Feeding a plec (l200) veg ?

[tonyf1971]

Hi,

I have had a green phantom l200 plec for a couple of months, he is very nocturnal lives in his plec cave by day and lights on, he does come out to eat lights out, I feed him a combo of algae wafers, plec logs, sinking wafers which he appears to eat fine (the rest of the aquarium do tuck in)

Before the green phantom I have only kept bristlenose plecs who have been active lights on and very easy to feed, eating the above but also veg, peas, cucumber, courgette (zucchini ) no problem, the peas have been deshelled, the cucumber and courgette just cut into a piece large enough for a screwcumber holder. None of the veg really needed any special preparation the bristlenose just got stuck in.

But I can't get the green phantom to eat any veg, I place it in overnight and leave for 24hrs but it isn't touched!

Any idea on how I get the big guy to eat his veg ? Any other veg I should try ? or any other way to prepare the above veg ?

 

[CandC]

I tried my fish with blanched carrot once. Yes, only once but only because I forgot to do it again lol but thanks for reminding me!

I cut the carrot into 6" long sections which I then quartered lengthways (so still 6" long) and blanched it by submerging the pieces in a mug of boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Next, I drained them and just dropped them in the tank. The blanching made them sink on their own and I guess made them a bit softer too. My gouramis, cae and albino shark went crazy for them. The next morning, out of 4 sections I put in, 2 were totally gone and the other 2, much smaller, had been dragged into a lair

Maybe your plec would like some carrot too?

 

[tonyf1971]

Got to be worth a try thanks.

Will give this a go and maybe blanche the other veg.

 

[absolutangel04]

Some fish never do like the veggies, but most get the hang of it eventually. CandC gave you a good idea though. I hope it works.

 

[tonyf1971]

Some fish never do like the veggies, but most get the hang of it eventually. CandC gave you a good idea though. I hope it works.

Thats true just because the Bristlenose went crazy for Veg the Green Phantom may not be.

But i am going to try CandC carrots idea and i am going to Blanche the other veg and give it a go from next week, the Green Phantom appears well fed this week plus there is some Algae to keep him going, so hopefully next week i can vary his diet

 

[CandC]

Glad to be of help. Let me know how it goes please?

 

[tonyf1971]

Will do, I will start him off on Sunday and see how he goes for the week, will let you know how it gets on

 

[CandC]

Thanks, and good luck! I've heard that blanched broccoli can work well too

 

[nedge85]

i found that bannana wrks, although makes a mess of the tank

 

[tonyf1971]

Thanks folks for the ideas and info, i think i will start the veg on Sunday night and continue for 2 weeks.

Will post the results or any changes.

 

[tonyf1971]

Quick Update no joy with the Plec and blanched carrots after a week of trying, thou the Red Tail Shark did enjoy it.

However i did place some Cucumber in last night before lights out and some of it was eaten this morning cant say for sure it was the Plec as he wasnt about last night but looks promising so far.

Thanks again folks for the ideas and info

 

[alfce]

try this as a tip, when you come to feed your plec cucumber after you have cut the chunk you are going to feed them, leave it on a plate for several hours at room temprature then put it in the tank.
hope that helps.