I'm picking up as much info as I can with google searches and the like, but I'm having trouble getting a couple specifics.
I have a 30 gallon tank with ten Zebra Danios and one common plec. I'm having a little trouble establishing a feeding routine.
Just about all of the notes I've seen on feeding the Danios recommends feeding twice a day (flake or brine shrimp, etc) as much as they will eat in two minutes. The notes I've seen for feeding the plec recommends twice a day as well.
Trying to follow these guidelines, I've noticed a couple things. First, the Danios will devour their food very quickly - two minutes seems like a long time, and a lot of food, considering how fast they pick the food off the surface.
Secondly, feeding the plec has been difficult for me to pay attention to. It will hide until the lights go out, at which point he'll come out within a couple minutes and start roaming the tank - this is when I'll put in his food - but it doesn't seem to be attracted to the algae wafers. Instead, the Danios will form groups of about four or five, and steadily pick at the plec's food.
My first concern is that the danios are overeating (both their food and the plec's) - this group is a fairly new to my tank, and the Danios have already started gaining weight to the point of looking chubby instead of their original streamlined shape.
My second concern is that I can't tell whether the plec is getting enough food, or is doing fine just by cleaning the tank. I can't tell how much of the wafer it's actually getting. Should I be giving it half a wafer per day, or making sure there is always a bit of one available to it?
Advise or relevant links would help a lot - I'll provide more information if needed.
I have a 30 gallon tank with ten Zebra Danios and one common plec. I'm having a little trouble establishing a feeding routine.
Just about all of the notes I've seen on feeding the Danios recommends feeding twice a day (flake or brine shrimp, etc) as much as they will eat in two minutes. The notes I've seen for feeding the plec recommends twice a day as well.
Trying to follow these guidelines, I've noticed a couple things. First, the Danios will devour their food very quickly - two minutes seems like a long time, and a lot of food, considering how fast they pick the food off the surface.
Secondly, feeding the plec has been difficult for me to pay attention to. It will hide until the lights go out, at which point he'll come out within a couple minutes and start roaming the tank - this is when I'll put in his food - but it doesn't seem to be attracted to the algae wafers. Instead, the Danios will form groups of about four or five, and steadily pick at the plec's food.
My first concern is that the danios are overeating (both their food and the plec's) - this group is a fairly new to my tank, and the Danios have already started gaining weight to the point of looking chubby instead of their original streamlined shape.
My second concern is that I can't tell whether the plec is getting enough food, or is doing fine just by cleaning the tank. I can't tell how much of the wafer it's actually getting. Should I be giving it half a wafer per day, or making sure there is always a bit of one available to it?
Advise or relevant links would help a lot - I'll provide more information if needed.
