I just added 2 Cory's and a Pleco today to my established tank. I have been doing some reading on how/what to feed them. Need some clear answers.
1)I see there are quit a few wafers on the market, is there one that is better than the other? There are also algea wafers and sinking wafers, do I need to feed them both?!
2)As far as feeding "real" food (greens), have read anything from lettuce, romaine, zuchini, cucumber. Is there one I should try before another and how do you go about getting the food to them. Saw one idea of using a fork to get it to bottom area, will a metal fork cause harm to a tank? Plastic fork? Also how long do you leave food into tank? Will deteriorating food make a spike in water parameters?
Any first hand advice would be great! Like I said I have searched on here and just want some good clean cut answers! Thanks!
hey, ill try and help with as much as i can but a more experienced member can help you more. ill do my best though
1) for my cories and plecos i use just algae pellets and they absolutly love them, they usually hog one just for themselves :lol:, as for algae wafers im sure it will do the same job. as for the brand i cant help you out there as my lfs only stock one brand, but it might be helpful to try a couple of different brands, but i dont think they are that much different.
2) i also had this problem, but i took a suction cup that came with the filter (which i didnt use), and when i put a piece of zucchini, or cucumber, i cut a little rectangle ( to fit the end of the suction cup) and then twist it so it works as it would if i were to put it on my filter. im not sure about the fork though
I feed my clown pleco fresh veggies and algae wafers. I put them in the tank before lights out so I never really see him eat them, but they're gone in the morning so I guess he eats them. He also does a good job of eating algae and spends the day gnawing on his driftwood (which is an essential part of the diet of a lot of plecos). I usually skewer the veggies on a branch of the driftwood or stick a small rock on top of it.
My cories eat pretty much everything. They don't seem as adept at eating algae wafers, but they really like flake, sinking crumbles, shrimp pellets, frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms and tubifex, and absolutely love live blackworms.
I would only leave vegetables in the tank overnight. You can purchase vege-clips from some fish stores that work well. Before I had vege-clips I would place cucumber or zuchinni on fork and then remove it next morning . Fork was metal. Tried wedging it under rock but clown pleco would dislodge it and it would float to surface. He would not come to suface for it.With vege-clip I can simply slide the clip to the bottom of tank near his hideout.
I put a couple of pieces of cucumber in the tank once a week, weighed down with a plant weight. I put it in before going to bed at night, and remove first thing in the morning before going to work. One a week I give algae wafers, I always chuck in a full one, and another broken into pieces which the corys eat. In between times, regular fish flakes crumbled between my fingers and held underneath the water for a minute until they sink to the bottom, and occasionally frozen bloodworm which they all love.
I use Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers and Hikari Algae Wafers for my cories and pleco. I also use the veggie clip for zucchini or cucumber. They're only a few bucks and have a suction cup to stick to the side of the tank so the veggies don't float to the top.
I used to feel my pleco zucchini from my garden. I just tied it to some fishing line and put a little fishing sinker on the bottom to get it to sink to the bottom of the tank. I fed him at night too, because from what I understand they are night feeders.
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