Cucumber snacks

[stevenht]

Do most bottom dwellers enjoy cucumbers?

I've read around and have seen videos about people feeding them to their plecos and others.

I have 5 Cory cats
3 Kuhli loaches
A albino BN pleco
And 8 ghost shrimp.

Cory's are in their own tank and the shrimp are in their own tanks and my pleco and loaches live together.

Should I throw in more than 1 piece so they all get some? Or do Cory's and loaches even like cucumbers? My shrimp seem to enjoy it so far. Haven't tried the other tanks.

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[TMaier]

I've fed it to my snails but never noticed if my Khuli's were nibbling on it.


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[stevenht]

I do have 2 mystery snails and one was eating on it

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[shellyx]

1 piece should be fine. Your bristlenose would love it as well. Most fish and inverts love veg all mine enjoy it as well as courgette, butternut squash, carrots, pumpkin, spinach, kale, well really any Lol and fresh fruit.

70 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon boraras , red longfin bristlenose, bamboo shrimp, crs,rcs and different snails.
7 gallon halfmoon betta and red ramshorn.

 

[stevenht]

Fruits as well? My house stays stocked on fruits. Grapes ok? I feel like shrimp could eat that better than others and strawberries I feel like would turn my tank to massacre aftermath color

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[shellyx]

Grapes are fine just give them a good clean and cut in half. Mine also eat apple, watermelon, pear they have tried raspberries but they get a bit messy and so does banana, I've really tried any fruit I've had in the house.

70 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon boraras , red longfin bristlenose, bamboo shrimp, crs,rcs and different snails.
7 gallon halfmoon betta and red ramshorn.

 

[plantnoob]

Yup, same. I've tried all kinds of fruits. Hit or miss with my pleco. He does love watermelon, mango and papaya. The tiger barbs really go for the papaya. Zucchini is another one that goes down fast. I find others like peas uneaten and hard to remove sometimes.


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[stevenht]

The cucumber went untouched in all my tanks except my small shrimp tank. They were all over it like a buffet line. Pleco didn't even seem even interested in the cucumber. Same with Cory's. Will try mango tomorrow.

Thanks for all the advice guys. Will keep it updated

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[plantnoob]

Not surprised. My pleco does not touch cucumber either. I bet yours will like zucchini. Try it raw and blanched too (I microwave it for about 10 secs and dip it in ice cold water for a few secs). Fun fun fun.


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[Khuligirl93]

I've found that plecos spoiled on algae wafers will ignore fresh veggies. I don't think your kuhlis or corys will go for the veggies, but everyone else probably will at least give it a taste.


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[stevenht]

I feed them shrimp wafers considering I was having an algae problem when I got him. So he kept my tank clean while I figured out my algae problem (too much light). So he has been spoiled on nothing as of late. He's also a really young pleco, only at about 3.5 inches so I'm hoping as he matures, he will open up on the veggies.

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[Fresh2o]

I've used zucchini for my shrimp. You could try blanching them first. This softens them up but does not make them mushy. I believe this is usually accomplished on the cooktop in a pan/pot of boiling water. I just throw the slices in a bowl with a little water and cook in the microwave until they are very hot. They tend to sink (more) compared to raw veggies.


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[shellyx]

Yup, same. I've tried all kinds of fruits. Hit or miss with my pleco. He does love watermelon, mango and papaya. The tiger barbs really go for the papaya. Zucchini is another one that goes down fast. I find others like peas uneaten and hard to remove sometimes.


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Do you leave the skin on the papaya? Thanks

70 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon boraras , red longfin bristlenose, bamboo shrimp, crs,rcs and different snails.
7 gallon halfmoon betta and red ramshorn.

 

[plantnoob]

Yes, when I slice the papaya for me, I usually peel the skin out to be a bit extra "meaty". I then suspend it using a clip and two strong neodymium magnets on either side of the glass. Makes it super easy for me to move the clip up and down the tank glass.

Here are a couple of pics from this AM, looking at both sides of the suspended papaya The pleco was going at it right before I walked up to him with my phone.






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[plantnoob]

He eats through the fleshy part and leaves the skin, which I remove within 24 hours. I do the same with pretty much all fruits and veggies, except the obvious outliers like peas, Lima beans etc, which he does not eat anyway.


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[shellyx]

Thanks, I just chopped a piece of, rinsed and clipped it on with the veggie clip. Both of mine went crazy for it! So I cut up what was left and frozen it for when needed.

70 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon boraras , red longfin bristlenose, bamboo shrimp, crs,rcs and different snails.
7 gallon halfmoon betta and red ramshorn.

 

[mambee]

My geophagus and BNPs go to town on the zucchini which I cut into slices and freeze. I haven't had much luck with other fruits and veggies. I think that I'm going to order a pleco feeder The Pleco Feeder, A Smarter Way to Feed Your Plecos so that it is easy to remove uneaten food.