feeding spinach to otos

[plah831]

I tried giving my otocincluses some blanched spinach last night and they didn't touch it! I cooked it until it was nice and soft and attached it to a veggie clip near their favorite spot. In the morning, not so much as a bite was taken out of it. What am I doing wrong?

How long do you guys cook it, until it turns dark? I didn't want it to be mushy and muck up my water. It was soft, but still lighter green.

Also, the spinach was floating in the current, so I don't know if they thought it was "stable" enough to try out. Maybe I cooked it too long and it was too soft, then?

 

[tai95]

I never boil,blanche,microwave any veggies I give to my fish. Just cut off a piece of whatever and drop it in. If the fish don't finish it off the snail (MTS and red ramshorns) do. Also if this was the first time you've offered it to the otos they may not realize that it's food. It usually takes a while for the fish to learn it's food, but once they do it usually doesn't last long in the tank. In my one tank that has a royal and 2 bristlenose plecos I throw in 2-3 large slices of zuchini, cucumber, or sweet potato at night and it's gone in the morning.

 

[plah831]

how come you don't blanch? if the spinach is intact, won't raspers like otos and plecos just skim the surface of it, like they're trying to remove the algae on a leaf?

 

[tai95]

Never saw a point to do it. When my plecos attach to it they eat little holes through the leaves and the snails finish the rest. Like I said I have never done any cooking of anything and have never had a problem.

 

[plah831]

correct me if i'm wrong, but won't plecos chomp on live plants, but otos don't? maybe that's where we're differing.

 

[tai95]

Plecos don't usually "chomp" on plants. They scrape the surface with their lips and teeth. With enough scraping they will eventualy eat a hole through the plant,leaf,veggie. Pleco's have a larger mouth, but the way they and otos eat is very similar.