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I have recently been putting some lettuce in my 55 gallon tank to try and distract my barbs from eating my plants. They eat about one large romaine leaf every day.

I was wondering, is it bad for them to eat lettuce every day?

They would just be eating my plants otherwise, but I didn't know if the lettuce was nutritionally different or something like that.

Thanks!

- Meow -

Lettuce is fine. Just make sure you have rinsed it well before placing it in the tank. Squished deshelled peas is also a good one to put in the tank but probably a bit messier than the lettuce.
I weigh down pieces of zucchini so they sink in the tank which get eaten too. Its meant to be for my bristlenose plecs but the barbs peck at it too.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

I feed letuce regually to my CLs basically during salad season They can devour a whole leaf under an hour. I weigh it down with a large flat stone. Some foods I use a rubber band and a flat rock also.

There is a lot more info in My Profile about my feeding program

Now getting back to using it regually just make sure there is nothing left (usually floating) bits as this could polute the tank. It would be worth a try also if you had a good supply of water sprite as well.
Let us know how it goes.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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Thanks for the replies.

Keithgh, I am impressed with your feeding routine. It shows tremendous dedication to your fish and the hobby if you take the time to create and maintain that kind of diet. I actually have a similar food setup for our red-footed tortoise. Now that I know that its good for fish to have such things, I could incorporate a few of those items since I am already prepping them.

I might try some peas. These barbs are such piggies that I doubt that there would be too much of a mess. They pretty much inhale anything that's edible.

I don't have any water sprite, but I do have a plentiful supply of anacharis from my mother-in-law's pond most of the year. I always have a big clump of it in each tank for the fish to nibble on. I don't care if they eat all of that. It's the rest of the plants that I'm worried about.

I have been feeding the lettuce at the back of the tank with a veggie clip. I leave it in until most of it is gone, but never more than a day. Is that too long? Should I take it out sooner? My main goal originally was to distract them from the plants. That is why I have been leaving it in longer. It seems to be working so far as they have been prefering the lettuce.



Thanks!

- Meow -

I try and take organics out within 12 hours if there are any uneaten bits, helps reduce pollution and lets them get a fresh bite to eat

The choice of lettuce is good too. Romaine is probably one of the more nutritious lettuces in a group of foods that have very little nutritive value.