Feeding the community a balanced diet

[Jchillin]

At issue is my dwarf cichlids and Angels. I've tried every kind of cichlid food for them and they don't want anything to do with it. Sticks, pellets, brine shrimp and crumbles are completely ignored and eventually scarfed up by the remainder of the community. It seems they only like bloodworms (both freeze-dried and tubifex).

Yes, they like flakes (I mix it with spurilina flakes) and I've seen them chowing down on the plecos/cories wafers from time to time.

My tetras eat everything so they are getting a better balanced diet than the cichlids (I won't mention what happens with peas...but, just imagine a small tetra with a 1/4 sized pea in it's mouth).

I'm totally confounded...any ideas?

*Check my profile for community members.

 

[Hara]

I think sometimes we can get carried away with doing what we think is right and "feeding a balanced diet". I know I am guilty of obsessing over this. I believe that nature also plays a part in it and it is easy to forget that. It is quite possible that the fish themselves do not "need" what is in a particular food at a particular time and turn their noses down at it. Just some "food" for thought

(ok, that pun was bad)

 

[BrianNY]

I've a theory that our fish become conditioned to only assepting certain foods. This is especially true for fish that are more intelligent such as cichlids. In order to break this skipping a day of feeding works wonders. JMO

 

[workfortheman]

won't take FBS? weird, that's just crazy every fish I've ever had takes FBS, with vigor! Maybe try mixing up chopped bloodworms with spirulina flakes?

 

[Jchillin]

Sometimes, I feel like a waiter at a 5-Star restaurant:

"What'll it be tonight Mr. and Mrs. Angels? Ahhh, Tropical flakes again...good choice" and you German Blue Ram family, Tropical Flakes as well? Excellent choice."

"We do have some chef's specials if you would: Lovely worms, shrimp and flavored sticks...No?"

The angels used to enjoy the brine shrimp but started turning their noses up to it about two months ago. I will give all the suggestions a try, who knows?

Thanks all!

 

[QTOFFER]

IMO, most high quality flakes are the best staple diet. Fresh veggies and some live or frozen foods once in a while provide diversity and trace minerals that are missing in the flakes.

My two older angels attack tropical flakes (and my fingers) with gusto. However, I tried offering them frozen brine shrimp a few weeks ago, and they just kept spitting it out. Then they were staring at me like I was an idiot.

The five baby angels are another story. All they would eat was frozen brine shrimp. It took me awhile to figure out that they were afraid of / couldn't handle the tropical flakes that were 1/4 their size. I ground some up into tiny pieces, and now they're accepting flake.

Did you try live worms? I'm planning to pick some up to give my angels a meaty respite from flake once in a while.

 

[Big C]

[acronym="Did you try live worms? I'm planning to pick some up to give my angels a meaty respite from flake once in a while.

Do you mean pick them up from the garden? The real earth worms? Or some special kind of fishy worms?

 

[Zezmo]

I have recently started buying flightless fruit flies. You can buy little live jars at Petco. Since only a dozen or so hatch a day. My fish have learned that they had better be right there when I drop em in. Now, as I come to the tank, after work, they all rush to the surface near my feeding ring. If I take too long, or do somthing they think is me dropping the flies, they start splashing the surface. The Gouramis, and Rainbows mostly do this. I have also tried some small crickets from my son's lizard. The rainbows go berzerko for them. And the colors!!! They become so vibrant after eating live insects.

 

[QTOFFER]

I should have been more specific, BigC. I meant blackworms. You can get cultures of them at most lfs.

Earthworms taken from the garden are tasty fish treats too. Of course, you have to be sure that they were not exposed to pesticides. People dice them up for their fish - yum!

 

[Guest]

I think the skipping a day of feeding idea would work best. I had to do this once too to get my fish to eat other food than just bloodworms. Skipping a day, or even a meal period helped me break their bloodworm only diet. HTH

 

[msmonih]

We have that happen. We feed a large varied diet. Everyone's main staple is flakes except for the Puffers and their main staple in Pond Snails. Right now, everyone is tired of Tubifex Worms. We still feed them but they aren't eating with gusto but they also know better that they'd better eat when we come around. We have a pair of Oscars that get home grown feeders every few weeks. They always like to try and hold out for those but they also know when we drop pellets, flakes, and other things. They should eat those when feeders aren't offered. All I can say is we offer certain foods on a consistent basis and when we see they aren't into them then sometimes we will offer something else. But they do soon learn, you are feed what's available and you should eat.