What to feed large clown loaches ?

I currently have 7 clown loaches in a 180 - 5 of them I've had for 2 1/2 years and 2 much smaller ones only a week. Next year I will put them in a tank about 3 times larger and add 2 more so no worries on tank size. Currently the largest is around 6 inches and very bulky and the smallest of the original 5 around 4 inches. I currently feed them hiraki pellets; soilent green and zuccani along with meaty food i put in for the angels. My question is that as they get larger I presume they will require more food and I'm not sure pellets are going to cut it - is there another diet that is more suitable in bulk. Currently i judge their hunger level by how active they seek food when i put it in the tank - if they rush out during feeding I know i'm under feeding a little and if they wait till after everyone else eats to venture out then i know i'm over feeding and recently the largest two have been a bit more aggressive at eating... Also I've been tossing in a few extra mystery snails and it seems over time the clown loaches find them...

 

My six inch Red Tail Botias (Y. Modesta) do very well with Omega One large Cichlid sinking pellets.
Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job managing the Clown Loaches. No need to overthink things. As long as you feed quality foods & the Loaches bellies are thick, no worries.
Here's one of my chubby Red Tails.

 

You might try bug bites cichlid formulla. Maybe Zoo meds can o snails, there Can O Worms is good but blood worms probobly wouldnt last long for you. You might want to try making your own food, My fish love the food I made.

 

You might try bug bites cichlid formulla. Maybe Zoo meds can o snails, there Can O Worms is good but blood worms probobly wouldnt last long for you. You might want to try making your own food, My fish love the food I made.

And what food do you make for your loaches and how large are your loaches ?

 

Every day I feed freeze-dried Pacific Krill (the small one, the large one is Atlantic Krill) soaked in boiled water until they sink then rinsed. Frozen Bloodworms thawed and rinsed (I get an A4 sized sheet and break pieces off with pliers). Cooked Frozen Mussels or Prawns (from supermarket) thawed, rinsed and chopped. Finally I give them some Tetra Sinking Discus Granules which they love to dig for. Sometimes I feed freeze-dried Earthworms soaked in hot water and rinsed. Dried foods include Omega One Shrimp Pellets or New Life Spectrum Large Fish Formula. I spread the food out to enable all of them to forage for it otherwise the dominant fish take it all. I keep this list on file as people often ask and it also allows me to edit it. I added the mussels to the menu this year and they are very popular.

 

And what food do you make for your loaches and how large are your loaches ?

They are smaller loaches, 4-5 inches maybe, angelicouse and yoyos. I watched recipes on youtube after being very frustrated by the quality of fish food ingredients.
I steamed- broccoli, a tilapia fillet, sweet potatoes, carrot, a small peice of chicken a couple canned green beans. I added spirulina, cricket flour, the green been liquid from the can, blended it all up, poured on a sheet of wax paper, baked it on 200 degrees until it was mostly dry "took forever and smelled like death" Gonna sun dry it next time. and add garlic and soldier fly larvae. and try a glass pan so it wont be stuck to the paper.
My rainbows and Blue Acaras like it too. But I want to figure out how to make pellet foods instead of the junks

 

Why do you cook their food? Don't they eat it raw in nature ?

Every day I feed freeze-dried Pacific Krill (the small one, the large one is Atlantic Krill) soaked in boiled water until they sink then rinsed. Frozen Bloodworms thawed and rinsed (I get an A4 sized sheet and break pieces off with pliers). Cooked Frozen Mussels or Prawns (from supermarket) thawed, rinsed and chopped. Finally I give them some Tetra Sinking Discus Granules which they love to dig for. Sometimes I feed freeze-dried Earthworms soaked in hot water and rinsed. Dried foods include Omega One Shrimp Pellets or New Life Spectrum Large Fish Formula. I spread the food out to enable all of them to forage for it otherwise the dominant fish take it all. I keep this list on file as people often ask and it also allows me to edit it. I added the mussels to the menu this year and they are very popular.

 

Sorry for any confusion. I don't cook their food but the mussels I buy from my supermarket come cooked and frozen. I am not aware of any negative issues with this.

Clown Loaches seem to eat a wide range of foods. In my experience cheap dried processed foods are not digested well and create a lot of waste in the aquarium. I'd recommend good quality food.

The photo below was taken while my ornaments were being cleaned. The largest female is 11.5 inches and all are 27 years old.

 

"Why do you cook their food? Don't they eat it raw in nature ?"

I dont think raw meat would be good for making dry fish food. I steamed the vegies to soften them, I guess I didn't need to.

 

Sorry for any confusion. I don't cook their food but the mussels I buy from my supermarket come cooked and frozen. I am not aware of any negative issues with this.

Clown Loaches seem to eat a wide range of foods. In my experience cheap dried processed foods are not digested well and create a lot of waste in the aquarium. I'd recommend good quality food.

The photo below was taken while my ornaments were being cleaned. The largest female is 11.5 inches and all are 27 years old.

View attachment 805221

Thank you. I've been feeding mine omega-one shrimp and catfish pellets as well as hiraki pellets. I feed the angels in the same tank chilid flakes (omega-one) which is mostly salmon (I'd like to get the angels to eat pellets but a couple of them will pretty much only go after the flakes). I also been throwing in extra mystery snails since i have 100's - mostly the older adults which after a while the loaches chase down - can be a couple of days or a couple of months - some might find this cruel but i didn't ask the couple i purchased to make 100s on the side.
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I also drop in soilent green cubes and zuc for the pleco and the loaches seem to like both esp soilent green. I've seen the larger clown snarf an entire cube when hungry.
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I think i might try buying frozen muscle when they get older. It can be hard for me to guage how much to feed them but i guess when they get hungry they become more interested in eating when i feed the angels else they wait till it is dark to come out to eat.