New food now that fish have grown?

[MetalRavioli]

Heyo MFK!

I purchased my 6 keyhole cichlids and leopard ctenopoma when they were very little. Since then, I've been feeding them bug bites and an occasional carnivore pellet for the ctenopoma. However, both the ctenopoma and most of the cichlids are quite larger now, and I'd like to get them on a more species-based diet. What products would you suggest? I know Hikari and omega-one brand foods are the best way to go, but I'm not sure what specifically I should give them.

Picture of Tai-Lung (the ctenopoma) for good faith

 

[Trouser Bark]

There are few subjects that ignite this forum as much as nutritional data as applicable to the various feed manufacturers. One was even uncovered recently for drafting suspect labels.

Where feed is concerned you would do well to treat this site as a repository of xlnt data. Search around and you'll uncover monstrous amounts of information, enough to dissuade you of whatever you think about nutrition now. Want an example? Hikari and Omega One are not universally viewed as best in category. I happen to feed a lot of Hikari's jumbo carnisticks and will continue to do so but after reading a bunch of what others have posted I'm fairly certain that when nutrition conversations start I'm viewed as the special needs kid.

Sift through what's already been posted and not as if you're looking for someone to tell you what to feed. Sift through as if you are learning how to ascertain quality. Then buy a few different options and see what you think works best. Bear in mind that if you've been feeding a mature fish the same thing for a long time there's a chance he's not going to be interested in whatever you determine might be better for the fish. Might require some fasting.

 

[Jexnell]

So I am in the New life Spectrum camp and just get bigger pellets as the fish grow. The standard formula comes in flakes all the way to 6 or 8mm pellets.

What you want to look at is the ingredients. The best food will have as little as possible of terrestrial ingredients and be mostly aquatic ingredients.

 

[aussieman57]

Agree with Jexnell & I am in the NorthFin camp. Same idea.

 

[MetalRavioli]

So I am in the New life Spectrum camp and just get bigger pellets as the fish grow. The standard formula comes in flakes all the way to 6 or 8mm pellets.

What you want to look at is the ingredients. The best food will have as little as possible of terrestrial ingredients and be mostly aquatic ingredients.

Agree with Jexnell & I am in the NorthFin camp. Same idea.

Thank you both! I've looked around a bit too as Trouser recommended, and found that NLS and Northfin seem to be the highest recommended. Do you think a mix of the plain cichlid pellets from both brands and carnivore pellets from one of them would be ideal? I'd like to provide them with a variety if possible and I've heard that both brands provide good choices of each.

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

Hikari is pretty much NEVER the way to go. Absolute garbage food. Omega One is definitely better, but still only a "mid grade" food IMO.

Northfin and NLS are the much, much better options.

 

[MetalRavioli]

Hikari is pretty much NEVER the way to go. Absolute garbage food. Omega One is definitely better, but still only a "mid grade" food IMO.

Northfin and NLS are the much, much better options.

I've learned as such! I've been comparing ingredients and you are right, hikari's ingredients are kinda trash. I'm probably going to get pellets from both NLS and Northfin. May get cichlid pellets from both brands to make a mix to feed, and carnivore formula from Northfin for the ctenopoma. Think that'd work for them?

 

[jjohnwm]

Well, I am obviously biased towards Northfin...it's Canadian, eh?...but surprisingly it isn't as readily available to me on the shelf as some of the other brands. I also feed Hikari, Sera, a fair bit of frozen (commercial as well as self-collected), as well as homegrown gel foods. The wider the variety I can offer, the better I like it. I don't want my whole feeding strategy to fall apart just because I can't get one particular food for some reason...I never see the commonly-voiced problem of a fish becoming addicted to one food and refusing others, because I rarely feed the same thing twice in a row.

I have a couple of carnivores that don't get quite the variety that the others do, but I still try to offer as broad a range as possible. When I was a kid, I spent a fair bit of time collecting fishfood (grasshoppers, mayflies, etc.) with a net in and around the yard. Now, at 65...I still do, but now use a better net.

Your life will become more stress-free when you don't fret if every single mouthful of food that your fish eat is 100% nutritionally perfect. Just make their overall diet as good as possible and you'll be fine.

 

[FJB]

Agree 100% with jjohnwm on this (below):

"I don't want my whole feeding strategy to fall apart just because I can't get one particular food for some reason...I never see the commonly-voiced problem of a fish becoming addicted to one food and refusing others, because I rarely feed the same thing twice in a row."
AND
"Your life will become more stress-free when you don't fret if every single mouthful of food that your fish eat is 100% nutritionally perfect. Just make their overall diet as good as possible and you'll be fine."

That is exactly what I do - A rotation of foods including:
1) ~10 different types of pellets, including both veggie and animal-based), 2 at a time
2) flake (2 types, multiworm-based, and spirulina based),
3) frozen cubes (5 different types)
4) garbanzos and sunflower seeds (the latter only for silver dollars)
5) freeze-dried mealworms and live red wiggler earthworms
6) NLS Algaemax + Discus
7) Nori sheet pieces
8) Repashy (Igapo + Grub pie)
9) frogbit (in floating corrals) - mostly always there
10) occasional cucumber

I feed only 4 days per week (unless growing young fish), and give a little bit of nori on the no-feed days, hanging from clips. On feeding days I rotate among all of the foods above, 2 at a time. I keep foods frozen or refrigerated, in small containers (stock bags frozen).

In this manner, all fish eat of everything (I don't believe in pure herbivores nor carnivores [although I don't keep any fish that could be considered exclusively carnivores]), never the same food, and in all formats - pellet, flake, frozen, live, freeze-dried, seeds. I have never had fish that refused eating any food for more than a day (actually not even that), unless just arrived at my house; then, they learn the house rules.

 

[MetalRavioli]

Agree 100% with jjohnwm on this (below):

"I don't want my whole feeding strategy to fall apart just because I can't get one particular food for some reason...I never see the commonly-voiced problem of a fish becoming addicted to one food and refusing others, because I rarely feed the same thing twice in a row."
AND
"Your life will become more stress-free when you don't fret if every single mouthful of food that your fish eat is 100% nutritionally perfect. Just make their overall diet as good as possible and you'll be fine."

That is exactly what I do - A rotation of foods including:
1) ~10 different types of pellets, including both veggie and animal-based), 2 at a time
2) flake (2 types, multiworm-based, and spirulina based),
3) frozen cubes (5 different types)
4) garbanzos and sunflower seeds (the latter only for silver dollars)
5) freeze-dried mealworms and live red wiggler earthworms
6) NLS Algaemax + Discus
7) Nori sheet pieces
8) Repashy (Igapo + Grub pie)
9) frogbit (in floating corrals) - mostly always there
10) occasional cucumber

I feed only 4 days per week (unless growing young fish), and give a little bit of nori on the no-feed days, hanging from clips. On feeding days I rotate among all of the foods above, 2 at a time. I keep foods frozen or refrigerated, in small containers (stock bags frozen).

In this manner, all fish eat of everything (I don't believe in pure herbivores nor carnivores [although I don't keep any fish that could be considered exclusively carnivores]), never the same food, and in all formats - pellet, flake, frozen, live, freeze-dried, seeds. I have never had fish that refused eating any food for more than a day (actually not even that), unless just arrived at my house; then, they learn the house rules.

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Thank you both for the wonderful advice! Definitely getting some northfin and NLS, and will probably add some more variety! Your fish look stunning FJB, and the way you feed sounds awesome!