Should I get differant food, worried about my mollys

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stew

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 27, 2003
Messages
73
Location
BC, Canada
Hi all, With my new fish (2nd day paranoid fish owner here), I was told to buy Nutrafin MAX micro granuals. My 6 tetras gobble it down but the 2 mollys go after it, get it in thier mouth and then eject it. I dunno, but they might be having trouble swallowing it? Meanwhile the tetras eat all teh food and I don't know if the mollys are getting enuf.

Any input is greatly apreciated!
 
They may just be fussy and not like the Nutrafin very much. I've had my angels spit out some foods that were supposed the be awesome and fish couldn't resist em. *shrug* Guess they're kinda like people; we all have different tastes.

I'd pick up another food, maybe a flake type. Its good to have some variety in a fish's diet, and they may actually be more used to flakes. It could be why they are spitting the granules out. They'll likely get used to the granules at some point.
 
OK, thanks i'll pick up some flakes, do you think the tetras will eat flakes too? I've yest to see them go to the surface.

I was also reading that my mollys mightlike some letuce or spinach.. how small should I tear it up so that they can eat it?

Thanks!
 
The tetras might; I have cardinal tetras that only eat what starts to sink, and regular neons that eat off the surface; fussy buggers LOL But do keep in mind chances of fish starving in our tanks is REALLY slim (unless they are ill or specialty eaters); they eat better in our tanks then they ever would in the wild. Actually, they can go for upwards of a week without eating and not starve to death (is why its better not to get one of those nasty water messing up weekend feeders if you go away for a few days, and just leave em alone).

As for veggies, actually I've read spinach is not a good choice; it doesn't have enough of the right nutrients. Lettuce other then iceberg is a better choice. You can rip up little pieces if you want, but its harder to remove if they decide they don't like it (remember...fussy *grin*). I'd take a leaf, either blanche it or nuke it for 10 seconds and use something to sink it. If they don't eat it within 12-18 hours, remove it so it doesn't start to rot and mess up water parameters. You might also want to try cucumbers or zucchini (also blanched).

And your welcome :)
 
London: they are neons, so far they just attack the the sinking food like its going out of style, they seem really happy.

Allivymar: Thanks again for the great advice.. one more question.. what is "blanched"? Also, how small would you recommend I cut up cucumber chunks?

I'm gonna go get some flakes and see whatother treats I can find for them and see what happens tomorrow morning when I feed em! I'm having a blast, I wish I had gotten fish years ago!
 
Blanched means dipping it in boiling water briefly; makes it easier for the fish to digest. If you're lazy like me LOL you can pop it into the microwave and nuke it for 10-20 seconds. Do make sure you let it cool off before offering it to the fish. Don't cut it up it teeny pieces; again, if they don't like it you're stuck trying to get all those pieces out. Better to offer a couple of slices (remove the seeds from the cukes) and see if they like it. If they do, they'll just bite hunks out of it anyway.

Heh and yeah, it kinda neat to realise how much fin fish are. I adore my guys; didn't realise how personable fish can be prior to having all my tanks. My guys amuse the heck outa me, and they all have different personalities and behaviors. The angels are pretty bright, and recognise the dif between my hubby and I, one of my gouramis is a horny lil bastard and builds himself a new bubble nest every week (even tho he doesn't have a girlfriend yet!), the clown loaches like to peek out and make faces at me thru the holes in their driftwood..I could go on LOL but you get the idea...

And I have all sorts of foods for em. 2 diff kinds of flake, 2 diff kinds of pellets, freeze dried bloodworm, 2 types of sinking wafer, frozen bloodworm and the occasional slice of zucchini.
 
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