights out. These are safe for use in aquariums, which is why I prefer to use them.

Emma

[LoachOrgy]

i think i saw a post by janma recently of the tank. janma stuck several forks into a piece of wood that would look like the loaches would play around it. check out this video

http://picasaweb.google.com/janma79/Mov ... 4387079778

[brett_fishman]

loachorgy,
i just watched the video again, and it looks like janma just spread/bent out the tines on the fork, making 4 seperate spikes...

-brett.

[saseniukk]

Heyo gang. I can't remember if it was mentioned here or not but screwcumber.com has a great little gadget for keeping food down. lol

[Emma Turner]

Personally I don't like the idea of putting anything sharp in with my loaches, particularly when I know they are going to be using the mouth and barbels around it. This is why I opt for the plant weights, who's ends I cut to shape (round them off) before threading them through the fruit and placing it in the tank. All pics I have seen of that Screwcumber look to show a pretty sharp leading edge.

Emma

[LoachOrgy]

yeah brett it looked like forks to me as well. i started using spoons instead of forks. i would hate for them to cut themselves with the fork. i usually stick the sharp part of the spoon into the cucumber or fruit so the only part sticking out is the actual spoon part. i use the spoon part and stick it underneath the gravel to keep it down and the loaches won't accidentally hurt themselves on it.


that screwcumber looks really sharp at the edges. usually the clowns jerk at the cucuber quite a bit. i would see that as being trouble for injury down the road.

[saseniukk]

From the website and from owning two of them. (daydreaming of getting a loach tank up and going soon)

Are the ends blunt or sharp?
The ends are chamfered to protect hands and fish, but will easily screw into Cucumber, Courgette etc...

[DW59]

Fully agree with saseniukk.
I have two screwcumber coils and they are brilliant.The edges have been chamfered and there's no way they'll cause damage.[/quote]

[LoachFiend]

do you have to soften the cucumber or fruit before you put it in? If so what methods do you use? I haven't fed my loaches anything except the occasional peas and I think I'd like to try some other stuff to see if they'd like it.

Thanks

[LoachOrgy]

in this video is a utensil that i got from big al's aquarium store for about 1.50$. i use it to feed the loaches bloodworms so that i can get a good view of them dancing around and pecking. it is quite entertaining. it only works at the top of the waterline though.

[Emma Turner]

do you have to soften the cucumber or fruit before you put it in? If so what methods do you use? I haven't fed my loaches anything except the occasional peas and I think I'd like to try some other stuff to see if they'd like it.

Thanks

Hi LoachFiend,

You don't have to do anything to the cucumber other than cut it into slices, unless you want to be extra kind and peel the skin off for the loaches. Not everyone does this, but I do, as loaches don't like the skin and it gives them a larger surface area to eat from. I also cut chunks from honeydew or water melon for the loaches, which they really enjoy. Again, I don't introduce the skin of the fruit into the water, as for one thing, you never know what some of these places might spray on them.

Emma