[trgiboney]

I have a 40 with Java and Fire moss that has been established now for 3 months and all of a sudden the barbs are eating it and pulling it away from the rocks and wood that its attached to. The barbs have been in the tank almost 2 months and have not bothered the moss until this week.
Are the barbs trying to tell me something, are they missing something in their diet? I’m feeding them TetraMin tropical crisps daily, tube worms or frozen brines 2 to 3 times a week.
The tank is populated with various barbs, long fined, tiger, cherry, tinfoil, etc…. One quarry cat and one bristle nose plek and I have been watching and its defiantly the barbs and they are pulling it off and then eating it.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tropicalmackdaddy]

Use a spray bottle-they hate it
Seriously, id try and feed them more of a variety and more of it so they arent as hungry
Theres probably someone else who can help you whos had more experience with this kind of situation

 

[Kathyy]

You could try offering fresh veggies for food and playtime. I skewer them so the plecos and otos get them but you could let them float so the fish have to chase them around and steal them from each other. Try peeled green peas, zucchini and cucumber. My fish don't care for carrot or broccoli but go ahead and try, you never know. Somebody just posted the fish were nuts about sweet potato. I raised a tadpole on nuked dandelion leaves, maybe try greens too. Try cooked and try raw.

 

[trgiboney]

My wife just mentioned to me that she has also fished out several large pieces of Ludwegia that they tore off over the past two weeks so it’s obvious that they need more or something different. I have cichlids in a different tank that I supplement their diets with boiled vegies that I put on a clamp with a suction cup high up in the tank so I will do the same to see how that like it.

 

[acitydweller]

Um whats your feeding schedule and frequency? What's your tank size

I feed my fish twice a day to compensate for population density with various high grade foods like soft krill and soft spirulina. I vary with earthworm flakes and the ifs veggie 8 flakes as staples. You likely are not providing enough for them to feed on so they turn to alternatives.

Also are all your fish healthy and plump or look just as thin as they came from the lfs?

 

[trgiboney]

Hello actydweller I feed them twice a day and enough that they it takes 3 to 5 min for them to clean it all up. This tank is a 40 gallon and the fish are not thin like they come from the lfs but they are not plump either.

Not sure what the ifs veggie 8 flakes are that you mentioned can you post or PM more info on them.

Never tried krill or spirulina but I was looking at the SFBB brand frozen freshwater foods that have this in them along with other veg, does anyone have any experience with these?

 

[acitydweller]

after trying kens, hikari and several other brands, i have adjusted all the foods to be sourced from yfs (yourfishstuff.com). i find that their pellet and super soft pellets are well recieved after several samplings shared between our local community. i have lots of scavengers in my tanks so i feed beyond the 3-5 min rule just so there's enough for everyone to feast on. there's a few sae, a flounder, a hillstreamloach, 3 cories, as well as an assortment of glolights, cardinals, neons, ember tetras, harlequins and some super picky CPDs. Golden pearls have also been a great hit with the CPDs... check out their website. i find their foods a bit fresher than kensfish