How to feed a community tank correctly?

[Sf1]

Hi, soon I'll start to my my fishes and I must to known how to feed them in right way.

I guess I need to buy:

1. Algae food catfish and snail. There is something special about it or I can just buy any?
2. Flake food for all other fish. Do I need to buy only 1 variety or more?
3. Mini or nano pellets for all other fish. I read somewhere that floating pallets are dangerous, it’s true?
4. Cichlids pellets for Angelfish and Ram. Rasboras and Gouramis won’t get sisk if they will eat it?
5. Bloodworm and Shrimp. Freeze or dry? What is better and safer?
6. How about the krill and tubifex, it’s safe for Angelfish?

How about the vitamins? Do I need to add some vegetables to my tank? Or maybe a Veggie Flakes?

Do I need to keep the food in the frigo once opened?

What do you think about VacationGel and NutraFin Basix as a vacation food?

The most important question, how do I need to alternate all this?
There is a system, like?:
Day 1: Flakes and Algae food.
Day 2: Pellets and Algae.
Day 3: Bloodworm and Algae.
…

Thanks

 

[bob mccoy]

do not spare any expense on fish food. buy the best. the flakes and algae wafers and small sinking cichlid pellets are fine. all the rest is a snack 1 or 2 times a week. i might sound anal about over feeding but what i did was buy one of those monthly pill boxes and i fill each slot with all the mixed foods and feed 2 times a day.

 

[Sf1]

The is any specific brend or product line? Or it's just more expensive = better?
Because I cannot trust to advice in my LFS, they want just to sell more :-$

 

[Dubs1281]

do not spare any expense on fish food. buy the best. the flakes and algae wafers and small sinking cichlid pellets are fine. all the rest is a snack 1 or 2 times a week. i might sound anal about over feeding but what i did was buy one of those monthly pill boxes and i fill each slot with all the mixed foods and feed 2 times a day.

To be honest... I find that you can get good food. For a low cost. I love aqeuon and have a ton of $1 off all food products. My fish are doing great. I have the color enhancement flakes, mixed with tropical granules. And just bought algea tabs for my otos and loaches. I also feed my cichlids tetra veggie pellets. And sallys seaweed salad, which they go nuts for. I hear new life spectrum is phenomenal but I only bought a small container for discus when I get them in a month or two.
Not saying anyone's wrong. Just pointing out my experiences.

 

[henningc]

Maybe I missed it, if not we need to reel this back a notich. Did the original post ever fully identify what fish were actually being or going to be house together?

First, there are many different brands of food and everyone has their brand they swear by. You may wish to post a request for different brands and why poeple like them. Just an FYI, many of the color enhancers have steriods in them - Avoid at all cost.

I use Ocean Nutrition flake foods and mix different blends for different fish. Formula One & Two bascially can feed a community tank very well. The important thing is look at the ingerdient list and avoid anything with grain product in the first few items listed.

For your cichlids, small pellets will work best. Keep in mind for cichlids, angels have very small mouths. Mine eat small sinking and floating pellets, flake and freeze dried foods. The thing is, watch to see what they are eating. When smaller the cichlids likely will be fine on flake food. Introduce pellets in small doses. It sometimes helps to soak them in a little water at first so the texture is not rock hard. If they keep stitting them out that is the issue.

As for algea waffers, there are tons of different kinds and in my opinion all are useless. My crayfish eat them but will opt for the real food any day of the week. I make my own green food. Get a bag of frozen peas, blanch them, cool them on a paper towel, cut in half and freeze on a paper towel so they don't clump. Same with fresh green beans. My cichlids actually eat the thawed peas on a daily basis. Pleacos, livebearers, cichlids snails, shrimp and crayfish love those two as well.

As for frozen or freeze dried food, freeze dried is the safest. Keep in mind these are treats. I tear up my tubifex cubes in to pieces small enough for cichlids and livebearers, ect... I do use frozen Bloodworms for conditioning when planning to breed things like corys, gouramis and some cichlids. Just be careful and watch to make sure there are no ill effects. During the summer you can place several small Rubber Made containers full of water outside, or something larger and harvest mosquito larva. I assure you none will ever survive to fly in your fish tank. Harvest with a fish net. If you want to save the over supply, simply collect the in a cup, use a paper towel or two to draw down the water and pour into an old fashioned ice tray. When the tray is full, store in a ziplock in the freezer. Thaw before using in a cup of water.

On the subject of live food, you can't go wrong making it a large part of their diet. Smaller fish love brine shrimp and just a 10gal full of female Endlers or Least Killies will produce enough for two good cichlid meals per month. I use 5gal buckets to produce Least Killies. Also I gut load the feeder livebearers with baby brine shrimp.

I feed three or more small meals a day. Typically I give them a pinch of flake food and wait two-three minutes and give another if the first is gone-small pinches. I then feed them live brine shrimp. They chase the shrimp around for an hour or two.

 

[Sf1]

Thanks
How about dry bloodworm compare to frozen?
Do I need to keep my flakes or pellets in the frige once open?