Loaches Online Forum

Finally picked up some healthy dwarf chain loaches for my 110 liter! They recently went out of quarantine and into it.
However, it looks like the existing green neon/cardinal tetras are so much faster to the food that the loaches have to be target fed. Anyone have experience target feeding dwarf chain loaches (eg: how fast did they pick up on it and how well does it work for them in your experience)?

I don't have tried it myself, but I know that for catfishes - also living on the bottom - pewople have suggested feeeding after light out, and feeding through a tube.

Adding some flakes to the tank will draw the others to the surface, after which you can feed the rest through a tube. Wheter granulated food, wet flakes or something else, that is up to you

I didn't find sids to be that hard to feed. Give flakes or slow sinking bits for the dithers & a few wafers or pellets etc. for the loaches. If you only feed them at night you will encourage them to be more crepuscular/nocturnal. I preferred to see them with lights on.

Let them settle into your tank routine, it shouldn't take them long to catch on. Mine were never all that shy in any tank at food time.

Advice all around appreciated, thanks. Tube feeding was what I had in mind, and if they don't catch on I'll be doing it.
But for now, hopefully they'll catch on during the day like Nancy said.

I use a clear plastic pipe usually used in overhead filters. I have cut a length that allows the pipe to reach the substrate and stick out the water a little.
When I feed, I place the tube in the bowl on the substate and drop the food down. Once it is in the bowl, I remove the pipe and fish feed.
In tanks with fish that may eat all the food, I first feed the greedy fish until they are full. Only then do I feed the loaches.

You could also make the feeding spot in a location that loaches are more likely to be at home in and dithers can't take over like between a root tangle or rock pile.

Update. Looks like the chain loaches have caught on to the point that they go to the top of the water.
They don't have any problems competing with the tetras for food now. Whew.

Do I get to say I told you so? LOL! I'm glad they & you figured it out. That's often the way with tanks, finding what works for each different 1.

NancyD wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 04, 2022 8:18 pm

Do I get to say I told you so? LOL!

You sure do! And boy am I happy you did

Thanks for the compliments. It couldn't be more true how different every tank is.