henward Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 i have a cactus, sailfin, blue phantom, royals and BNs in the tank. i awhile ago, i fed courgette, THEY LOVED IT, demolished it and went nuts, i mean... it was almost instant attraciton. then i tried kumara, after demolishing that. the big polka dot and my blue phantom looked EXTREMELY full. then they stopped eating, bloat - then death 5 days later. any reason for this? the salfin was fine. was it maybe they ate too much? should i have cooked the kumara? any other experiences like this.. reason i ask is that i really wanna feed courgette to royals, everyone says how much they love it, but im quite weary of it cos of that. should i blanche, is blanching for hygiene or digestibility? i dont have to feed kumara, im hapy with courgette, they seem to strip the skin off first! then the qhite flesh. questions 1) should i blanche courgettes? 2) how long should i leave the courgette for? 3) do they eat the seeds or just the outer layers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 :facepalm: Ohhh Man Sorry to hear that henward :tears: I feed mine zuchinni all the time. I just cut Zuchinni in half, insert spoon to weigh it down, wash then pop into Tank, I leave it in the tank, usually all gone within a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 why would kumara do that? i remember, the large polkadot pleco was the most voravious with the kumara, i mean, it demolished it! gaping chunks were taken out of the kumara. wonder why it would bloat them? usually they scrape the toplayers off, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 I've never tried kumara, but definitely the courgette/zuchinni is fine. I'd blame the kumara for it except a quick google seems to say that there are a lot of people feeding their plecs sweet potatoes. So, dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 yeah its weird, thats why i tried it. mmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Could there have been some sort of spray on the kumera? Perhaps it has too high a sugar or starch content and they had a diabetic attack :dunno: Blanching is usually required for a tough green like cabbage as it breaks down the cellulose or something so it is digestible. Not a requirement with courgettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Most species of animal have specialised bacteria that reside in the gut that are critical to the digestion the foods that we eat. This is a much bigger deal for the animal's overall health than previously thought. I personally have noticed increased death rates associated with feeding too much of a fresh food when the fish isn't accustomed to it so my advice would be to introduce new foods slowly. I don't know of any studies determining how fast intestinal bacterial populations establish in fish, but in other monogastric animals, it can take at least a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 so how do i feed 'little' to begin with? cant really regulate what they eat i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Feed slivers, cut thin. One every day or two. It may mean that only one of them will get a chance to try it, but it's better than the alternative... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 i see, so feel very little to begin with, and just slowly get them used to it. ok, i see wha tyou mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I thought blanching was done so that the courgette sinks. Otherwise it floats. I thought the advice was to feed a small amount, and then remove it after a day or two so it doesn't pollute the tank though I've tended to leave it in till it's gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Also I believe sweet potato as referred to by Americans and English is more like the orange flesh/beauregarde type kumara than red skin/yellow flesh type that is more common. The orange one is easier to digest and is more moist, less fibrous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redracer77 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Interesting that your L142 went for the kumara, mine hardly touched it. Mine also seem to prefer cucumber to courgette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 "big polka dot"......... Do I know that fish? If so he used to eat zucchini I always peel my kumera, and only feed the gold one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I fed the blue phantom courgette occasionally too (maybe every 2-3 weeks), I can only think that the problems came from a huge feed of something new they're not used to eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I thought the advice was to feed a small amount, and then remove it after a day or two so it doesn't pollute the tank though I've tended to leave it in till it's gone. That's to find out whether or not they will eat it at all. If you know they will eat it, and you're trying to stop them bloating (and dying), then small amounts at a time is best. I thought blanching was done so that the courgette sinks. Otherwise it floats. Yes, but some people think it kills off some harmful stuff too. IMO fresh is best. Straight out of Mum's garden (Then run like hell when she finds out :slfg: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 i tried one courgette, couple days later tried orange kumara. its almost as if they found both irresistable. i mean... its like they just guard it and keep grazing, thats how much they loved kumara lol but sadly, i believe it was to their end. the courgette was the same, in less than 1 hour, i went back and there wa sno green left. the blue phantom was most prevalent with the courgette, and my big polka dot was absolutely crazy for the kumara. (geoff, sadly it was the one i got from you!!) i was so gutted. that was my most active pleco in the tank - i was away in queenstown when fraser (fruju) discovered it &c:ry i guess, i am angry at myself, wafers were working so well! and to try something new, i figured variety is good.... and this has come from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I'm frugal .. I only give them the ends with the stalk on them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 i am actuall scared to feed courgettes, cosw i know they will demolish it, and if same thing happens, then i lose a couple - thats gutting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 i am actuall scared to feed courgettes, cosw i know they will demolish it, and if same thing happens, then i lose a couple - thats gutting or you could just put in less. I usually dump in about half of one, sliced up, at a time. Nothing left by the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Try putting in several smaller pieces across the front of the tank. I used to feed three pieces (about 1/3 of a courgette each) so that each of the three blues could eat without fighting over it. Give it a go, but invest in a couple of old forks and some nylon first, makes retreaving them so much easier!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I still give 1/2 a zucchini per fish once a week...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Also I believe sweet potato as referred to by Americans and English is more like the orange flesh/beauregarde type kumara than red skin/yellow flesh type that is more common. The orange one is easier to digest and is more moist, less fibrous. This... Sweet potato for me was always the gold or orange type. Red kumara was completely new to me upon arrival in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Sweet potato for me was always the gold or orange type. Which in some places in the US is called a yam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 just a thought could the vegies contain pesticides ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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