YOu won't believe this, annorexic hillstreams

[sherry]

I have three Hillstream loaches. Two live on the glass. the third is my ExploraLoach who gets into the fray, eats everything and explores. He'll even take on my bristlenose

Now I find out from Loaches.com that the other two are doomed unless they also leave the glass and begin to fight for food.

someone help me tempt a couple of annorexic loaches.

 

[Zagz]

Try some bloodworms and algae wafers.

 

[sherry]

Zagz.. when I do frozen bloodworms they don't last long enough for the loaches to find.. do you think it's worth putting in two hakari defrosted cubes, to tempt them?

 

[Zagz]

I would say at this point it would be worth it. Also try putting them in just as your turn the lights off in the tank. You can watch with a flashlight not directly on them to see if they eat.

 

[czcz]

Do the other loaches have sunken bellies or something? I think doomed is an overstatement, especially since they may be eating at night and may be getting baby snails. I would just feed at night too. Maybe clip a veggie to a side of the tank.

 

[sherry]

I have kale there now... do you think hillstreams eat baby snails? I'd be surprised if they ate snail eggs, but I'd love it if they would

 

[Zagz]

I don't think they will eat snail eggs. At least not to the best of my knowledge.

 

[czcz]

I think hillies are said to eat the small organisms that feed of algae, so would not be surprised if they ate snails in at least the very soft-shelled stage. Perhaps I should shut up because I could not keep my hillstream alive for a year, even in a high current river-tank, but can tell you that I see more ramshorns at that "shell parallel to the glass" stage than I did when Hillie was in there. HTH

 

[crazycat]

sherry--

you can also get live blood worms (or frozen for that matter), stick them in a cup of tank water, suck some up in an eyedroppr-you know the kind you used to buy to dose medicine to babies--bright pink or blue rubber bulbs, big droppers--and squirt them directly near the loach, so they have a better chance of getting to them before the others do. i did that with some sick fish.

 

[sherry]

I still buy those

and it is a very good idea!!! thanks