Feeding hillstream loaches

[sora1600]

What do I feed hillstream loaches? I'm planning on getting only sewellia lineolata but also Gastromyzon scitulus if I can find them. So far I researched that they like algae wafers, bloodworms, vegetables, and brine shrimp. Anything else? I want to be prepared before getting them.

[platytudes]

Have you ever made European shrimp mix? I imagine they would like that as well:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/food_recipes.php

I know there is some kind of Mazuri gel food that they would probably relish...Inka would know, as would MsJinkzd the formula I am talking about.

Edit: http://www.mazuri.com/Home.asp?Products=2&Opening=2
Probably the Herbivore Aquatic Gel diet, though not sure if the no corn one is preferable...probably!

[spencerguy1]

Mine eat algae, shrimp pellets, garbage and other crap that settles on the substrate, etc.

What fish are stocked with them? Mine rarely get a good meal because they are with corys and plecos. If you have very energetic bottomfeeders, you might need to spotfeed r find something only they like.

[sora1600]

Thanks for the links. I'll check it out when I get on my home computer.

Spencer, I don't plan on adding anything else to the tank. Just the loaches.

[PlecoLuvr]

I feed mine shrimp pellets and Pure Aquatic bottom feeder pellets. They are both big but when they are in the water for just a bit they get soft. mine love them and I alternate between they to give them a balanced diet. They also like green beans, don't ask me why, but they do.

[spencerguy1]

Thanks for the links. I'll check it out when I get on my home computer.

Spencer, I don't plan on adding anything else to the tank. Just the loaches.
Ok, then algae wafers, veggies, shrimp pellets, etc. Would work.

[happypoet]

Mine rarely eat anything other than the algae in my tank. I've read from a number of places that they'll eat all sorts of things, but mine seem to prefer the natural algae. They also like the Mazuri herbivore gel food (the no corn one).

If you do source some Gastromyzon, please let me know where!

[sora1600]

Thank you all for the food suggestions. Will check everything out once I'm home.

Happypoet, I love your hillstream tank. Such a lovely environment for the fishes. Yea, I'm going to see if my local transhipper can get me some since he gets a lot of Asian fishes.

[happypoet]

Thanks so much! It's my favorite tank I've done so far.

I just ordered a kg of the Mazuri Herbivore gel powder (the smallest amount one can order). Inka sent me some to sample before I bought, so I'll pass on his kindness and send you a sample from my batch if you want to try it sometime. Just pm if/when you want it! Sewellia are adaptable to a variety of foods, but mine certainly seem to like the stuff!

[sora1600]

I'll make sure to PM you before getting the loaches. Right now I'm just planning and getting their tank ready. Planning to get them around the end of November or December. Not in any hurry since I want to make it the best I can for them.

[toddnbecka]

I've been feeding mine NLS Grow pellets and occasionally canned green beans (also have LDA-08's in the tank) and spirulina flake. Same diet I feed all my fish from SA and African cichlids to Hypancistrus, BN, and L-134's. I noticed that they seem to have cleaned the hair algae off the sponge filter. Now if they'd just eat it out of the java moss...

[sora1600]

Thank you all for the ideas. Will look up everything once I get my wireless net fixed since I'm not a fan of mobile net.

Also, there is a big chance I can get some Gastromyzon:). Have to make a list of what I want to get and bring to my importer in about a month. He lives across town so have to plan everything first.

[sora1600]

Happypoet, I couldn't reply to your PM since your inbox is full. Thanks for the link and they are beautiful loaches. Have to also PM you about the Mazuri gel food.

I found some gastromyzon ctenocephalus so if it works out, I'll be getting them late next month or after:dance: when I move their tank to it's permanent room.

I think I'm going to just put some rocks in the sun to grow algae, feed algae wafers, veggies, and the gel food if I can get some to try out. Hm, I wonder if the shrimp pellets would work also since my corys never touched them. Has anyone tried plecocaine from AB, before? I have a container of NLS so I'll experiement with NLS pellets too, when I get the loaches.

