Plant eating

[Ziggy]

I've recently returned to fish keeping after a break of 35 years.
In the past one of my favourite fish was the Pakistani loach.
I now have a small group of 4, half grown.
This time around I want to grow plants as best as possible and have introduced a CO2 system.
I have found holes in the centre of some leaves and the growing tips of some leaves as they emerged. Last night I saw that the loaches are responsible. I can't remember having this problem with them in the past. Is this normal and is there anything I can do?

[fish_frenzy]

It is normal. My sword plants in my loach tank look like swiss cheese! I recently started feeding them cucumber and zucchini a few times a week.

It seems to be working with all but one clown...she will sit there, look me in the eye and boldly hole punch my red diamond sword plant. But the minute I try to get a pic she is gone!

Tammy

[palaeodave]

My yoyos eat my amazon sword plants but don't bother any cryptocorines, java fern or valisnaria. Swords are cheap and they seem to need it in their diet so I don't mind at all.

[Ziggy]

Yes it's my sword plants thats getting the treatment as well. But as you say, they must need it and swords are cheap to buy. As they are the only loaches I have ever owned, do other loaches do the same?
BTW what's Zucchini?

[andre]

BTW what's Zucchini?

Courgettes

[Ziggy]

Thanks Andre

[helen nightingale]

mine also like to dig up plants and have destroyed a big clump of mature anubias. they seem to be happy nosing around in java moss and jave fern without doing too much damage.

[Diana]

Feeding plenty of fresh and lightly cooked vegetables may slow down the plant damage.
Peas, green beans, yams, pumpkin, squash, lettuce (not iceburg), cucumber, zucchini, lima beans...

[jones57742]

Feeding plenty of fresh and lightly cooked vegetables may slow down the plant damage.
Peas, green beans, yams, pumpkin, squash, lettuce (not iceburg), cucumber, zucchini, lima beans...

I feed a bunch of my home made recipes which have a ton of veggies; canned carrots, english peas, spinach, lima beans and green beans as well as banana.

I have not had a problem with my Yoyos munching on my plants.

Sophie: I never thought about lettuce. Do you use Romain?

TR

[Ziggy]

Went and bought some zucchani, cut a slice of one weighed it down and dropped it into tank. 6 hours later, they have totally ignored it.
Do you boil the veg. before adding?

[Mark in Vancouver]

Hey. Try using long "English" cucumber. It's the seedless kind that usually comes (here, anyway), wrapped in plastic. Give them about a one inch cross section. My loaches always preferred cucumber to courgettes.

You may also have some luck with frozen peas. If you dunk one in boiling water for about a minute, and then peel off the outer skin, some loaches will chase it around like a football.

I always had the best luck, though, with cucumber.

[Ziggy]

Thanks, will get a cucumber tomorrow. And a pea.

[mistergreen]

In my case (b. histrionia), the hole punching was a phase... They didn't really eat the leaves when I looked at the holes carefully.

They gave up that habit a few months later.

[LoachOrgy]

anubius fern and java fern are the only thing that survives with my clowns!

[Diana]

I slice the zucchini (courgette) thin and microwave it with a little water. When it is no longer quite so white, it will sink in the tank without weighting it down, and the fish go for it faster. Raw cucumber is another favorite. I will also feed fresh oranges. Again, slice thin. The fish eat the same part we like, and snails come to the rind. I collect the snails and toss them in the tanks with Loaches.

Many vegetables start off (in my house, anyway) frozen. I will thaw in a cup of hot water and feed without further cooking.
Peas: Remove the outer skin.
Green Beans: Slice lengthwise. The fish will start by eating the tender inside, and will eventually eat the whole thing.
Lima Beans: same as peas.
Carrots: not a favorite in my tanks.

Vegies that I buy raw, and cook:
Yam, hard squashes, pumpkin: Bake until done the way we would eat them, but no spices. If you add the skin of the squash or pumpkin to the tank the fish may not eat it. I include one of these in the frozen mix that I make, it is similar to Martin's recipe.

Leaf vegies can be blanched until they barely wilt. (Just a few seconds in the water- keep them in a strainer, dip and remove)
I do not feed iceberg lettuce, but I do feed red leaf, green leaf and romaine. I include spinach in the frozen mix that I make, similar to Martin's recipe.