Food??

[Ian086]

Hi, i just wanted to get some advice on food. I have a community set-up, Platies, Swordtails, Red Tail Tetras, Guppies etc.. I am currently using Tetra Pro Colour(crisps) and Tetra Prima(granules). I also feed frozen(thawed) bloodworm's..The fish go made for the bloodworms but i would imagine that it's not ideal to only feed bloodworms..The fish do eat the Crisps and Prima eventually but both seem too big for their mouths. I have a couple of Kribensis's who can handle both the crisp and granules no problem. I just wanted to get an idea of the types of food to feed the other fish..Is there a food especially for community fish(i'm not a fan of flakes, i find them a bit messy)...
I am obviously looking for the best food for my fish, if anyone can help, could they please include brand names so i can check on-line to purchase...
All tips/help/advice welcome and much appreciated, Thanks...Ian

PS..I am currently starting to breed guppies as a favour for someone and if anyone know any good food designed especially for guppies i would be grateful...

 

[Sharpchick]

You may want to check out gel food for your fish - especially any who will "catch" food on the way down, and any who will eat off the bottom. (I say that because I have a betta who will eat off the bottom, and they aren't usually considered bottom feeders.)

I feed Repashy gel food to my fish - different kinds for the different needs of the fish. Here's one website where it's sold.

And there are others, too. For fish feeding from the surface of the water, I don't think gel foods would be a real good bet, unless you are hand feeding.

 

[Ian086]

Thanks Sharpchick, i can't purchase this from Ireland but i can get it on ebay.. When i make up the gel, do i feed just small pieces of it at a time. Thanks for the suggestion, i didn't know anything like that excisted...

 

[emerald76]

Hikari fancy guppy is a great guppy food.

 

[Sharpchick]

Thanks Sharpchick, i can't purchase this from Ireland but i can get it on ebay.. When i make up the gel, do i feed just small pieces of it at a time. Thanks for the suggestion, i didn't know anything like that excisted...

A little of this food goes a long way. I'd order the Community Repashy if I were you.

You use 1 part powder to 3 part boiling water, mix it very well (because it starts to set up as you are mixing), then leave it out on the counter to cool to room temperature. If you have quite a few fish, you may want to use the standard mixing formula on the package, which is 1/4 cup powder to 3/4 cup boiling water.

What I do after it cools is loosen it from my mold (I just use a shallow cereal bowl for that), and cut it in about 1/2 inch cubes. I put half of that in a tupperware in the fridge, and the other half (cubes separated) in a freezer bag that I lay flat in the freezer until frozen. The goal is to have no more in the fridge than will be used in two weeks, which is the recommended maximum refrigerator storage. When I've used that, I take the freezer bag out and place it in the fridge to thaw overnight.

For first time feeding, and for babies or fish with really small mouths, I dice up my cube and drop it into the tank.

However, even for fish with small mouths, once they latch onto it and decide This Is Really Good Stuff, then you can drop a half or entire cube and watch them attack it.

If you have fish who are herbivores (or you just want to add more vegetable content), there are Repashy mixes higher in veggies (I feed my goldfish Soilent Green). You can mix and match your batches with powder from different bags, always keeping the 1 part powder to 3 parts water ratio.

A word to the wise - when the boiling water hits this stuff and you start mixing, it stinks to high heaven. That's probably good for fish who have bad eyesight but can sniff out their food, but geez...it's a nasty smell.

You may want to check with the owner of Tasty Worms to see if he will ship to Ireland. This stuff is packaged well, and shouldn't be hard to ship. I pay $9.98 US for a 4 ounce package, which lasts me quite a while. You can email him from the website. He's been very agreeable in the past to help customers. (You can also let him know I referred you - I started buying from him after joining Koko's Goldfish Forum.)

 

[Rlavassor86]

I also use repashy, and my fish love it. I use a mini ice cube tray as a mold. I cut up the cube into 4 qtrs and just let the fish do the rest. This food is also great because it won't foul the water. It's advertised to stay good for 24 hours so fish can graze through out the day which is actually more natural behavior than being fed regularly at scheduled times.

 

[Ian086]

Thanks a mill guys/gals. I can order it from ebay, so i'll just order it from there. I think it's coming from England so i'll save on postage.. I was actually going ask about the way to fed/how much. It's good that it last's for 24hrs in the tank. Thanks for your help..