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pleco_breeder wrote:what can be substitued from North America

You could try feeding them cactus fruit; although they would never encounter it in the wild.

I gather that yuca is another name for manioc. Probably not closely related to yucca, although I'm not certain of it.

One thing I intended to mention earlier in this thread as a botanical point is that palms are not actually trees. They evolved separately and they differ from trees in various respects. The expression 'palm tree' is a misnomer.

good point - thank you. That could mean that also nutritional components may differ greatly between palm and trees

I suspect Panaque as well as other plecos are probably of the same mindset as Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane, when she said, "I don't care if there are chemicals in it as long as my lettuce is crisp."

I just finished a search for both yuca and Scheelea phalerata. Yuca propogules and seeds are restricted in the US, so growing this as a source of fish food is not a viable idea.

On the other hand, S. phalerata is rather widespread as an ornamental palm in the southwestern US. This brings me to the next question. I don't have the study mentioned above, so I'm curious what part of the palm is being eaten. The fruit produced is very similar to a date, and is very high in carbohydrates. There are several studies being conducted regarding the rainforest animals which strictly inhabit areas where this palm growns in large numbers.

There is also an obvious difference of the wood in the leaf fronds and the actual trunk. Because palms grow rather slowly, in most species, I am assuming that the frond stem makes up a large part of their diet. I can't imagine enough of them being located on a rivers edge for fallen trees to feed a population over a long term. If anyone has more specific information, it would be appreciated.

Larry Vires

Well, the 'heart of palm' is the central meristem, or growing tip. It's something like the centre of a cabbage or lettuce. Once it's removed the palm can't produce new leaves, because palms don't branch out like a tree does.

Shane wrote:(heck, Jools gets excited about corn on the cob when he visits)

Only because it's not deep fried in batter.

Jools

No luck finding heart of palm in my local supermarket, but they do have bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, has anyone ever tried either for panaques ?

Bamboo shoots are probably pretty close to heart of palm, so you may want to try that. I'd probably test water chestnuts too, but only because I like them so I'd eat them if they are no good in the tank...

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Mats

I am going to have a few species of SA palms cut down and we'll see how they go.

Sorry to continue jumping back to this, but does anyone know what part of the palm is actually being eaten in their natural habitat? I have access to 3 species currently that I'm willing to sacrifice if necessary. However, I would like to get an educated opinion from anyone with more understanding than I about whether the frond stalks are acceptable. Every year about this time, monsoons, I clean up a couple hundred pounds of these that are blown off by wind and rain. So, this would obviously be a cheaper food source if it is acceptable. I guess my real question is whether the fish are focusing on the growing tip, the trunk, or leaf fronds. Given the number of fronds a mature palm can produce in a year, this seems to be the most feasible provided there are enough nutrients to sustain the fish.

Larry Vires