Algae & Veg. Food For Mollies?

[beginner]

Hi friends, (I had wrongly posted this earlier under brackish) 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

 

[§tudz]

Hi friends, (I had wrongly posted this earlier under brackish) 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

As Mollies are better off with some saltinity in their water, I would suggest java fern, as I have read that can tolerate the salt. I think java moss can also survive in brackish water.
As for foods shelled par boiled peas will be taken.
To increase algae there are many ways, hehe seems strange, most of us try to stop algae, any way here goes:

- High phospate levels
- excessive light
- minimal plants, so the nutrients dont get obsurbed.
- put the tank near a window as algae loves REAL sunlight.

TBH, there is no way to control what type of alage will grow, as I dont think mollies will eat ALL types of algae.

As for if they can survive on veg and algae, I have no idea, as I have never kept mollies

how strict a veggie are you? I guess you dont eat fish? just woundering that all.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Afraid I can't answer your other questions, but vegetables happily eaten by my platies (similar to mollies) include peas, broad beans, spinach, chard, broccoli. Another good way to get algae is to place an aquarium ornament in a glass of water/small tank/plastic tub in the window or out of doors. This is safer than keeping the tank itself in the window as that might lead to temperature fluctuations. If you alternate with a couple of ornaments you could keep a steady supply going.

 

[§tudz]

mollies arent like platies except they are live bearers, and they look similair
mollies are more like guppies, the same genus family

 

[confusion]

Mollies are omnivorous and need a varied diet of both veg/algae and "meats". I believe most of the typical flake food has some protien content that comes from shrimp or insects in addition to plant matter.

I feed mine an occaisonal live brine shrimp, freeze dried bllodworm, or frozen tubiflex worm treat about once a week. Unlike humans who can obtain protien & fats from alternate sources - nuts, etc, fish are pretty limited on the sources for such nutrients.

 

[Annastasia]

mollies arent like platies

They are in terms of eating requirements. And they're in the same family.

To echo previous statements, they wouldn't do so great just eating veggies. It's like you eating only veggies. You'd lack some nutrients, and therefore be unhealthy.

 

[dwarfgourami]

mollies arent like platies except they are live bearers, and they look similair
mollies are more like guppies, the same genus family

I know that. But foodwise they are quite similar.

Annastasia, the suggestion of keeping mollies as a suitable vegetarian fish was made by Neale Monks. I don't feel qualified to argue with him on that (or any) score, though my natural instinct would be to keep them on a more varied diet.

incidentally, beginner is a strict vegetarian, and presumably is not feeling any ill effects. so the human analogy does not work. it is a question of whether mollies- who certainly look like omnivores/insectivores, but are known to eat a lot of algae in the wild- are actually able to cope on a wholly vegetarian diet

 

[nmonks]

Hang on... there are plenty of healthy vegetarians. So this needs clarifying.

There are two issues here. One is can an omnivorous/herbivorous person (or fish) survive purely on plants and algae. Answer: yes. Second question, is it easy? Answer: no. Long answer: ask anyone in the medical profession about the number of malnourished vegetarians they see; things like anaemia are very common in vegetarian women in particular. If being a human vegetarian is difficult, it's likely even more so with fish, but still not impossible.

Once protein, vitamins, etc. are in an animal, it doesn't matter where they come from. To be a healthy human vegetarian is MUCH more difficult to be a health omnivorous human. Meat plus vegetables on your dinner plate virtually guarantees everything you need for that day's nutrition. A plate of salad does not even come close. So a vegetarian needs to learn about balancing things like amino acids from different vegetables in a single meal. The classic example is the combination of peas and sweetcorn (maize) which Iif I recall correctly) supply all 22 essential amino acids together, each one covering gaps in the other.

Cheers,

Neale

To echo previous statements, they wouldn't do so great just eating veggies. It's like you eating only veggies. You'd lack some nutrients, and therefore be unhealthy.

 

[confusion]

I agree that keeping vegetarian fish is *possible*, but would take some serious effort to determine how to properly balance a fish's diet.

The broader question in my mind, though, is why? Just because I *can* have a gold fish in my 2G desktop tank doesn't mean I should - my decision on how to keep the fish is cutting against the nature of the fish. It needs to be in a bigger tank for it to have a healthy life. Omnivore fish, are omnivores. I know I'm probably going to coming across as inflamitory, and that's not my intention, but why would someone want to knowningly provide a diet to a fish that isn't in-line with it's needs? Humans have a choice and a lot of flexibility in how to proceed with such a diet and the ability to determine when they're not getting the right amount of something or other. Maybe from my myopic view of the world, I see parallels between the unnatural tank sizes and unnatural diets.

 

[beginner]

Thanks Studz, dwarfgourmai, confusion, Annastasia & nmonks for very kindly posting your replies and enlightening me on the issue. The sum total seems to be that it is not possible for fishes to lead a healthy life on just a vegetarian diet. So, in all fairness I should not keep them as then it would amount to cruelty. This is a great site where members are so helpful to beginners. SINCERE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU.

Thanks Confusion. I totally agree with you. The issue is that I was trying to find out if Herbivorous fishes existed. And I wrongly felt that Mollies are Herbivorous in the wild. That is why this message. Now that I know Mollies are not herbivorous, I don't intend to keep them and make them suffer for my beliefs. Thanks once again.

 

[Annastasia]

I think I'm being misunderstood. Vegetarians do not eat only vegetables. We just don't eat meat, or, in some cases, anything that comes from an animal. That doesn't mean we don't eat beans, or rice, or other foods to get more nutrients that veggies do not provide. Fish do not have the option of tofu, or beans, or other foods. Therefore, a vegetarian diet for them would most likely be only veggies, unless you can find some fancy substitute. I personally would never keep my Mollies on a strict veggie diet. Argue all you want, but that's my opinion.

Oh yes, and I'm a vegetarian, so I speak from experience, thanks.

 

[liserini]

I am also a veggie, no meat or fish! But all my pets...fish and cats get whatever they need to sustain a healthy balance. Just wondering if fish can eat quorn pieces?!

 

[confusion]

Understood. If you look at fishprofiles.com or the fish profiles section of this site, I believe you can look for herbivores. If I'm not mistaken, fish like oto's and other catfish are herbivores.

Interestingly, fishprofiles.com has mollies, and quite a few other well known omnivores (swordtails, etc) listed as herbivores. My respect for that site is dwindling

 

[beginner]

Hi Confusion. Many of the fish sites I have visited, state that Silver Dollars are herbivorous. Can anyone throw any light on this subject? I know this fish is not listed under this section, but since the topic is on herbivorous fishes, I thought of mentioning it.

 

[nmonks]

Please see here, where I've answered this question for you. Not a good idea asking the same question in lots of different sections of the forum. For one thing, it makes it difficult to keep a discussion going.

Cheers,

Neale

PS. liserini -- A scat will probably eat quorn, tofu, and God knows what else. It's hard to imagine they would turn anything down. On the debit side, they are big, brackish water fish that aren't for everyone. Nice animals though, very easy to tame and rather personable for schooling fish.

Hi Confusion. Many of the fish sites I have visited, state that Silver Dollars are herbivorous. Can anyone throw any light on this subject? I know this fish is not listed under this section, but since the topic is on herbivorous fishes, I thought of mentioning it.