Am I overfeeding my clown loach??

[Astonj]

Hey guys, this is my first time here so hello to you all! So I was wondering if i am overfeeding my clown loach. I have 4 and they are all about 2" roughly. I feed them two times a day, roughly 7am and 7pm and feed them either half a hikari algae wafer and some daphnia or a sinking tablet. I ask this because when I look at my clown loach's bellies they seem a bit large and when I look at them side on there bellies seem to poke out a big between the fin at the front and the fin more towards the back on the bottom of the fish. So looking at them side on you can see a little bulge of their stomachs but its not like bulging on the side, I can also see the like silvery lining of what I presume is their stomach however on all my clown loach ive always been able to see this so I think this is normal! So yeah thanks guys

[Diana]

At 2" long they are still very young. I would be feeding them more frequently, or adding a long lasting food for them to nibble on all day.

If overall they look healthy, good color, active, and not too fat they are fine.
Too fat is not a bulge in the belly, that will come and go as the fish eats, then digests the food. This is OK, the fish is not really fat, it is just the mass of the food that makes a bulge.
If the whole fish starts looking fatter, sort as if it was a balloon with too much air, then the fish may be getting too fat.

Clown Loaches should have a slight bulge when you follow a line along their ventral surface from right below the gills to the tail. It should be a smooth curve, not a big bulge. The back has a higher arch.

If you look at them from the top they should look streamlined, flaring from nose to eyes like a wedge, then tapering back to the tail.

[Astonj]

Thanks Diana, it is now the following day and the 'bulge' appears to have completely gone. As with the long lasting food you said about, where would one go about purchasing it? and whats it called? =) Also I drop hikari algae wafers into my tank which says on the packet leave for 2 hours so I do that, also after my fish were 'bulging' lol yesterday they were still searching for food! the greedy buggers! aha, thanks very much I get the feeling im gonna like this website!

[Diana]

Algae wafers, shrimp pellets and similar foods can be left in there overnight.
Other longer lasting foods come from the grocery store: Fresh and lightly cooked vegetables cab be nibbled on for several hours.
Zucchini, peas and yams seem to be my fishes favorites, but they will also eat almost any vegetable I put in there.
Softer things like Cucmber, melon, strawberries and oranges can be put in without cooking. Just slice off a small amount and drop it in. Some people add something to make these things sink, like rubber banding the food to a rock.
Zucchini, peas and other almost-soft foods can be blanched. Keep them more firm, not fall-apart soft.
Harder vegetables like yams, butternut squash and similar things can be cooked to about the same tenderness that we like them, but don't overcook them.

I get dried foods such as shrimp pellets, algae wafers, carnivore wafers and many others from
www.AlmostNaturalTropiclFishFood.com
Top quality products. Unfornunately his site was hit by a hacker, and he is trying to rebuild it. Here is how to contact him:
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/foru ... ic=23879.0