# Feeding Zuchinni?



## BigFish (Feb 5, 2004)

I was wondering whats best way to feed Zuchinni? Also can I use Lettuce to? I have a clip for the side of the tank. Do I clip it? Or should I just throw it in to float/ sink? Do I need to prepare the Zucchinni or lettuce any special way? Or just rinse it and serve as is raw? Thanks for any help.


----------



## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

silicone a plastic drywall anchor to a suction cup. then you can 'screw' the zuchini onto the drywall anchor and suction cup it to the side of the can near the bottom (or on a barebottom). great for feeding plecos


----------



## BigFish (Feb 5, 2004)

yeah but do you have to "blanche" it first? Or just serve raw?


----------



## rsretep (Apr 12, 2007)

i use a rubberband around a large piece of gravel to sink it

i dont blanch it


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *BigFish*

Mate, I've only ever fed vegies to plecos. Never blanched it or anything else, just a quick rinse under the tap, then cut in half and rubberband onto a rock.

Here's a pic of another way to sink it, http://www.plecofanatics.com/forum/show ... hp?t=76417


----------



## BigFish (Feb 5, 2004)

say you have a big zuchinni, is it ok to keep feeding it till its done, even if it gets abit mushy or old? thanks for the help guys


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

I never leave any vegetable in my tank for more than 24 hours. What isn't eaten in that time gets thrown in the garden. Similarly I don't feed vegies everyday either.

What are feeding?


----------



## BigFish (Feb 5, 2004)

Tinfoil Barbs, Green Phantom Pleco, Bristlenose, Snowball, Royal, Green Terror, Jag, Oscar, Gold Severum, Jack Demspey

Other than the Plecos, the Severum and Barbs eat alot of Algae Wafers now. I have been trying to grow Duckweed and they keep eating it, so I thought I would try Zuchinni. They at my Nana and all my java moss and ferns.


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

The zuchinni will be fine for your plecos. I'd look at feeding them twice a week with vegies and twice a week with algea waffers.

For your cichlids, most note-ably the salad munching Severum, you can blanch some peas then shell them, or blanch some romaine lettuce. I would think about feeding the cichlids vegies on the days you don't feed the plecos vegies. This way anything the cichlids don't eat, may get cleaned up by the plecos.

One thing to note with feeding lots of vegies in a tank, is the amount of waste and uneaten foods that can build up in your tank and filters. Typically vegie eaters produce a lot of waste as they have to eat so much more vegies to get the same nutritional value a small amount of protein based food will give.* Only you can tell by looking at your tanks, but you should look at doing two or three water changes and substrate vacs per week if your going to be feeding lots of vegies to the tank. Also consider emptying your filter/s once a week and a full clean and detail once a month.

*Don't think to substitute meaty or high protein prepared foods for vegies eaters as these can destroy thier intestinal tracts and kill them.


----------



## BigFish (Feb 5, 2004)

yeah right now Im using Veggie rounds, Krill, Hikari Gold, Tubifex, Algae wafers and Spriullina as food. I feed it to them all at once so they eat what they want. Thanks for the help Ill go get some vegetables this weekend.


----------



## DiscusQueen (Jul 16, 2007)

Hi there.. I've found that all my fish over the years have loved peas as well as zucchini.. I blanch slices of zucchini (about 1/4 inch thick) by putting them in a saucer with a bit of water in the microwave for a few seconds and then letting it cool. While it may not be necessary, I just feel that you don't know whats on the skin and that's an extra safety precaution for me as well as making it easier for the fish other than the plecos to eat.. I then wrap one of those metal pieces that come around bunch aquatic plants when you by them around the slice and drop it in the tank. With peas, I use frozen... I just take a few frozen ones out of the package and pop the skins and then put the peas straight in the tank.. no blanching etc.. I've done this with discus, angels, sevs, geos, salvini etc... they all love some veggies.. :lol: . I leave it in there for 24 hours max and usually it's all gone by then.. Good luck with your fish. Sue


----------



## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

I used to feed zucchini to my eartheaters and pleco's (right now I feed wafer mix so also algea wafers). I did blanched it abouth the same method as DiscusQueen. The blanching is not for sterilize the zucchini but making it softer so it is easier to feed for the pleco's. I noticed my pleco's love the outside of the zucchini as well as the inside. I keep it at the substrate by sticking a teaspoon through it. For the eartheaters I blanched a slice and chopped it in small parts at the size of a pellet so the fish can swallow it right away. For fast growing floating plant you could ad riccia fluitans. In the first stage it looks like duckweed and grows just as fast,...if not faster. Never leave the zucchini in the tank for 24 hour or more. I discovered it started become bad after abouth 12 hours. I dropped it in right before the tank lights went out and took it out the other morning. This gave the pleco's all night to feed on it.


----------



## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

I tried fresh veggies for a bit. The blackbelt would relish zucchini. What she didn't eat, she wouldn't eat. Our plecos never paid much attention to it.

I found that the ratio of zucchini wasted to that actually eaten was heavily skewed towards waste.

I just started using Omega One's veggie rounds. Apparently better tasing with zero waste.

-Ryan


----------

