Feeding Pleco's Zuchini

[czcz]

Thanks for the blanching explanation, An t-iasg.

 

[An t-iasg]

You're welcome! That's more of a "restaurant" explanation but it applies to the fish foods too. Just boil for a bit, just enough to soften, then dip in or pour cold water to stop the cooking -- so it doesn't get too mushy and also so it's not too hot for the tank.

 

[TankGirl]

When you blanch the veggies try to do it the shortest time possible to achieve the desired results, because the cooking does break it down somewhat and some of the nutrients are lost.

I like to do it for fresh peas because otherwise I can't get the skin off, and they won't eat it with the skin on.

Zuchinni and yellow squash go in the tank right out of the fridge, because three juvie ancistrus will turn one half of it into a skeletonized husk overnight. I have not gotten myself a mag float yet, but I use a suction cup clip (Nemo style) at the bottom of the glass. .

 

[SerLunchbox]

Quote:
take the veggies out with a slotted/perforated spoon or wire spider and immediately cool them down in the ice water. take out of ice water when completely chilled.

Why? Just curious.

Because if you add the boiling water to the ice water, you will melt the ice before anything is cooled. Adding it to the ice water stops the cooking process. If you just let it cool naturally, it would still cook the veggies and coincidentally shocking the veggies (dumping in ice water) preserves 99% of the nutrients