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Discus Don
02-12-2003, 03:39 AM
Question for you all..... eventually, anyway

In the past, I've fed zucchini to my plecos, and now that I have a couple of plecos in one of my discus tanks, I dropped in a slice of zucchini for them - to be sure they got some food.

To my surprise, the discus seem to love it! My angels are going crazy over it in another tank, as well as my cory cats. But my question is this.... Are there any benefits or drawbacks to the discus eating it? It's obviously low in protein and fat. Am I risking diminishing their diets by eating this, and then eating less of the good growth foods?

For what it's worth, here's a link to a nutritional analysis of zucchini.
http://www.personalhealthzone.com/nutrition/nutrients/vegetables/zucchini.html

Thanks for any and all insight!
-Don

BlueTurquoise
02-12-2003, 09:10 AM
From what I have read, in the wild they are opportunistic hunters meaning they will eat anything they can get at from insects, worms, small fish to berries and other plant matter. I don't think it hurts them at all if it is offered along with a meaty diet. Mine used to love my algae wafers...

anyone with any other thoughts?

Chong

pete_lockwood
02-12-2003, 07:40 PM
Watch out for zucchini givin' 'em a bit of a blockage and leadin' to headstandin'.

Discus Don
02-12-2003, 09:18 PM
Pete, is your comment from personal experience, 2nd hand knowledge, or speculation? I certainly appreciate the input - just want to understand how concerned to be.

Thanks,
-Don

pete_lockwood
02-12-2003, 11:35 PM
Fair question. Personal experience.

In moderation I suspect they'll be fine, but personally I wouldn't risk it again. I'd be interested to know if anyone has had good/bad experiences in this department.

Carol_Roberts
02-13-2003, 01:42 AM
It's my understanding that discus have a short digestive track. Herbivores have long digestive tracks as plant material takes much longer to digest. I'm sure a little here and there won't hurt anything, but I wouldn't overdo it.

Discus Don
02-13-2003, 02:00 PM
Thanks Pete & Carol, I don't think I'll worry too much about placing some in there, but I do think I'll use smaller pieces so they don't overfeed on it. It's a tank with 10 discus ranging from 3" to 5", 2 plecos, 2 corys, and 10 cardinal tetras, so obviously I don't need too much to feed the cats.

I was surprised at how much the discus consumed, but then again, it was more noticable during the 5-day "drought" between black worm orders. Maybe their own appetite for bloodworms and flake during that time wasn't enough to "fill 'em up", so they went for the zucchini. After all, it was available 'round the clock. Now that I'm restocked on black worms, I'll watch carefully to see how much of the vegetable matter they eat.

Thanks again!
-Don