Advice on changing primary food

[TMRC Exotics]

I've been trying to switch my cichlids from flake to pellets but I'm not having much luck. They've all been fed omega one cichlid flakes as long as I've had them. I've got some hikari pellets but they just don't seem to want them. They rarely even make a pass at the pellets. A few have tried them but frequently spit them back out. I've tried small pellets as well as some micro sized pellets (aqueon cichlid pellets).

I was wanting to switch mainly for the purpose of not having flakes breaking down into dust. The pellets hold their form and would be easier to portion. Aside from that annoyance of flakes is there any benefit to pellets? Is a flake based diet as nutritional? And are the any brands of pellet they may prefer? I've heard great things about NLS but I hate to buy it and them still not eat it. They've barely made a dent in the hikari cichlid gold pellets.

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[camj417]

I switched to NLS if your are having trouble switching try not feeding them for a few days then giving them the new food that's what I did now all my fish love it


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[mikem691]

Try thera a + garlic 1 mm sinking. In my opinion its the best and the garlic seems to help with the switch over. Even my neons will grab a pellet and hold it until they can eat it.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Thanks for the advice. They're on a small amount daily feeding cycle, I didn't feed tonight and will try tomorrow afternoon. They are at the tank begging every time I walk by already. Any opinions on flake vs pellet nutritionally?

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[mikem691]

Thanks for the advice. They're on a small amount daily feeding cycle, I didn't feed tonight and will try tomorrow afternoon. They are at the tank begging every time I walk by already. Any opinions on flake vs pellet nutritionally?

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My lyonsi was raised on blood worms before I got him. I had to soak the pellets in blood worm juice before feeding. Some times he would refuse to eat them for up to 5 days. After about 3 weeks he finally started eating them eagerly. I still feed 2x a day while he is growing. Blood worms, brine shrimp or krill 1 feeding once a week. I'm not sure about the flake verses pellets as far as nutrition goes but I would think the flakes would loose it faster after hitting the water. They also seem to be messier and sucked into the filter faster than the pellets.

 

[icydeath]

Pellets tend to hold nutrition better, store better, portion better, and are cheaper based on weight.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Right, that confirms what I expected flake vs pellet wise. I've been trying to feed just the pellets at feeding time, maybe if I drop a few pellets in with flake and gradually convert to more pellets it would still trigger that feeding frenzy. Thanks for the ideas, I needed some help brainstorming and knew the forum could deliver.

Edit to add: may also consider soaking some pellets with the omega flake. Sounds silly but they seem to love the taste, whether its floating or sinking they tear it up.

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[mikem691]

you could always try the omega pellets 1st then try to switch to the NLS

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Not a bad idea mike.

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[icydeath]

If that doesn't work, try mixing up the types of flakes they eat or give vegies or seafoods so they have variety. Then they are open to new foods and are more likelyy to switch to pellet.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Good news, I took everyone's advice and waited two days between a feeding and fed mixed flake with some pellets soaked in water with a few omega one flakes. They all ate well and all the pellets got ate. The next day I fed only pellets that had soaked with a few flakes and they were all ate. I've been feeding the hikari gold pellets right out of the pack now for a few days and they're eating them as enthusiastically as they did the flakes. I still will occasionally feed the omega flakes as well for some variety, next on the list is some of those NLS products.

 

[icydeath]

Glad it's working for you