Courgette/Zucchini preparation for Oto Catfish

[serbusfish]

My 3 otos have almost totally stripped my tank clean of algae so ive decided to pick up some Courgettes (Zucchini) for them, however I was just wondering what I need to do before putting some in for them.... do I just cut off a piece, boil in water then place in the tank?

[ScottishFish]

Rinse any dirt off it. Cut a chunk, stick a fork in it. Place in tank.

Job done

[madagascariensis]

+1 to the above.
Some people commend blanching or microwaving first but I find that it just makes the zucchini go gooey faster.

[ScottishFish]

Always try raw first, if your fish accept it then its less hassle for you. If they dont eat it after you have given them it maybe 4 times over 8 days roughly then try giving it a blast in the microwave.

Remember it may take them some time in recognising that the stuff on the shiny stainless steel thing is food.

[Lady10Godiva]

The only additional thing I do is cut a slit in the outside of the skin on my circle of veggie. It is supposed to keep your fish from getting stuck in the ring of skin (and that is if your fish dont eat the skin first).

[serbusfish]

Ok cheers guys, I was worried about pesticides, some websites say they need removing before putting in the tank?

[ScottishFish]

A quick rinse under the tap should suffice. However if you are still worried then you can either grow your own courgette, or source local organic pesticide free courgette supplier.

[talldutchie]

Also depends where you live. Quite a few european countries have very strict rules about residual insecticides. And with the recent horse meat hassle checks on all foodstuffs have been increased. I can imagine that in some other countries it might be a bit more of a gamble.

Otos will take a lot of veg and in that respect their eating habits are almost the same as bristlenose