[platytudes]

I'm sure fish do like Plecocaine, but the ingredients don't seem like anything I want to feed my fish. "Spray dried animal cells"...? Sounds like trout bait to me.


GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
CRUDE PROTEIN (MIN) 50.0000%
CRUDE FAT (MIN) 17.0000%
CRUDE FIBER (MAX) 3.0000%
CALCIUM (CA) (MIN) 1.5500%
CALCIUM (CA) (MAX) 2.0500%
PHOSPHORUS (P) (MIN) 1.2500%
SODIUM (NA) (MIN) .0500%
SODIUM (NA) (MAX) .5000%

INGREDIENTS
FISH MEAL, WHEAT FLOUR, SPRAY DRIED ANIMAL BLOOD CELLS, FISH OIL, FISH OIL
(LS), BREWERS DRIED YEAST, BETAINE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, LECITHIN,
CHOLINE CHLORIDE, L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE,
DL-METHIONINE, MENADIONE SODIUM BISULFITE COMPLEX, THIAMINE MONONITRATE,
BIOTIN, FOLIC ACID, CHOLECALCIFEROL, RIBOFLAVIN, DL-ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE,
VITAMIN A ACETATE, ETHOXYQUIN (A PRESERVATIVE), ZINC OXIDE, VITAMIN B-12
SUPPLEMENT, MANGANOUS OXIDE, FERROUS CARBONATE, COPPER SULFATE, ZINC SULFATE,
CALCIUM IODATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, COBALT CARBONATE.


(Sorry for the caps, this is how Lochachata posted it)

[sora1600]

Yea that kind of makes me not want to get it. I've heard great things about his food though. I guess I won't get it just in case it's not good for the loaches. Thanks for the information, too. Totally forgot to look up what was in it.

[Rjb3]

Google AquaMax. It's trout chow made by Purina. Ingredients: Fish meal, poultry by-product meal, dehulled soy-bean meal, ground corn, spray dried animal blood cells, fish oil, fish oil (LS), corn gluten meal . . . . . .

Protein 50%
Crude fat 16%
Crude fiber 3%
Calcium (Ca)min 2%
Calcium (Ca) max 2.5%
Phosphorus (P)min 1.3%
Sodium (NA)min .10%
Sodium (NA) max .50%

I think it sells on AB under a few different names. Or, you can go to your local feed mill, co-op, or any Purina dealer and buy it for $1 per pound. A friend of mine from Chicago told me what it was and how people were selling it. It's also one of the reasons I started to make my own fish food. Then I know what's really in it.

[platytudes]

Yeah, if you want to veer away from off the shelf brands (which might not be a bad thing, although Omega One is one of my favorites and has nothing to hide) you might as well buy from someone like Ken's or Captain Bob's ^^ who actually make their own food. Selling repackaged food and rebranding it as your own seems pretty unethical to me. It's one thing to say "I'm selling samples of ______"...of course, there's no money to be made in that. I've actually lost money doing that, although it was worth it because everyone (including myself) got to try some great new food. This is Xtreme cichlid pellets I'm talking about, btw...another company besides Omega One which I can't find fault with. Xtreme is some high quality stuff!

[platytudes]

Wow, this whole discussion brought me to a thread on AquaBoards last year around New Year's (Rjb3, I bet you remember it) and reminded me of why I don't like to peruse Aquabid. There are some really obnoxious sellers on that site. I can't stand all the gaudy graphics, animated GIFs, etc. either, it's always a time warp back to my AOL dialup phase...

One last thing to say about this. When you take someone's...words, music, ideas...and call them your own, that's called plagiarism. Everybody agrees it's wrong. Why do so many people think it's ok for a seller to sell Purina's trout chow and call it Plecocaine™? Is Purina even aware this is happening?

