feeding loaches

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I C Mud
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Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:39 pm

feeding loaches

Post by I C Mud » Mon May 13, 2013 7:28 am

Hi I am new to the forum and have some experience with smaller clown loaches approx. 4". I recently purchased a 300 gallon aquarium and a group of fish that have lived together for a very long time. 22 clown loaches 4"-10"+(some approx. 20 years old, 14 angels, 5 ACI yellow tails, and one large albino pleco. They are all doing fabulous in their new home. My question is how much do I feed them. They seem to have an endless appetite. I have been feeding sinking pellets, prawn, shrimp and flakes. They are almost grabbing my fingers as I put in the food. How much too much. :idea:

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redshark1
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Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, Great Britain.

Re: feeding loaches

Post by redshark1 » Mon May 13, 2013 2:26 pm

I only feed as much as I need to. Just enough so that the weakest fish do not starve.

Observation is key.

I keep an eye on water quality too as this takes a nose-dive when I start feeding too much.
6 x Clown Loaches all 30 years of age on 01.01.2024, largest 11.5", 2 large females, 4 smaller males, aquarium 6' x 18" x 18" 400 ltr/90 uk gal/110 US gal. approx.

I C Mud
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:39 pm

Re: feeding loaches

Post by I C Mud » Mon May 13, 2013 2:30 pm

Thank you for your reply. I am running 2 very large filters so water quality at this point has not become an issue, but it makes complete sense to feed only the necessary amounts to keep them healthy. Don't want any fat loaches. :lol:

Loachloach
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Re: feeding loaches

Post by Loachloach » Mon May 13, 2013 10:31 pm

If you have decent filtration and do water changes regularly, then you shouldn't have issues even if you slightly overfeed. You've got many fish and some decent sizes too that probably need more food than the average fish tank, so it's hard to tell or compare to some of our mini tanks considering yours is a 300G :) Clown loaches ideally need small portions of food several times, rather than one big one daily but that depends on your schedule. I feed mine once.
The important thing is to feed sensible amounts and the same quantity each time, then the filter bacteria adjusts to that amount and you shouldn't have water quality issues if the tank is setup right. If you suddenly start increasing the food dose, then the filters will take time adjusting. It's the same as increasing the bioload.

See if there's much competition at feeding time. Fish start fighting when there's lack of food. In one of my tanks I have 5 clown loaches, 14 corys, a common pleco and lots of platies and they all bunch up at the bottom at feeding time. I do overfeed in a way to be honest but that's the only way to make sure they all get some in my case as there are too many botom feeders. And I've never seen food left overs at the same time. I've been doing it for a long time, but the tank is way overfiltered, it gets regular large water changes, sometimes 2x50% a week but minimum one and is planted so my nitrAtes for example are bottoming out and I add inorganic fertilizers of all sorts. I monitor the TDS so I know when I've overdone it. I've never seen a fish keel over from being overfed but how the tank is setup and maintenance schedule are not to be ignored when it comes to water quality. On another hand, unlike popular believes, fish can get stressed from starvation and constant competition for food, especially large specimens that need lots of food to be healthy.

Edit: Any pictures or videos of your tank :D ?

I C Mud
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:39 pm

Re: feeding loaches

Post by I C Mud » Tue May 14, 2013 6:50 am

Thanks for your input. I was always under the impression that clowns were shy around people, but mine see me coming and start standing up and what I call (begging for food). They come right to the surface and will grab shrimp or prawn right from my fingers. I doubt they are starving as their bellies look nice and full after feeding. The problem is they don't appear to have a shut off. The food I put in is gone before I can put down the serving platter :lol: The Angels and ACI's appear not to be suffering either. My only concern is that the albino pleco (rather large) not being able to get anything. I got him on the pellet only to have two loaches coax it from his mouth. I also threw in a moss ball and that disappeared in seconds. This was after what I consider to be a huge feeding. I have 2 -300 -500 gallon pumps one from the loaches original tank and a new one which when reading levels, are doing a fine job. I also have a bag of charcoal sitting on the driftwood to help with some water discoloration from said driftwood. They also have a strong stream pump. The bottom of the tank is sand. I am not seeing any leftovers. Will figure out how to download pictures this weekend. The large amount of clowns and their size just blows my mind. This is my dream tank. (almost) some modifications still on the way.

Loachloach
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Re: feeding loaches

Post by Loachloach » Tue May 14, 2013 4:26 pm

Thanks for your input. I was always under the impression that clowns were shy around people, but mine see me coming and start standing up and what I call (begging for food).
That's a good thing. Mine run away from me like the plague but with time it seems I can come closer and closer to the tank without them getting scared. Previously, the moment I opened the door of the room and they were gone. A larger group is best and I've heard it also depends on the temperament of the alfa loach. If she is skittish, the rest are too.

As for the pleco, you can feed him cucumber, zucchini, blanched peas, melon, mango, romaine lettuce, etc..
My pleco won't let anything near his veg for the most part, he sleeps on it if he can't finish it at once and pushes everyone away with his tail. Clown loaches will love a nibble on these too but the pleco has a better chance to rasp on it even if other fish jump around him taking bites too. At least the clowns can't bite and carry that away.

I C Mud
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:39 pm

Re: feeding loaches

Post by I C Mud » Wed May 15, 2013 7:33 am

I thank you and so does the pleco. I put cucumber slices partially under a rock to keep the loaches busy and then gave the lettuce to the pleco. The loaches nibbled only slightly at the lettuce and had a great time digging the cucumber slices from under the rock out. (very entertaining) Pleco hung onto the lettuce and enjoyed it. :D

I C Mud
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:39 pm

Re: feeding loaches

Post by I C Mud » Sun May 19, 2013 9:32 pm

Image
Here's a picture of the tank. Yeah to my son figuring this posting out.

Loachloach
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Re: feeding loaches

Post by Loachloach » Mon May 20, 2013 4:12 pm

The tank is very nice. Well done.

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redshark1
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Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, Great Britain.

Re: feeding loaches

Post by redshark1 » Mon May 20, 2013 4:49 pm

I C Mud wrote:Thank you for your reply. I am running 2 very large filters so water quality at this point has not become an issue, but it makes complete sense to feed only the necessary amounts to keep them healthy. Don't want any fat loaches. :lol:
I have two points to clarify here:

1. The number and capacity of the filters does not ultimately determine the water quality but the level of nitrates does and must be monitored regularly as part of your maintenance regime.

2. I consider overfeeding to mean the point at which the feeding starts to impact negatively on water quality.
6 x Clown Loaches all 30 years of age on 01.01.2024, largest 11.5", 2 large females, 4 smaller males, aquarium 6' x 18" x 18" 400 ltr/90 uk gal/110 US gal. approx.

I C Mud
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 9:39 pm

Re: feeding loaches

Post by I C Mud » Mon May 20, 2013 8:07 pm

I have done the ammonia tests 0 the nitrite, nitrate, hardness ,etc. all levels are very good. The 4000gph stream pump really helps with the circulation. The discoloration in the tank is coming from the driftwood, should settle down soon, if not then I will buy more new driftwood and replace the pieces we got with the fish. I am feeding them 3x a day but smaller amounts with lots of variety. They still seem to have huge appetites but settle quickly after the feeding frenzy takes place. None of the fish look like their missing any meals. Thanks again for the input.

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