Being an aquatic owner myself, I like to provide the best for my fishes.
I do give them the basic food that comes out of a packet every day, but I thought of trying out something new.
I’m pretty sure that fishes, like humans, would get bored of eating the same meal three times every single day.
So I did my research, and that led me to a list of herbs I could try out as foods for my aquatic babies.
1.Basil
You could try out home grown herbs too like basil, thyme, parsley, and oregano. Little bits and pieces of these herbs work well for the fishes. The taste of basil might be a bit too strong for some fishes, but you can give them a bite or two now and then for a refreshing taste.
2.Mint
Mint, on the other hand, I would imagine is a total no-no for fishes as they are naturally repellent to bugs and rats. I can’t take the risk of seeing what it would do to fragile creatures like fishes.
3.Algae
Other grasses like foods that you could try are algae covered rocks, moss balls or algae balls.
For algae covered rocks, all you have to do is place some rocks in a glass of water separate from the aquarium and face it towards the sun. Gradually, a layer of algae will start developing on the rocks.
This is the moment you place them in the aquarium. What better food for the aquatic animals than growing food plants.
As and when you see the algae starts diminishing from the rocks in the aquarium, replace it with new algae covered rocks.
4.Moss Balls
For moss balls, which are also known as algae balls, you can get it from aquatic food stores if they aren’t available in your region naturally.
These foods look like they are little golf balls covered in algae. After the fishes are done nibbling on them, they regrow in a circular shape only.
These moss balls are found mostly in European and Japanese lakes where they naturally roll out on the shore of the lakes.
The fishes while nibbling on them can never finish a moss ball. They might be quite expensive but are worthy of the price.
5.Riccia or Java Moss
The other trick is to tie grass foods to a rock in the aquarium. You could attach aquatic plants like Riccia or java moss also known as vesicular in Latin terms. You could attach the plants with a cotton thread. Some stores already have them attached to driftwood. These plants when growing will be excellent foods for fishes.
Other Species of Plant Foods
I will list some other species of plant foods that you can grow or place in your aquarium.
Usually, you can find these plants by their laymen terms but getting them by their Latin terms is more reliable. So you can get the proper plant that you’re looking for, and there is no chance of a mix-up.
Some of such plants are:
Cabomba comes in the green and red colors and grows rapidly when fed with enough sunlight.
It is a soft plant that is one of the most edible foods for fishes. Egeria is also known as anchors and Elodea.
You will probably have seen this as the most common fish food around the world. It is a great oxygen provider and another great option for different types of goldfish food.
Limnophila, which is also known as Ambula, is a fine leaved plant.
Sunlight does complement its growth, but if you have a lot of fish in the aquarium, just one of these won’t be able to sustain their dietary needs for long. Myriophyllum is a soft aquatic leaved plant that can grow rapidly.
It almost always grows ahead of the fish’s needs. Rotala comes in different forms.
The most common ones are Wallachia, indicia, and rotund-folia. They grow rapidly and are soft left.
But they are tough enough not to be eaten completely while the fish can nibble on them.
If your aquarium is blessed with a great lighting, one more form of Rotala that you can try is R. Macrandra. It serves the purpose of providing varied plants to your aquatic babies.
Ground plants like Glossostigma and Lilaeopsis will spread on the ground cover of your aquarium.
They take fewer efforts and can provide for many fishes. Even with the simplest settings, you could grow a few aquatic plants for your fishes.
Not everyone wishes to inject carbon dioxide, expensive lighting and other additives to the aquarium setting at home. Sometimes, a simple setting can do the trick for you.
These plant foods range from minimal effort to utmost care, and you can choose whichever it is that you’d prefer. Let us know which works best for your fishes.