Algae & Veg. Food For Mollies?

[beginner]

Hi friends, I am new and novice. I am a strict vegetarian and was looking to know about fishes which can lead a healthy life eating just veg. food. On this thread (elsewhere), nmonks had very kindly suggested Mollies (That suits me as they are supposed to be fishes suitable for beginners). Now I wish to know …

• How to increase the growth of algae in the aquarium?
• What veg. food should I feed the Mollies?
• Which plants should I keep?
• Also, when I clean the aquarium, how do I ensure the algae growth does not get effected?
• And lastly, would the Mollies be able to lead a healthy life in an aquarium by eating just algae & veg. food ?

The members of this site have been most helpful.
Thanks & Bye

 

[beginner]

Have I wrongly posted it here? Should it have been under livebearers? I am posting it there now.

 

[nmonks]

Mollies _are_ brackish water fish, but for best results, enquire in the Livebearers section. Over here, it's usually "oddball" brackish species that get discussed -- puffers, archerfish, and so on.

For what it's worth, raising mollies on algae is possible but difficult, because you will need to create a rich turf of algae first that contains various species of algae. For this, you will need high-output lighting, at least 4 fluorescent tubes running the full length of the aquarium, of which one should an "actinic". I would seed the tank with algae collected from the wild, ideally a brackish water environment, but failing that, a few lumps of marine living rock might worked if you maintained the salinity at 50% seawater and adapted the rocks slowly (so as not to kill off the algae).

You will need to provide protein-rich supplements periodically. Frozen peas would work well, and you can also try cooked rice, which some fish will eat.

Finally, as mentioned in my other post to you, this is a case of imposing your personal values onto another species, which is, in my opinion, cruelty to animals. While many fish are vegetarian in the wild, they either graze on a variety of algae species we cannot match in aquaria, or supplement their diet with occasional animal foods. The only aquarium fish that are best kept solely on vegetarian foods are Panaque spp. catfish, which eat wood as well as algae and vegetables. Apart from these, all other algae-eating aquarium fish are best kept with periodic supplements of small animals such as insect larvae.

Quite possibly, fish are not for your lifestyle choice. There are purely vegetarian shrimps and snails out there, not to mention all kinds of photosynthetic corals and clams for marine aquaria. Reflect on your choices carefully, and don't let your personal values to rationalise away the needs of the animals you intend to care for.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[beginner]

Thanks nmonks for your very insightful reply. I certainly don't wish to keep fishes if feeding them mere veg. food would harm their healthy growth. I am here to ascertain this issue itself so that there is no cruelty to them. And from the inputs I have received, I agree with you that fishes need to be kept out. Thanks

 

[nmonks]

Probably wise. If you want some small, fun animals, look into shrimps, or maybe even crabs. Land crabs are huge fun, and feed primarily on soft fruit, so I would assume they are easy to look after on a veggie diet. As the eat pretty well anything organic, Quorn or tofu or even TVP would probably be eaten by them quite happily.

There are some amazingly coloured land crabs, such as Cardisoma armatum.

Fiddler crabs are deposit feeders, feeding on algae and decyaing plant and animal matter, and they could be easily kept on a veggie diet. They need quite specialised care, but nothing difficult. They're cheap and fairly widely sold, and full of fun. The males have huge claws they wave at one another when displaying.

As far as snails go, apple snails are fun and breedable. They are very active, and if not all that smart, they are still cute and when fully grown, quite impressive.

Invertebrates quite possibly are the way to go.

Cheers,

Neale

And from the inputs I have received, I agree with you that fishes need to be kept out. Thanks

 

[beginner]

Sincere thanks Neale for posting the alternates to fishes. But the issue is that only fishes fascinate me. So it is either fishes or nothing else. Since only fishes mesmerize me, that is the reason I was trying to find out if there were some herbivorous fishes? But my bad luck there aren't any. This forum is great because of active members like you. Sincere thanks and Bye

 

[AMS]

Just curious, why are you against feeding foods like brine shrimp or bloodworms? I can understand not using foods that contain meat or fish meal ingredients, but I have never heard of being against insect larvae.

