# Trophs and Cucumbers



## rphox2003 (Aug 30, 2018)

Hi,

When I was keeping Mbunas, I would peel a cucumber and drop it into the tank every other week or so for a change of pace and to watch the feeding frenzy. Can I do the same with Trophs?
TIA.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

rphox2003 said:


> Hi- When I was keeping Mbunas, I would peel a cucumber and drop it into the tank every other week or so for a change of pace and to watch the feeding frenzy. Can I do the same with Trophs? TIA.


I've never tried to feed my _Tropheus_ cucumbers, but a really great way to get some fresh veggie roughage into their diet is to feed them large leaves of fresh Romaine lettuce. You need to tether the lettuce to something so the _Trophs_ can rip off bite-sized bits from the edges; I just wedge the stalk end of the lettuce between the glass cover and the edge of the tank. The _Trophs_ will not recognize the lettuce as food initially, but once one or two fishes try it, the others in the colony will learn fast, and thereafter you will have a feeding frenzy on your hands.

All of my _Troph_ colonies get one or two large leaves of Romaine lettuce, and no other food, every third day, and they completely devour the lettuce , even the hard rib. It's impressive.

I have not lost a single _Tropheus_ in an established colony to 'bloat' in nearly 20 years, and I believe that an important factor contributing to this success has been their diet, including lots of vegetable roughage via the Romaine lettuce. I believe that the twice-weekly 'feeding frenzy' that ensues on 'lettuce days' also provides the _Trophs_ with an outlet for their abundant energy, which might otherwise be channeled into aggression, as well as reinforcing the social hierarchy within the colony (the tough guys eat first). In any event, it works for me.

Good luck! :fish:


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

One of the most important things with Tropheus, is keeping their diets consistent, or else bloat. If they haven't been fed cucumbers before, I wouldn't risk it now.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

Fogelhund said:


> One of the most important things with Tropheus, is keeping their diets consistent, or else bloat. If they haven't been fed cucumbers before, I wouldn't risk it now.


I agree with you that once you have accustomed your _Tropheus_ to a healthy, plant-based diet there is little reason to change it, but that doesn't mean that transitioning from one diet to another is harmful, especially if the new diet is actually better-suited to _Tropheus'_ physiology. You can maintain _Tropheus_ on NLS AlgaeMax pellets and OSI Spirulina Flakes, for example, but supplementing that diet with a fresh green vegetable that provides much-needed roughage will enhance their well-being, not to mention their fecundity. Do the transition slowly so as to avoid any stress to your fishes, but by all means don't be afraid to transition to a vegetable-supplemented diet.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

Whenever I have plecos in my tropheus tank I put in zucchini with the rind cut off. The tropheus will pick away at that too, but I have not tried cucumber as the plecos don't care for it.


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