Help w/ feeding my fish

[oddjob142]

For some reason, if I put the flakes on the top, the only fish that will eat from the top are the yellow labs.  I have to soak the food and then pour it in.  Is that normal?  I am using omega1 flake food.  I was using some occasional bloodworms as treats, BUT they dont sink.  I really dont want my yellow labs to get fat and the rest of my fish looking anorexic...

2 Yellow Labs
1 Red Zebra
1 Black Calvus
1 Yellow Calvus
2 Ngara Flametails
1 Psuedotrophus Acei
1 Electric Blue Ahli
1 Copadichromis Electric Blue
1 Julidichromis Marleri
1 Julidichromis Transcriptus
1 Leupi
1 Striped Grey Leupi looking fish
2 Bushynose Plecos
1 Sydontis Angelicus
1 Sydontis Malpuntatus

[oddjob142]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

Also, is there a better flake food out there that sinks?

My labs are the biggest fish in there and I want the others to catch up.  I know this is impossible b/c they grow so fast, but I know them eating all the food isn't going to hep either.  Does anyone have any feeding ideas?

[armthehomeless]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

Most of the other fish generally aren't as voracious eaters or eat from the bottom.  Here is what I do with my flake food:

1. Put desired food (in my case flake food and sinking pellets) in a plastic cup.
2. Fill the cup up with tank water.
3. Pour everything out.

This help all my fish get enough food. Hope this helps. Pay careful attention to the calvus... those are the only guys that have been finicky eaters in community tanks for me.

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

I feed in a similiar way.  I feed flakes, sinking pellets, and floating pellets.

I have a lot of surface agitation from filters and powerheads that keep the flakes stirred up.

So I get three levels of feeding.  Top gets Hikari Cichlid Excel pre-soaked, Bottom gets New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula, and the flakes get a good mix all over the tank. I use Aquarian Tropical Flakes.

In the Tropheus World, bigger Tropheus and or Petrochromis can bully the smaller guys to where they do not get as much, and the bigger get bigger so to speak. So when you mix the foods like this everyone can get some!!

Hope this helps..

[Hanson77]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

Just sell the Calvus and Flametails to me and I will make sure that they get the proper nutrients at my house....LOL.  

I think everyone pretty much hit this one on the head.  Just mix your food up some so that everyone gets their share wherever they tend to feed from.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

KENS PREMIUM GROWTH MEAL: (#1 SIZE) NEW!

THIS IS A HIGH PROTEIN FOOD THAT COMES IN 3 SIZES TO PROMOTE GROWTH IN YOUR FRY. THIS IS A SLOW SINKING #1 OR .5 MM SIZE CRUMBLE.

INGREDIENTS: Fish Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Wheat Flour, Blood Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Soy Lecithin, Yeast Culture, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Supplement), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K Activity), Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Manganese Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Ethoxyquin.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: CRUDE PROTEIN 55.0% MIN., CRUDE FAT 15.0%MIN., CRUDE FIBER 2.0% MAX., MOISTURE 12.0% MAX. ASH 8.0% MAX.

http://www.kensfish.com/index.html

[h0nkzz]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

Just sell the Calvus and Flametails to me and I will make sure that they get the proper nutrients at my house....LOL.  

I think everyone pretty much hit this one on the head.  Just mix your food up some so that everyone gets their share wherever they tend to feed from.

Hanson, what about you take the flametails n i buy the calvus.  

The way i do it is dip my hand into the tank and serve the food right infront of their hiding caves.  

[Hanson77]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

H0nk....do you have a waiter's uniform and a little white towel over your arm when you hand feed your precious fish....LOL!!!!

And that's a deal if oddjobb is up for it.....LOL!!!!!

[h0nkzz]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

No, topless is the way to go as i got short hands and tank 28" deep n almost 6' high at the top ... i always have a 6' folding ladder next to my tank  

[Hanson77]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

I don't know you but I might be scarred for life now with the visual that popped into my head when I read that.....LOL

[oddjob142]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

So...

They won't eat from the top.  Ok...I could live with that, I guess I should try that food that sinks slowly.  I think that may work out better than the flake food soaked in water deal.  

My next question is how much should I feed?  I have heard to do many feedings w/ smaller amounts of food v. 2 mins worth of food.  I am a visual person and cannot be sure how much food is what.  So, can anyone explain better than enough food for 2 mins or 30 secs?  I think if I put the whole can of food in, they can eat in in 10 minutes or so...lol

Thanks for all the help guys...

[h0nkzz]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

sorry for going out of topic  ...

you can try pouring the food from 2-3 different spots at one time... that will spread out the commotion during feeding and allow some food to sink to the bottom ... Yes you'll need food that sinks cause I've NEVER seen my calvus/comps n julies to go higher than midtank to feed.

about the amount of food, thats just up to your judgement. I feed my fish slowly, bit by bit (one pinch each time) over 2 minute periods, I do it 2-3 times a day. Don't worry about them starving, they can survive days without food. I'm not an expert but I have this belief that the more they eat, the more they poop. so you don't want to feed them too much.

[SCOTT]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

Hand feeding, now there's a thought. I wonder just how long it would take me to hand feed my tanks. Something tells me this would be an event timed with a calendar rather than a stop watch.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

I feed all my fish NewLifeSpectrum and everyone loves it!

I would get a can of NLS cichlid formula thera+A or cichlid formula in the 1mm size for your fish. I have a few calvus and they have learned that NLS is yummy so now they wait at the top for food.

Anything and everything in my home gets NLS.

[Zulaab]

Re: Help w/ feeding my fish

Ek,

Where do you find NLS locally ?