feeding fresh veggies/fruit/frozen food

[talieandsasha]

Hi,

I have white spot tetras, pygmy corys and a betta.

I have a friend who swears in giving her fish veggies and I tried to read online but get mixed info.

I know mine adored the cooked and peeled pea I smushed up for them, is this something I should give once a week to all of them? is 1 pea enough for 12 tetras and the betta?

Also what other veggies/fruits would you recommend?

And I remember feeding the fish I had 10 years ago brine shrimp, although I googled it earlier and a few ppl mentioned fish can get sick, like with ich, if you feed them that since it could be contaminated? Is that a real concern? What do you recommend as a weekly treat for my guys?

Thanks

 

[Fishfanboy]

A lot of people use cucumbers

 

[Coyne]

I do the blanched peas once a week. Im not sure if thats really a treat per se... the fish do really like it though. I do it because its supposed to kinda help them clear out their digestive tract since processed fish food can sometimes "gum up the works" as it were.
I also do either a slice of blanched zucchini or cucumber once a week for my plecos/snails/shrimp.

I think the issue with brine shrimp and potential diseases comes down to where youre getting your brine shrimp from. I buy the San Francisco Bay frozen brine shrimp and feed it and their Emerald Entree line to my tanks once a week as a treat after the stress of a PWC.
I give my fish frozen blood worms once a week as well.
The rest of the time is mainly pellet food, but sometimes flake.

Ive heard from a very limited amount of people that brine shrimp and blood worms are bad for fish because they have a difficult time digesting the exoskeletons, but this doesnt make much sense to me because Im fairly certain that fish are eating these, and other insects that have similar exoskeletons, in their natural habitat.

Ive had the same feeding regime for almost a year and havent noticed any health issues that could be traced to the diet Im providing.

 

[captaincritical]

I also feed peas once a week to clear out the digestive system, usually the day after a meaty food like tubifex or bloodworms. I take them out of the freezer, nuke 'em in a little bit of water, then pop the skins off and crush them up. I've got a 35g community tank and I feed 5-6 peas at a time. What doesn't get eaten immediately gets eaten by my pleco and corys that night while I'm sleeping.

I also feed zucchini every other day for my pleco and corys, though lately my angelfish has been sneaking some bites too! I slice it in half-moons and then blanch for about a minute before drying it off and popping it in the freezer. I just throw a frozen slice into the tank and it sinks as it thaws. Make sure if you leave the zucchini in full rounds to slice into the outside skin so it doesn't form a circle when the inside is eaten. A friend of mine has a horror story about a pleco getting caught in the skin.