Algae wafers and non-algae eating fish?

[Ed from AZ]

I have one oto (did have two, but had to take one out yesterday). I
wasn't sure if there was enough algae to keep him fed, so I bought
some algae wafers to supplement.

I broke off a small piece and dropped it into the tank next to the
oto, but he ignored it and scooted merrily along the glass. The
danios and platys, though, loved it! They actually began to fight
each other over an algae wafer!

So can I forget the flake food and just feed them wafers? I sure feel
more confident that it will all be eaten and not foul the water. As
for the oto, he's active, eating, and pooping, so I guess he's eating
enough.

Ed

[Andy Gratton]

Oto's are well known  for being hard to feed  when there is next  to no algae  for them ,  as for others eating  algae wafers   all fish  will pick  at them  as they are not  pure  algae usually ,  Algae wafer  are a supplement  to normal feeding  regimes,  so  you  will need to keep the flake  going as well ,

The best sign with  an Oto  is a rounded belly  not sunken , as I said  they  can be hard to keep  happy feeding wise   it is a case of trying things and seeing  the reaction ,

 

[Tynk]

Hi Ed.
Platies and Danios are both omnivorous, so they do need veggie matter
in their diets.
Platies, even more so from what I remember.
Try feeding a slice of zucchini or romaine lettuce that's been
blanched or zapped in the micro (let cool before feeding of course).

[NetMax]

Well at least Danios seem to be more carnivorous than Platys.
Something like a tiger barb would be a true omnivore. Danios & Tetras
tend to be more carnivorous, top feeders, probably eating a lot of
mosquito larvae (Piranhas are big tetras ;~) Platys are probably by
definition, true omnivores since they feed from the surface (eating
mosquito larvae like their cousins the mosquito-fish, the guppy), but
they can continuously feed on algae as well (continuously leaving
behind long strings of poop). Once the foods are processed into
wafers, flakes or pellets (spirulina algae, fishmeal etc), then all
bets are off, and a lot of fish eat at the wrong table then. For
omnivores, it's not a bad thing to eat algae wafers. I'm not even
sure if the digestive issues that a carnivore would have with
vegetation still occur with processed foods like algae wafers. My
Oscars have never complained about eating spirulina pellets or wafers,
but Piranhas don't seem to have much interest in any processed foods,
so I don't kkow how they would react.

NetMax

[denizen]

My clown loaches like the algae wafers a lot, and they also eat
zucchini. Both of these vegetable foods are put into the aquarium for
the bristlenoses, but often the loaches get there first.
d.

[Tynk]

On Jan 14, 11:02 am, NetMax <computeral...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Well at least Danios seem to be more carnivorous than Platys.
> Something like a tiger barb would be a true omnivore.  Danios & Tetras
> tend to be more carnivorous, top feeders, probably eating a lot of
> mosquito larvae (Piranhas are big tetras ;~)  Platys are probably by
> definition, true omnivores since they feed from the surface (eating
> mosquito larvae like their cousins the mosquito-fish, the guppy), but
> they can continuously feed on algae as well (continuously leaving
> behind long strings of poop).  Once the foods are processed into
> wafers, flakes or pellets (spirulina algae, fishmeal etc), then all
> bets are off, and a lot of fish eat at the wrong table then.  For
> omnivores, it's not a bad thing to eat algae wafers.  I'm not even
> sure if the digestive issues that a carnivore would have with
> vegetation still occur with processed foods like algae wafers.  My
> Oscars have never complained about eating spirulina pellets or wafers,
> but Piranhas don't seem to have much interest in any processed foods,
> so I don't kkow how they would react.
>
> NetMax

I got to wondering about whether or not the Danios are carnivorous or
omnivorous. According to several different places, they're considered
omnivores.

[NetMax]

My understanding is that they are omnivores, but there's lots of
omnivores which I've never seen eat, nibble or even be interested in
plants (like danios). Another example is the Betta (carnivore?) which
is closely related to the Paradisefish and Gouramis (omnivores). I
wonder how scientic the criteria is?

If I look on Fishbase.org
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=4653 th diet
mentioned is "Feed on worms and small crustaceans (Ref. 7020); also on
insect larvae".

However if I dig deeper:
http://www.fishbase.org/trophiceco/DietCompoSummary.php?dietcode=7091&genusname=Danio&speciesname=rerio
then plant matter does appear at around 12%.

I think the bottom-line is that they are opportunistic, and their
prefered foods are meat when available. In the absence of meat (or
fish-food) then you might expect them to nibble on algae or plant
matter as an alternative to starving (and hopefully it will occur to
them to try it).

Platys are probably the reverse, always nibbling on algae, and will
eat meat (or fish-food) when available.

NetMax

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