What's a good treat for clown loaches?

[jake37]

I've been feeding my clowns frozen bloodworms once a week - their normal diet is mostly hikrai loach pellets with a few warden shrimp pellets now and then - i don't want to buy more frozen bloodworms so is there some other quality treat that i coudl feed them once or twice a week. They also go after the zuc i put in twice a week for the pleco (i put in nice size pieces knowing that everyone else will nibble on it but the clowns really go for it).
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Also i'm a bit concern now that they are getting larger that I should be feeding them more. When I got them 8 months ago they were extremely skinny 1 to 2 inches now they are pretty darn bulky 4.5-5.5 inches. Normally i don't see them very often but they were out together looking for bloodworms (they don't run away when they think they will get a treat) so i gave them some shrimp pellets instead and the 5 of them went through 10 or 15 pellets in seconds which makes me thing i might be underfeeding them.

 

[vampireshrimpfan]

Maybe frozen mice

 

[jake37]

Sorry for the delay in responding. It took me a while to find a mice as we don't have any in the building. I asked it if it would jump into my freezer and it ran away so I don't think they will be an option.

Maybe frozen mice

 

[vampireshrimpfan]

They sell them at the pet store ( petsmart and petco ( I know we all are not fans of these stores )

 

[Redshark1]

Never heard of Clown Loach keepers feeding mice.

I'd suggest a varied diet based on suitable pellets but with 50% natural foods like bloodworm, pacifica krill etc. I thaw frozen and soak freeze dried.

I haven't tried mussels yet but some say its good.

 

[jake37]

Just how much does a larger clown need to be fed. Right now i toss in 20 hiraki pellets a night - but i have 12 sterbai; 5 clown; 5 zebra loach; 5 gold zebra loach 10 kuhli and 3 pleco (2 bn 1 flash) that share the food.
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At least right now i need stuff that is easy to order so it will have to be freeze dried stuff and local vegi and fruit. I picked up a banana today because i hear clown go crazy for them and i'll put in a small slice to see if they like it.

Never heard of Clown Loach keepers feeding mice.

I'd suggest a varied diet based on suitable pellets but with 50% natural foods like bloodworm, pacifica krill etc. I thaw frozen and soak freeze dried.

I haven't tried mussels yet but some say its good.

 

[Redshark1]

I feed the minimum that keeps all of them in good body condition. If they don't get enough they will slim down and you can tweek the amount.

They don't actually need anywhere near what you'd think, but its important that the one at the bottom of the pecking order gets enough.

I have a runty one and he goes into the corners to find food the others miss.

 

[jake37]

Ok. So far i don't have a runt - one is the boss and a little larger but the other 4 are similar size - they are a lot younger than yours i think your big one looks like it is 8 to 12 years old - mine are just closing in on a year (i picked up 4 together and 1 more a month later). Are yours the same age ?

 

[Redshark1]

All 26 years of age.

 

[jake37]

Wow - they just don't look that large in the picture but i guess lack of frame of reference. I'm going to be fairly old if mine make it to 30 (i'm planning a very large aquarium for them with an expected life span of 30 years). I would never have guessed it was a foot long.
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Do they breed in your tank and are they scary cats ? Mine will almost always hide if they see me looking in the tank. One is a bit more bold than the others and will mostly ignore me. Also when i feed them blood worms they will come up and grab em from me (I use one of those plant tweezers to feed the frozen bloodworms to the fishes) the gold zebra are much more out going. I had a pair of clowns when i was in college but those two never hid - maybe i ahve too many now. Anyway in about 16 months i hope to have the new tank and i'll add a couple of more and a few more gold zebra. I'll probalby move the zebra loaches ot the guppy tank and add some more angels and eba. Yea yea sa fishes never seen loaches in the wild but whatever. Maybe in a few years they will stop hiding.

All 26 years of age.

 

[Redshark1]

I'd say they hide more the older they are. But I see all of them at feeding time in the evening which is spectacular. There is often one or more out looking for food during the day but the tank can look empty at times. They tend to shy away from me, but for a period I was able to feed by hand and they would take food from the surface also. I think you have to put a lot of effort into it and its still up to them they don't always behave as you'd expect.

 

[vampireshrimpfan]

Sorry everyone I thought he meant Clownfish

 

[StarGirl]

Sorry everyone I thought he meant Clownfish

No fish eat mice in a tank.

 

[vampireshrimpfan]

No fish eat mice in a tank.

I saw a youtuber feed his clown fish mice

 

[Redshark1]

Maybe it was a Clown Knife.

 

[MacZ]

Maybe it was a Clown Knife.

Or one of the usual misidentifications on Youtube.

 

[jake37]

I don't care if it was a clown fish; clown knife; or a clown with a red nose. I'm just looking for suggestions for treats to feed the loaches once a week or so...

Or one of the usual misidentifications on Youtube.