And if someone starts with a basic staple feed and then adds in their own ingredients, it's still the right thing to do to list what they started with.

I think plenty of people would be happy to buy AquaMax in convenient portions. I hope this isn't going to happen to Mazuri gel food, with people selling "Veggie Awsum Tasty Gels" or whatever!

[sora1600]

Wow. Now, it kind of makes me paranoid what's really in the food I feed the fishes. I think I will try to make my own food, if I can, using the shrimp recipe link or others I find.
Thank you both, and others, for giving me more information on foods and which ones to trust or not. Now, I'm off to make a list of foods that I know will be good for the loaches.

[happypoet]

pm box open!

[platytudes]

Just be sure and read the ingredients, and you'll be fine :) A good food has nothing to hide, and will list the ingredients right from the beginning. Don't be fooled by flashy websites and testimonials. I saw this advertisement for this neat new food on AFI: http://cobaltaquatics.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2&zenid=t8g2lrmatt96a79vld7c6l0ph4
The food has probiotics in it. I might try one kind...but I really dislike that there are no ingredients listed on the website! I'll only try the one if they email me back with an ingredients list.

Check out Omega One's veggie rounds: http://www.omegasea.net/veggie_rounds.html

NLS Algae Wafers: http://www.petco.com/product/112090/New-Life-Spectrum-H20-Stable-Wafers-12-Inch-Sinking-Wafer-Fish-Food.aspx

These foods are full of good ingredients. They don't have a lot of binders and fillers. They won't make the fish fat. They can be fed throughout their lifespan, unlike other foods which are only made for growing out fish. Like feeding your adult cat kitten chow.

Too many people want fast results. They look for bulk, feeding response, quick color...instant gratification. Quality foods will make them reach their full potential over time, just like they were meant to :)

It's a neat experience making your own food, I have done it many times but don't do it as often as I used to. Just know there are plenty of ready made staples you can trust. Usually, homemade food is too rich to be fed as a staple. I believe even in that European shrimp mix link it said not to feed it more than once a day, because it does put some extra strain on your filter.

This is Wardley's claim to fame - "makes water clearer" - um yeah, because there's all kinds of wheat, corn...carbs, vs. the messier protein. It may keep water cleaner, but fish do better not being fed too much of that stuff.

[Rjb3]

Remember the thread? I started it. Went something like: Trout chow $5 per pound, Lord knows what $48 per pound. I will not lose my focus. They accused me of being drunk when I was just trying to make a point. It didn't hurt me and I haven't lost my focus.

I guess if you bought a Chevy for $15,000 and re-sold it unchanged for $75,000 as a "Whatever", GM wouldn't get too worried.

[sora1600]

Yea I usually feed my fishes 3 to 5 different types of food. I switch off feeding veggies and things that have shrimp and stuff.

[platytudes]

Remember the thread? I started it. Went something like: Trout chow $5 per pound, Lord knows what $48 per pound. I will not lose my focus. They accused me of being drunk when I was just trying to make a point. It didn't hurt me and I haven't lost my focus.
What was amazing was all the people saying stuff like "Don't worry what anyone says, I'll continue to buy your fine product!"

Umm...first off, not your product...and secondly, not such a fine one, either, or it wouldn't be dirt cheap.

It's too bad fish like food that's bad for them so much, remind you of any other species? You should see my feeding response to French fries! And I bulk up quickly too ;)

We have a beautiful park near where I work with a koi pond. They hardly want the pellets out of the vending machine anymore because they are so used to potato chips and bread.

[sora1600]

Ok so I decided I'm going to try out these foods since I have them already or easier to get:
Veggies: zucchini, green beans
Frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp
Mazuri gel food
Algae and shrimp wafers
And of course algae on rocks that have been growing slowly

I'm going to try these out on the loaches and see what they like. Thanks all for the input of foods. Hopefully the loaches are not picky eaters.