flake or pellet for convict and j.Dempsey?

[Kribensis]

In short:
What should I feed my young convict and jack Dempsey cichlids? Can they live off flake and frozen? The mini pellets I picked up with them today sink before everyone eats them. What is a good diet for them?

The long story:
I have 3 convict cichlids that were given to me. I think the guy said they were hatched in sept or oct. Well when I got them. The guy said they are now eating flake food. So since then they hav had different typs of flake food and somtimes got a piece of frozen brine shrimp.

Well today I got a small convict of similar size. But it had some red on tge belly. And 2 Jack Dempsey s. And because im ised to the flakes and a lot of ppl use pellets on there larger cichlids. I gor some mini slow sinking pellets. But they sink faster then the fish get to them.

What should my convicts and jack Dempseys be fed? Is a variety of flake food ok? Or should I stick with the pellets? We want our fish to live a long life with us. Right now they are all in a 125g tank.

 

[Kribensis]

This is the only pic I have of the jack Dempseys right now. Them and what I hope is a girl convict cichlid are all sharing a 125 gallon aquarium with 3 other small convicts I got awhile back. The ones I got at first...I think the guy said they were hatched in September.

Im used to community type fish and kribensis like cichlids. Frozen shrimp amd flake food. I want my new fish to be healthy and live long. So that is my reason for this odd question. My first convicts have been on flake food. Because I got them so small. The lady at Petsmart said they feed all there fish mini to med sinking pellets. So the mini pellets I got. Sink faster then the fish have time to get to them. I know 125g is a large home for all the small guys. But the flake food goes all over the tank. And everyone can eat. Vs the slow sinking pellets that sink pretty fast to me.

Ill shut up now. I hope someone can educate me. So my fish can be happy. A friend told me to also do like 50% - 75% every week and they will grow faster. Is that true?

 

[phishfriend]

Hikari makes a floating pellet that's really good. Actually that line in general is a great line. I use a lot of their stuff. Frozen food that have been thawed in tank water are also good. I wouldn't do live unless you breed the feeders. Store bought are just to chancy. Can't tell you how many post I read were someone threw store feeders In their tank and now have sick fish. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[Kribensis]

Hikari makes a floating pellet that really good. Actually that line in general is a great line. I use a lot of their stuff. Frozen food that have been thawed in tank water are also good. I wouldn't do live unless you breed the feeders. Store bought are just to chancy. Can't tell you how many post I read were someone threw store feeders In their tank and now have sick fish. Hope this helps. Good luck!

So you think I should stick with the pellets. But get thw floating kind. Verses the flake food and/or the slow sinking pellets? It just seems like they will be eating most of there food from the rock bottom. Vs the middle or top .

 

[Kribensis]

Phishfriend,

Thanks for your reply. I remember ypur nickname from my posting about the red terror. As you can see. Im no longer going to get him for this tank. I like the jack Dempsey just as much. And I dont have to worry about waking in the morning to fund my other fish scared and/or dead. Again, thanks for the reply and input.

 

[phishfriend]

Flake is IMO a low grade food with lots if filler like ash. Which does nothing for your fish. Pellets seem to contain less ash and has higher protein base. But aways read the ingredient breakdowns to make sure of what your getting . A pellet that floats will more likely be seen an eaten buy predator fish like JD's who don't naturally bottom feed and what doesn't get eaten is easy for you to remove. Thats a plus with large fish like JD'S who have big bio load. Just helps you keep a cleaner tank.

 

[HUKIT]

Ill shut up now. I hope someone can educate me. So my fish can be happy. A friend told me to also do like 50% - 75% every week and they will grow faster. Is that true?]

Yes, fish excrete a hormone which acts like a growth inhibitor. Large weekly water changes will help remove those hormones but more importantly they remove more harmful things such as nitrates which over time are more harmful than slower growing fish.

Flake is IMO a low grade food with lots if filler like ash.

This is actually not true when comparing high quality fish foods such as New Life Spectrum, their flakes have 10% max compared to their pellets which are 9% max. If your using examples such as Tetra, Aqueon, and other garbage manufactures which contain nothing but low quality a ingredients and loads of fillers then I'd agree. I've been growing out large cichlids using flake foods for 20 years and I think they will always have a place in my fishroom. Once the fish reach over 5" then pellets are generally preferred due to the amount of flakes required for dietary needs.

The other positive thing about flakes is generally its hard to overfeed large fish which is a huge problem with premature death due to fatty deposits around vital organs. Everyone in this day of instant gratification wants big fish now! Which leads to all sorts of health problems.

 

[phishfriend]

If your using examples such as Tetra, Aqueon, and other garbage manufactures which contain nothing but low quality a ingredients and loads of fillers

That is exactly what I was referring to and should have made that clear. Most people see and think "flake is flake". Which makes them turn to the lower end because cost.

 

[chew valley]

I feed my Jack Dempsey mainly frozen food Artemia, Daphnia, Brineshrimp, Prawns, Krill and Bloodworms. The Bloodworms are a favourite. But I give flakes and Cichlid pellets once or twice a week too.

I feed twice a day but one day a week I don't feed him as this helps the digestive system.

JD's are not fussy eaters so you should be fine with most things. But live \ frozen foods should make up most of the diet IMHO.

 

[Kribensis]

Thats funny you said that. Because the mini slow sinking pellits i got are from Aqueon. I thought they would be good. Just because that same outfit is the makers of a 125g tank I have. I will toss them when I get them other pellets from that "akeara" outfit and order some "new life" flake off amazon. Thanks for the insight. And yes. I like giving all my fish frozen blood worms shrimp, and some other frozen green cubes I cant recall the name of. But it is by that "kiromashema" outfit. Sorry, cant recall the names as I am at work right now.

I always thought water changes were like 25% every week or 2 weeks? And I always thought it was to clean the gravel. LOL. I feel dumb. I never knew the fish let off a hormone into the water. God, my wife and I love all animals and now im more interested. 50% water changes every week? Wow, consider it done.

I dont know if we have a bad master water test kit or what. But all our test are 0.0 across the board and ph is like 8.0 or 8.2. I have heard that arizonas water iss great for cichlids. But hard on saltwater aquariums.

Its going to be hard for me not to feed then for one whole day. But I will give that a try also. My friend aaid some of his large cichlids are fed only every other day. Now we are not the typ of ppl that have time to sit with our fish for hours and watch them. Because my daughter has that job. But just like all animals/pets. We control there lifestyles. My friend likes over stocking his tanks. Looks cool with everyone swimming around. But we look at our fish like pets. Sure... a dog can live in a cage its whole life. A bird can live in a small cage. A oscar can love in a 20 gallon tank. But none of them are fare for the animals/pets/creatures. That is why im even iffey on ever adding a jaguire cichlid to this 125g cichlid tank im growing. I just have to talk my wife into turning our guest room into a aquarium. But so far its a "no"

Thank all of you for your help. And the time it took you all to read all that I post. I have always been over winded a bit and detail oriented. Any places online for good fish food? Or is amazon.com just fine?