confessions of a loach hoarder

[glenna]

Okay.
I have been LOVING my loaches, but ....
I think I feed them too much. I am always careful to keep the water parameters in good range by frequent water changes. My theory has been that as long as I keep the water clean by changing it, it should be okay to feed them well, right?
I am now coming to a new realization, that I do not have control, completely, over the replacement water, and may be causing shifts in TDS, etc, that can be stressful to the fish. I have not compared the source water to the tank water because I do 50% water changes on all my tanks from 4 to 7 days (so how different can it be???) I am beginning to feel that it may be VERY different and that I am putting my fish at risk with this attitude. I am not ready (financially or with space) to do RO water and add minerals so that I completely KNOW that the dissolved solids are the same.
I have several tanks with loaches, ranging from my 125g to a 20g. I am starting to realize that feeding them makes ME feel good, but may be forcing larger water changes than is safe.
So the question is how much to feed. Let's just look at my 125G. I have seven clowns (most are about 4 " but LArry is bigger - nice and fat! and three angelicus _ maybe 3 " each in there} I also have a number of dithers and some plecos, but the bottom feeders are really the loaches. My dithers are 7 rainbows which are large mature fish who eat very well, and a smaller school of Buenos aires tetras.

I feed algae wafers, shrimp pellets, blanched zucchini and blood worms (B.W. only once or twice weekly) . The dithers get quality flakes. Everybody gets fed twice daily.

They are currently happy and healthy, but I worry I am creating too much waste, and the risk of disease increases. What would YOU feed this crew?

[Kush]

Cut your feeding's back to once a day and I know this may be hard, but don't feed them one day outta the week. My loaches are still fatty's with this feeding routine.

[chefkeith]

I'm probably not the best person to answer. I fed my clowns restaurant quality seafood on a daily basis. They also get a variety of Omega One pellets each day. Also some fresh veggies a few times per week.

I won't fast them for a few reasons. One being that I want the bio-filters to have a constant source of ammonia so that they stay in peak condition. The other is that my clowns will dig up my planted tank looking snails if I don't feed them.

As for water chemistry, if you just check the tap and tank water TDS before you do water changes, then you won't need to worry so much about it. Or just figure out a way to do smaller, more frequent water changes.

[Marcos Mataratzis]

The best termometer for excess feeding is nitrates. If you do control nitrates you will be able to know if you´re feeding too much or not. Nitrates consumption by the system is slow. If you add too many food, the waste will become nitrates. You can remove them by doing WC, as much frequent and bigger percentuals as needed. If even so nitrates are high (~20-30 PPM or higher) then youor tank is not big enought for your fishes or you´re feeding too much.

[glenna]

well, thanks all, for your thoughts
I keep my nitrates under 15 (less in the less populated tanks). I know I have maximized the bioload of fish in the 125, so do not plan on adding more.
I just feel they should NOT need a 50% water change every four days .
So, I will reduce the feed volume, but still do twice daily feeds. I think I will skip one of the feeds per week, but not a whole day (I know I am a wimp).
I think this will help (esp if I check the TDS etc, before changes. I think I will worry less.)

[Donna]

My tank is at work, so my poor loaches (and the angels) starve every Saturday and Sunday. In spite of this, everyone seems fine, fat and healthy. I do a 20% WC weekly, vacuum the sand, and rinse or replace filter media. The tank is understocked, but my coworkers make up for this by overfeeding. I wouldn't fast them two days in a row if it weren't a half-hour commute each way.