 

[beginner]

Thanks AMS. To begin with only after coming on this site did I know that Bloodworms are larvae of Midge, which many consider a pest. So, this I would not mind using . Frankly I still don't know what is Brine Shrimps. Aren't they the young ones of Shrimps? But Shrimps are not pests??? Any other feed like Bloodwoms? Thanks.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_shrimp

Brine shrimp (Artemia) are a type of aquatic crustacean. They are found worldwide in saltwater, though not in oceans. Artemia is a well known genus as one variety, the Artemia nyos, a hybrid of Artemia salina, are sold as novelty gifts, most commonly under the marketing name Sea-Monkeys.

Artemia were first discovered in Lymington, England in 1755. There are mixed views on whether all brine shrimp are part of one species or whether the varieties that have been identified are properly classified as separate species.

Un-hatched brine shrimp are metabolically inactive and can remain in total stasis for several years while in dry oxygen-free conditions, even at temperatures below freezing. This characteristic is called Cryptobiosis meaning "hidden life" (also called Diapause). Once placed in water, the cyst-like eggs hatch within a few hours, and will grow to a mature length of around one centimeter on average. Brine shrimp have a biological life cycle of one year. This short life span, and other characteristics such as their ability to remain dormant for long periods, have made them invaluable in scientific research, including space experiments.

Brine shrimp can tolerate varying levels of salinity, and a common biology experiment in school is to investigate the effect of salinity levels on the growth of these creatures. Also, because they have no brain and a very crude nervous/spinal system, they can be used for many experiments without having to worry about animal ethics.

The nutritional properties of newly hatched brine shrimp make them particularly suitable to be sold as aquarium food as they are high in lipids and unsaturated fatty acids (but low in calcium). These nutritional benefits are likely to be one reason that brine shrimp are found only in highly salinated waters, as these areas are uninhabitable for potential predators.

The nauplii, or larvae, of brine shrimp are less than 500 micrometers when they first hatch. They eat micro-algae, but will also eat yeast, wheat flour, soybean powder, or egg yolk.

so, no, they're not baby shrimps but are their own kind invertebrate. they aren't very good as the only component of a fish's diet, but are a good choice if you want to feed your fish many different foods.

but i wouldn't really call them a pest, either. they're essentially harmless, in and of themselves.

--EDIT--
boy, this is a fun challenge!

 

[MoMa]

Wow. This is a tough one.

I (as well as the other half of ''Team MoMa'') am Vegan. I, too, abstain from animal products in my diet and lifestyle. However, the fish gotta eat. My fish, and my cats, eat foods meant for them. Humans are truly omnivorous, and therefore can sustain themselves on a diet free from animals. The majority of fish are not, and need animals in their diet.

I think the real issue from a vegan-perspective, and one I wrangle with everyday, is the idea of keeping any animal in a limited space. Unless you're extremely wealthy and have the largest of large homes, there really is no way you can provide the animals (in this case fish) with the amount of space they would have in the wild.
Obviously, they can be kept healthy through filtration, regular water changes, etc. One of the best ways to keep them healthy is to provide them with a varied, vegetable and animal based diet.



I'd also like to suggest altering your views to the above mentioned invertebrates. Snails, especially, can be fascinating to watch. I have a snail colony that is located at floor level in the cabinet below one of my tanks. I have spent hours (unintentionally) on my knees watching the snails as they glide around the tank, interacting with each other, feeding, laying egg-sacs, etc. I actually walked with a limp for a few days recently from the pain in one of my knees!!


May I offer another suggestion...
Look in the Planted Tank forums on this board, especially the pictures. A fully planted tank, with a few snails and shrimp would be a great, challenging alternative to fish keeping.


Cheers!
-MoMa