What prepared veggies do Mbuna love?

[CWO4GUNNER]

As some know Im pretty new at this and have been warned about raising my assorted Mbuna's on a predominantly meaty diet of tuna, rib-eye, frozen cooked shrimp, scallops and oatmeal, even though I haven't lost one to bloat and they have grown huge.

Question. Yesterday I tried fresh microwaved spinach leaves thinking the vegetarian Mbuna would go for it like my Silver Dollars in an different tank, but all they did was spit it out over and over leaving it lay.

Besides the expensive LFS seaweed is their a common fresh vegetable anyone has success with preparing for them that they like. I was even thinking of growing my own algae in a tub outside in summer using the sun and seeing if I can clump and freeze it for year round a it is written that algae is there favorite green. Anyone try that?

 

[platytudes]

People do grow algae outside. Usually what you do is get large smooth river rocks (smooth but not tumbled) - a perfect example would be what they call "Mexican beach pebbles" - and leave them out in the sun in a white bucket full of old aquarium water. It should grow algae fairly quickly, depending on how much sun it gets. When I did this I added a few drops of Miracle Grow into the water - I don't know if it sped up algae production on the rocks, but it did make green water.

When you blanch spinach, it changes the taste considerably. Some fish (and people, including myself!) seem not to like it. My mbuna only ever liked fresh spinach...I would take a bunch of it and clip it together using a magnetic clip such as this:
http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/Plasetic%20magnetic%20clips_236.jpg
The magnet in the clip helped it sink to the bottom.

For heavier vegetables like zucchini and yellow squash, I would use these plastic clamps which are even heavier:
http://images.toolspot.co.uk/

That along with dark leaf lettuce seemed to be their favorite. They liked pumpkin and sweet potato ok, but not as much.

And I only ever blanch in the microwave the "hard" vegetables - never spinach or lettuce. Oh, and nori is cheaply acquired at the Asian market or Ethnic food section of the supermarket. I get this brand - 10 sheets for under $3:
http://ninecooks.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/23/nori.jpg

I tear a strip off, weigh it down with a plastic (not wooden!) clothespin...presto Cories, catfish, barbs and kribensis all love it. My mbuna loved it too of course. The only ones who don't touch it IME are fish like tetras and danios...

 

[mr.cichlid]

platytudes, thatz a lot of nice info on veggies...thanks! and thanks Gunner for starting the thread...

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

And I only ever blanch in the microwave the "hard" vegetables - never spinach or lettuce. Oh, and nori is cheaply acquired at the Asian market or Ethnic food section of the supermarket. I get this brand - 10 sheets for under $3:
http://ninecooks.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/23/nori.jpg

I tear a strip off, weigh it down with a plastic (not wooden!) clothespin...presto Cories, catfish, barbs and kribensis all love it. My mbuna loved it too of course. The only ones who don't touch it IME are fish like tetras and danios...

Oh my gosh what a bonehead. My wife is Asian and we have bought that stuff on several occasions eating it all up cause its so tasty. I never made the connection, what an awesome idea. Great! Ill try shredding the leafy stuff raw and especially the dried packaged seaweed..:idea:

 

[Stargazer53]

Oh my gosh what a bonehead. My wife is Asian and we have bought that stuff on several occasions eating it all up cause its so tasty. I never made the connection, what an awesome idea. Great! Ill try shredding the leafy stuff raw and especially the dried packaged seaweed..:idea:

Just make sure the nori is the kind that has no oil and salt. Nori comes plain (no oil/salt/seasoning) and roasted (with oil/salt/seasoning). Usually the kind that is roasted is popular to eat. Plain nori is used in sushi.

 

[platytudes]

I've always fed the roasted kind because I can't find plain except at the health food store, where it costs as much as the LFS kind...

Googling about it makes me think others feed the roasted kind too (but definitely not the flavored kind) even in SW tanks. FWIW, I never see an oil slick or anything on the surface when I feed it. I don't feed it very often though, it takes me about 3 months to get through that 10 pack.

If you can find the plain, I would get the plain just to be on the safe side.

Also, I don't know how hardcore you are about wanting to give your fish veggies, but I did write this article on making some easy veggie gel food:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_2/food.htm

All you need is a Pyrex cup, a microwave, baby food, water and gelatin It doesn't take long, but it's a bit messy..although not nearly as messy as European Shrimp Mix or anything that involves stoves/blenders.

 

[blue2fyre]

My mbuna love blanched cucumber and zucchini. They will also eat lettuce and squash but zucchini is their favorite. It took them a couple tries to realize it was food.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Ill have to try that also thanks. The raw cucumber and zucchini gives me bad memories of Pleco's LOL

 

[Pittbull]

AW Nori i love that stuff take some steamed rice with a little Kim Chee hmm good..

 

[platytudes]

Plecos and African cichlids have very similar dietary requirements - you'll often see their pictures together on cans of veggie flakes or bags of algae wafers.

You'll thank yourself later if you switch their diet to lower protein, higher fiber. It's not just the bloat that's a problem, although there is that. When keeping fish in an aquarium, longevity is what you are after, not unnaturally fast growth. They will live longer if you follow their natural diet!

There's also the water quality issue. Here's an interesting article:
http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/healthy-aquariums/controlling-ammonia.aspx

How does feeding too much protein lead to a rise in ammonia? If a high protein growth diet is offered in excess amounts to your fish, they will not be able to utilize all the protein efficiently, so levels of excretion will increase, having a negative effect on water quality. Excess protein in particular is likely to affect water quality. It is all in the balance.

If protein in the diet is in excess of what your fish require, they will not utilize all of the protein in the diet for growth, but either break it down and burn it for energy or excrete high levels undigested. This is highly undesirable, and it is a problem that advanced fish food formulations are designed to try to address.