Loaches Online Forum

Hello, my baby clowns are doing great and I got them some treats at the store but I have a couple of questions as to how to feed them.

I got cantolope (sp) and broccoli. As Emma suggested I kept the weights from my plants to use. Do I just rinse it and drop it in there? May be a silly question but don't wanna do the wrong things. Also, they seem to be doing great with my angelicus boita are they suggested to be together?

Thanks,
Krista

I've got Clowns with Botia kubotai. They've lived together for about 4 years now perfectly amicably.

I've never fed either cantaloupe or broccoli, but I would blanch the broccoli first. I'm sure others who've fed it can advise.

Martin.

Martin Thoene wrote:I've got Clowns with Botia kubotai. They've lived together for about 4 years now perfectly amicably.

I've never fed either cantaloupe or broccoli, but I would blanch the broccoli first. I'm sure others who've fed it can advise.

Martin.

haha, ok, here it goes...what does blank mean? hehe

Kris

blanch that is, oh my goodness, silly me

Hi,
To blanch is to drop the food into boiling water for 1-1 1/2 minutes, then cool before feeding it. There's lots of good info in the Loach Almanac about feeding loaches. I have referred to it numerous times. Have fun feeding your loaches.
I have 6 clowns, too, and they are wonderful! Hope you'll post pics of your big tank when it's done.

loachmom wrote:Hi,
To blanch is to drop the food into boiling water for 1-1 1/2 minutes, then cool before feeding it. There's lots of good info in the Loach Almanac about feeding loaches. I have referred to it numerous times. Have fun feeding your loaches.
I have 6 clowns, too, and they are wonderful! Hope you'll post pics of your big tank when it's done.

Thanks Loachmom,

The cantelope didn't go over well so we will try the blanched brocoli. Thanks again.

Kris

Kris,

My loaches seem to especially enjoy cucumber (peeled and weighted down.) I don't blanch the cucumber. Also, the whole tank really likes peas. I blanch them, then peel the skin off each one and drop them in the tank (they sink on their own.) All the fish go after them. One person that posted here had a clown that got a piece of pea stuck in its throat for awhile. So make sure they are a little smushy before you drop them in.

You might try broccoli stem instead of the flower part, it's less messy (less smelly too) & my clowns like it better. I just peel off the outer layer of a vertical slice & microwave for 20-30 seconds. But really they prefer zucchini raw or slightly cooked & romaine.

About the zucchini, do you slice it into spears or slices? Blanch it? Just curious. I just started doing fresh veggies recently, only thing I have tried so far is peas. I drop several in there and they usually eat em all. I take a few frozen peas, put in a ramekin with a little (1/4") water and zap em in my microwave for about 25-30 seconds. About half of them pop open so I dont have to shell very much. I put em in cold water for a minute to cool, then drop em into the tank. It takes forever for my stove to boil water so does this microwave method sound ok?

LUVaLOACH wrote:blanch that is, oh my goodness, silly me

Dont forget you can edit your post and make correction by hitting the Edit button after you've submitted it. I usually end up correcting several spelling and grammar errors on just about every post(a few still slip by though)... I type at around 50 wpm but I spell at about 40 wpm!

I blanch my peas in the microwave. I put them in a coffee mug with water. They are frozen when I put them in. It takes my microwave about 2 minutes to get them soft enough

I was wondering about the zucchini, too, whether it needs to be blanched or can be served raw. Glad you asked!

Well, my clown babies don't seem to be interested in anything but blood worms. I have tried everything suggested with the exception of the peas, that's next. Do you think it's just because they are so little. They are less than an inch each...I could hardly believe it when I saw them in that fish bowl!

Anyway, thanks for all your tips and I will keep trying.

Kris

Kris, try and get hold of some other small frozen foods for these tiny clowns, such as daphnia and baby-brineshrimp which are both very nutritious. Bloodworm is ok, but it is very rich and should be fed in moderation. You can also try white mosquito larvae which comes from cleaner waters, is not so rich, and which all loaches seem to relish.

Good luck

Emma

I slice a small zucchini lengthwise about 1/8-1/4 inch thick, I use the middle part, they don't eat the skin. I just rinse, set on a small plate & zap for 20-30 seconds for 2 slices & cool. Raw is also popular after it sits in the tank & softens a bit
They get peas when we have them for dinner so I cook them in the microwave too. For 2 cups with 1 or 2 TBSP water I do about 1 1/2 min shake, then 1 1/2 min more. Cool & squish out the "guts".
For fish not used to veggies I cut a tiny slit in the veg & place a shrimp pellet or piece of tablet food in. Some people put garlic in the cooking water to flavor it but I haven't tried that yet.

Emma Turner wrote:Kris, try and get hold of some other small frozen foods for these tiny clowns, such as daphnia and baby-brineshrimp which are both very nutritious. Bloodworm is ok, but it is very rich and should be fed in moderation. You can also try white mosquito larvae which comes from cleaner waters, is not so rich, and which all loaches seem to relish.

Good luck

Emma

Well, I finally got my clowns, in a very odd way but hey...they are here and the big tank is on the way too! I do have some of the white mosquito larvae and just about everything else. I like to vary all my fishies diets, I will give them some of that tomorrow. They do like the sinking shrimp pettets, if I break them into really small pieces. Thanks for the tip.

Take care,
Kris

Hi Kris,

All my fish seem to really enjoy Hikari Micro Pellets. The pellets are really small, almost like grains of sand. The fish, especially loaches, spend quite a bit of time hunting them all down. Maybe since your loaches are so tiny, they would like them, too. Just a thought.