Effects of feeding too much on tank water quality
- Thread starter skjl47
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The thing I notice with fish, is because in nature food is not always abundant, fish don't have a shut off valve telling them to stop eating. They will continuously eat until the source is gone, and in nature this serves them well.
In captivity however, this instinct doesn't go away, so if excess food is presented, fish will eat constantly whether it is good for them or not.
And in the same mode, even vegetarian species when confronted with a protein source (whether a glut of only protein is good for them or not) will gorge on it. I'm not saying the protein itself is bad, but in nature the fishes digestive system has evolved to balance it out with algae, detritus, and leaf litter that help work that protein efficiently thru the tract.
A good portion of cichlids are not strict carnivores so this concept applies, and especially to vegetarians and frugivorous types like Vieja, Cinelichthys, Etroplus and Anabantoids like true gouramis.
Predatores like Parachromis, or Petenia seldom catch meals every day, so have evolved to live under those conditions where only eat every 2 or 3 days.
So power feeding is often not a good idea, and if you do power feed to get that oscar, dovii or jag big fast, should realize with each growth spurt it will need more water changes, and soon a much larger tank.
And as far as leaving food lie around the tank for any length of time, this seems ridiculous to me,
I am reminded of the dead oscar thread, where pieces of shrimp were said to sit in the tank for days, pieces of shrimp exude ammonia, and do fish fillets, and are great media to grow pathogens, a good thing? I doubt it.
When in the states, i vacuumed quite often, here in Panama I've yet to vac my 18-, but its because I have way more plants, than fish, in the form of aquatic plants, terrestrial growing on the surface, and one of my sumps is an algae scrubber. That said, I still do substantial daily water changes, and only feed at most once per day.
In captivity however, this instinct doesn't go away, so if excess food is presented, fish will eat constantly whether it is good for them or not.
And in the same mode, even vegetarian species when confronted with a protein source (whether a glut of only protein is good for them or not) will gorge on it. I'm not saying the protein itself is bad, but in nature the fishes digestive system has evolved to balance it out with algae, detritus, and leaf litter that help work that protein efficiently thru the tract.
A good portion of cichlids are not strict carnivores so this concept applies, and especially to vegetarians and frugivorous types like Vieja, Cinelichthys, Etroplus and Anabantoids like true gouramis.
Predatores like Parachromis, or Petenia seldom catch meals every day, so have evolved to live under those conditions where only eat every 2 or 3 days.
So power feeding is often not a good idea, and if you do power feed to get that oscar, dovii or jag big fast, should realize with each growth spurt it will need more water changes, and soon a much larger tank.
And as far as leaving food lie around the tank for any length of time, this seems ridiculous to me,
I am reminded of the dead oscar thread, where pieces of shrimp were said to sit in the tank for days, pieces of shrimp exude ammonia, and do fish fillets, and are great media to grow pathogens, a good thing? I doubt it.
When in the states, i vacuumed quite often, here in Panama I've yet to vac my 18-, but its because I have way more plants, than fish, in the form of aquatic plants, terrestrial growing on the surface, and one of my sumps is an algae scrubber. That said, I still do substantial daily water changes, and only feed at most once per day.
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FYI - I quoted that at home, and answered you from work. . I'm on break now, so I have time to post again, for a few. Seeing as you are keeping track. At least now you know how to search using key words. lol
Probiotics are utilized in commercial aquaculture for competitive exclusion, but they are also utilized to improve digestion, which results in reduced waste. This is the main selling point of Hikari's "germ". http://koihacienda.com/en/saki-hikari/
But yes, higher quality foods typically result in higher total digestibility, which results in less waste.
Most wild fish live by feast or famine, hence during the rainy season when food is abundant they feast, produce eggs, and spawn. During more famine periods, they require less nutrients, as they tend to expend less energy. In many aquariums the feast never ends .....
+1 -- esp. with my Flowerhorn I have a possibly strange habit of changing his pellets every meal, every day (rotating between several brands/products, some of which incl. probiotics and some which don't). I do this for his (assumed) eating pleasure but also because none of the pellets I have easy access to fully meets the dietary/nutritional requirements on want him to have.
In any case it's quite easy for me to compare waste production (in my bare bottom tanks) after each feeding, and without doubt there is noticeably less waste produced after he's eaten the pellets with probiotics. That said, while I'm not sure about the science behind it, I've always had the hunch that feeding only probiotic pellets might not be so great for a fish, hence the inclusion of some non-probiotic pellets as well. If this 'balanced' approach isn't so great I'm happy to be advised otherwise.
what's the ingredient difference between the probiotic and non-probiotic pellets that you give your fish?
Well again I'm talking about several pellets (mostly from Hikari and Ocean Nutrition), but for easy comparison let's take 2 from Hikari: Cichlid Gold (on left below) and BioGold+. There are a few differences but I think (and anybody correct me if I'm wrong) the probiotics in BioGold+ are coming from the "dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product", which is also listed on their BloodParrot+ ingredients.
As a side note nobody will find me defending Hikari's over use of terrestrial-based fillers
Hey Barrett, from the sticky on probiotics.
www.monsterfishkeepers.com
Not picking on Hikari, the overall science behind all of this is still an unknown for the vast majority of tropical species of fish.
The Use of Probiotics in Aquaculture
The use of probiotics in aquaculture has been around for decades but has gained some new popularity in the past few years due to a few fish food manufacturers incorporating some of these bacteria in their food. While numerous publications & studies about the use of probiotics and/or...
www.monsterfishkeepers.com
Not picking on Hikari, the overall science behind all of this is still an unknown for the vast majority of tropical species of fish.