 

[MacZ]

I don't care if it was a clown fish; clown knife; or a clown with a red nose. I'm just looking for suggestions for treats to feed the loaches once a week or so...

sure, my neighbour has big ones, gives them freeze dried tubifex and frozen bloodworms or on feast days bladder snails.

 

[jake37]

Well i gave up on bloodworms but i think i'll try tubifex since i can mail order the stuff. Is there a specific brand that is better than others or is it all the same?
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Thanks for reminding me about the snails - one of my tank got infected with ram snails - i've been meaning to put a piece of zuc in it to collect them and then drop it in the loach tank...

sure, my neighbour has big ones, gives them freeze dried tubifex and frozen bloodworms or on feast days bladder snails.

 

[MacZ]

Well i gave up on bloodworms but i think i'll try tubifex since i can mail order the stuff. Is there a specific brand that is better than others or is it all the same?
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Thanks for reminding me about the snails - one of my tank got infected with ram snails - i've been meaning to put a piece of zuc in it to collect them and then drop it in the loach tank...

I had an extra pack of sera fd tubifex that I gave him, I think he sticked to the brand because of the easy availability here.

Edit: Also, I collected bladdersnails from my tank until the went extinct to give him for the loaches, I guess ramshorns work too. They really go piranha for snails.

Edit#2: Also, soak the tubifex thoroughly, they come in cubes. 1 cube per loach should suffice as food for the whole day..

Those are my neighbour's loaches in the room right underneath me. Biggest one is about 20cm, other 3 about 15cm.

 

[jake37]

Ok. I can try that - my loaches are a little smaller but not a lot and they are a bit stockier. I actually have a lot of loaches in the tank and i'm sure the angels will also grab some.
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Why soak? In video i see folks just sticking them on the side of tank - does soaking help ?

 

[jake37]

Actually I just red that tubifex even from name brand can carry whirling disease. Seems like it not that common but fatal when it has it... maybe i should skip tubifex ?

I had an extra pack of sera fd tubifex that I gave him, I think he sticked to the brand because of the easy availability here.

Edit: Also, I collected bladdersnails from my tank until the went extinct to give him for the loaches, I guess ramshorns work too. They really go piranha for snails.

Edit#2: Also, soak the tubifex thoroughly, they come in cubes. 1 cube per loach should suffice as food for the whole day..

Those are my neighbour's loaches in the room right underneath me. Biggest one is about 20cm, other 3 about 15cm.

 

[86 ssinit]

MacZ beat me to it! Snails. Clown loaches luv snails. I have mts and bladder snails in my other tanks. Once each week mine get as many as I can catch. Funny there in a community tank and they’ve taught all to eat snails. It’s a feeding frenzy when I throw they in .

 

[MacZ]

Actually I just red that tubifex even from name brand can carry whirling disease. Seems like it not that common but fatal when it has it... maybe i should skip tubifex ?

If any in live worms, not in freeze dried. Also isn't whirling only found in fish like trout?

 

[jake37]

A bit of reading found this:
First some folks claim it come from freeze dried worms - enough to at least make me suspect. Second it appears that neon, some other tetra and cichlid can get the disease as well as live bearers. I saw no references to loaches.

If any in live worms, not in freeze dried. Also isn't whirling only found in fish like trout?

 

[MacZ]

No reports of this here other than in life tubifex.

 

[jake37]

Why do you soak the freeze dried food ?

 

[qldmick]

the growth rate in 8 months sounds pretty good as their not the fasted growers.
try and find these at a local store.
OF Ocean Free Insta Fresh Superior Bloodworms 100g
OF Ocean Free Insta Fresh Quality Artemia Brine Shrimp 100g

 

[jake37]

What do you do with the rest of the can once you open it to keep it fresh ? I would imagine it would take a while ot use the entire can.

the growth rate in 8 months sounds pretty good as their not the fasted growers.
try and find these at a local store.
OF Ocean Free Insta Fresh Superior Bloodworms 100g
OF Ocean Free Insta Fresh Quality Artemia Brine Shrimp 100g

 

[qldmick]

i would probably do them up in zip lock bags and freeze them. freeze dried is no good as it floats. mine don't get blood worms at all now as they live with malawi cichlids but i do feed frozen brine shrimp or mysis shrimp twice a week.

 

[MacZ]

Why do you soak the freeze dried food ?

Mainly so it sinks to the bottomdwellers. But also because they seem to digest it better.

 

[Redshark1]

Yes I soak freeze dried foods so they sink, but also because these foods swell and its better the swelling is done with the soaking than inside the fish.

 

[MacZ]

Yes I soak freeze dried foods so they sink, but also because these foods swell and its better the swelling is done with the soaking than inside the fish.

Yeah, my tetras bloat massively if I feed the stuff unsoaked.

 

[Susibug]

All 26 years of age.

Wow!

My oldest is between 14 and 16yrs (couldn't have imagined I'd need or want to know his age when I got him )