Clown Loach Diet

[kooter]

What do loach keepers feed your clowns?! I've tried cucumber, zuchini, peas, carrots, etc. The only things I've been successful at are blood worms and sinking wafers. They go crazy for blood worms. :p: My clowns won't touch the veggies I throw in there?!
Any thoughts? I want to give them the best food for color and health.

thx.

[YuccaPatrol]

Mine go nuts for small snails that I pick out of my other tanks.

[Teelie]

Bloodworms, flake food (they'll actually click over this) and the occasional sinking algae wafer.

[TipStylez]

cuecumber when i have some, small sized cichlid pellets i have alot left over from owning a few cichlids, flakefood, bloodworms.

Bloodworms are magic to them, b4 they use to click to anything but idunko why not now.

[Gomisan]

Mine go nuts for small snails that I pick out of my other tanks.

Ahh so that might be what happened to the intruder I got recently!

[kooter]

They click over the sinking wafers and they just go nuts after the blood worms. Maybe I'll try peas. I know the rainbow shark likes them so maybe I'
ll throw a couple more in there to see if they like them too!

[Boohoo]

Mine really enjoy shrimp pellets and frozen brine shrimp.

[Gumby131]

snails.

[fishpoor]

zooplankton

[arcticwynta]

Mine eat frozen bloodworms,freeze dried tubifex worms, freeze dried shrimp, fish flakes and frozen pea blocks that I make.

[hsherman1986]

on this note, how can i make sure that my clown loach is eating enough? I bought him some sinking wafers, and some sinking shrimp pellets for a treat, and everytime i drop them in there, the mollies get to them before he does. They do leave some smaller pieces behind that Clyde (the loach) will come behind them and clean up, but what can I do to make sure that he gets to the food first? (i throw the sinking tablets in first, then the flake food for everyone else. the mollies eat the flake food first, then find the pellets, but by the time they are done eating the flakes, clyde still has not gotten to his wafers.)

[loaches r cool]

I have heard they suppose to like bananas, although I have tried a few times and havent actually seem them eat bananas. I feed em whatever frozen food was on sale at lfs (rotates monthly) blood worms, brine shrimp,etc. They also love the shrimp pellets I put in there (although they seem to like one brand alot more than another... I cant remember right now what brand I currently have but its the larger sized sticks).

[kooter]

on this note, how can i make sure that my clown loach is eating enough? I bought him some sinking wafers, and some sinking shrimp pellets for a treat, and everytime i drop them in there, the mollies get to them before he does. They do leave some smaller pieces behind that Clyde (the loach) will come behind them and clean up, but what can I do to make sure that he gets to the food first? (i throw the sinking tablets in first, then the flake food for everyone else. the mollies eat the flake food first, then find the pellets, but by the time they are done eating the flakes, clyde still has not gotten to his wafers.)

When my loaches come out of their driftwood to feed, the other fish are lucky they get anything. It's a huge frenzy. My loaches chase whatever is red (rainbow sharks tail). Every fish swims to get away and stays behind the loaches to pick up whatever they have missed or left behind.

[hsherman1986]

maybe they just haven't established their pecking order yet? The loach has only been in there for 2 weeks, and right now, is the same size as my two inch mollies.

[naps]

My clowns eat blood worms, brine shrimp, algea waffers, shrimp pellets, zuchini and any flakes that make it down to the gravel level. They eat it all!!
And I agree that the other fish are lucky to get any brine shrimp or blood worms, they basically get what's left over in the loaches wake.

[onepawnup]

mine just ate bottom feeder pellets most of the time...
I had one loach and he was a very skittish fish ...then i bought him two friends and his personality changed over night...they need friends

[hsherman1986]

that would be great if i had the room in my tank. I do not have enough room to add another loach. Once i get my other 55 gallon (planned in the very near future) and get it cycled, i plan on getting four more for a group of 5 loaches total.

[carpediem]

My clowns will eat essentially anything I put in the tank food wise. They are especially fond of bloodworms, mysis shrimp, and krill. They also click over par-boiled zuccini and spinach.

[nursie]

on this note, how can i make sure that my clown loach is eating enough? I bought him some sinking wafers, and some sinking shrimp pellets for a treat, and everytime i drop them in there, the mollies get to them before he does. They do leave some smaller pieces behind that Clyde (the loach) will come behind them and clean up, but what can I do to make sure that he gets to the food first? (i throw the sinking tablets in first, then the flake food for everyone else. the mollies eat the flake food first, then find the pellets, but by the time they are done eating the flakes, clyde still has not gotten to his wafers.)

You can do a couple of things to spot feed your bottom feeders. If the food is small enough, you can use a turkey baster to gently squirt the food where you want it, or a long clear plastic tube that you put the bottom down by a place your fish will feed, like outside his cave...and drop the food down it. It will keep the top and mid-level eaters from snagging it.
WHat I usually do...I break up the algae wafers into small pieces and scatter over the tank. I put the flake in first so the top feeders are busy, and then drop in the algae wafer pieces.

[Debra Mark]

Ours also enjoy dried peas and lentils and hikari pellets

[budrecki]

Yesterday I tried banana for the first time. We have this baby banana variety here in Florida, about 3 inches long. Just peeled and dropped the whole thing in. I was more than a little skeptical, until.......They went crazy! I've never seen the pack squabble over food before.

[arcticwynta]

Never heard of trying banana before so I may have to give this a try...just have to keep Hubby away from them long enough to get some in the tank :p:

[loaches r cool]

I am trying zuchinni for the first time and it seems to float. How do you all feed the zuchini... par-boiled? Sliced or made into spears? And do you attach it to something to get it to sink? Just curious, I like to know what others have done with good results.

[fishpoor]

nuke it for a minute . I use slices

[naps]

I am trying zuchinni for the first time and it seems to float. How do you all feed the zuchini... par-boiled? Sliced or made into spears? And do you attach it to something to get it to sink? Just curious, I like to know what others have done with good results.
You can put in under a small rock like I do, or use a rubber band. Some people use a chip clip, or you can buy clips at the pet store with suction cups.

[Snoozy]

From what I read clowns don't eat veggies as their primary food source so don't worry about it. My oldest is about 7 and he went through stages. He used to love shrimp pellets and bloodworms and now he won't touch them. He likes algae wafers on and off but he always liked flakes. He will eat zucchini, (raw and weighted), but won't eat it if it's parboiled. But he likes parboiled green beans and sweet potato. Go figure! His all time fav is frozen brine shrimp. He hides as soon as I approach the tank and all the other piglets munch it up before he gets any, so I don't thaw it. I throw in the frozen hunk and it thaws as it floats all over the tank. Even if he doesn't get any on the first go around, he spends the next hour or so rooting around in the substrate getting every morsel.

Lisa