Fish foods...

[limelitediva]

What kinds of vegetables are good for freshwater fish? Are there any that are poisonous?

 

[richardL]

I was just about to post a thread asking the same question... I tried giving my fish green leaf lettuce, but they don't seem to really go for it. (I have platy's and tetras). The books and sources I've read say it's a good idea to supplement their diets with 'greens', but the question is, which greens?

I'm also wondering about live foods... in particular I see them selling baby brine shrimp on big al's, and also shrimp hatcheries..

Shrimp eggs
shrimp hatchery and here

does anyone have advice/experience regarding the shrimp hatchery kits or 'shrimp eggs in a box' as food?

thanks

 

[MoparORnoCAR]

~Squash (i.e. zucchini and yellow squash) and cucumber
These can be peeled or served with skin on. Remove any seeds since the fish will not eat them. Slice or cube the squash.

~Lima beans, peas (frozen), and sweet corn
Blanch the beans, peas, or corn in boiling water for just a moment, cool and peel.

~Broccoli (fresh or frozen)
Using the stalk, peel, blanch, cool, and serve either whole or in slices.

~Cabbage, lettuce, and spinach (fresh or frozen)
Blanching can be done, but some fish will eat the leaves raw.

~Banana, grape, mango, papaya, plantain, and pumpkin
Small chunks of fruit work best, served raw.

~ Apple, carrot, pears, potato, sweet potato, and turnip
Peel, slice and serve raw

 

[Raskolnikov]

does anyone have advice/experience regarding the shrimp hatchery kits or 'shrimp eggs in a box' as food?

The kits aren't necessary, and seem a bit overpriced in my opinion. There's an article that goes over the basics of hatching out BBS for food:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54108
Just scroll down to the BBS section; you probably have all the necessary equipment to hatch them out in-house.
I do use newly hatched brine shrimp nauplii as a fry food and for very small fishes (like black neon tetras). If used only occasionally as a treat, then the small vials of eggs are fine. If you plan on using them to raise fry or even feed them very often, I'd recommend buying a can from Kens Fish:
http://www.kensfish.com/kensspecialtyfood.html

 

[richardL]

Thanks- that's really good info. It seems fairly easy, but I don't have a spare tank to dedicate to this currently. However, this kit at $6.49 from Big Al's doesn't seem like too much of a rip-off (if it works)

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22685&category_id=1779&pcid1=2911

Do you think this kit carries out the same process, or is to doing something else ?

Also, MoparORnoCAR, thanks for the list of fruits & veggies, that helps a lot (especially the part about blanching).

 

[MoparORnoCAR]

No problem, I was just looking for that info myself, I'm glad I could pass it along.. I always see orange slices in the tanks at petsmart but I havent found anything about feeding oranges to fish on the web. I guess its a trial and error process to find out what your fish like, but remember to remove any un eaten pieces or they will foul uo the tank!

 

[Raskolnikov]

Thanks- that's really good info. It seems fairly easy, but I don't have a spare tank to dedicate to this currently. However, this kit at $6.49 from Big Al's doesn't seem like too much of a rip-off (if it works)
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22685&category_id=1779&pcid1=2911
Do you think this kit carries out the same process, or is to doing something else ?

Yes, that should work for hatching BBS (though you could use any container with an airstone to do the same). The reason that I use the tank is to keep things in a warm water bath in order to ensure that my eggs hatch out at roughly the same time (or hatch at all if it's too cold).

 

[UncaBret]

I give my fish 6-8 frozen peas two or three times a week. I just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds, let them cool and squish them into the water.