Ive raised cichlids outside in the summer in my pond, no pellets .. just the bugs that landed on the water ( btw tons of bugs) supplemented with tilapia chunks, live crayfish , tadpoles ,live walmart bait worms, FD mealworms .. By end of summer they where big and fat, lots of fry from nics and Amphilophus. crazy brilliant colors ..nothing against pellets they are cheap and easy to source ..however fish colors faded during the winter when brought inside and fry seemed to grow slower on only feeding pellets ? .. natural diet can be done just requires more variety and preparation .. Im also doing this currently with my dog, more natural food and less commercial prepared dog food with grains..
How to feed all natural diet
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Ive raised cichlids outside in the summer in my pond, no pellets .. just the bugs that landed on the water ( btw tons of bugs) supplemented with tilapia chunks, live crayfish , tadpoles ,live walmart bait worms, FD mealworms .. By end of summer they where big and fat, lots of fry from nics and Amphilophus. crazy brilliant colors ..nothing against pellets they are cheap and easy to source ..however fish colors faded during the winter when brought inside and fry seemed to grow slower on only feeding pellets ? .. natural diet can be done just requires more variety and preparation .. Im also doing this currently with my dog, more natural food and less commercial prepared dog food with grains..
Most people assume this is due to food source alone, however sunlight exposure plays a role in color expression (and water quality and immune expression) according to science literature I've seen and light spectrum has been demonstrated to play a role in feed conversion and growth in some studies.
At least in the literature I've seen, there are questions or differing theories as to the exactly what the physiological mechanisms are, so you could take this as metaphorical and potentially not physiologically precise, but it's a little like getting a suntan in the summer and losing it in the winter. From what I've seen, koi keepers tend to be more aware of this than other hobbyists. In any case, science studies (like this one) document some interesting effects of light and light spectrum on fish.
So the default assumption typically attributes perceived pond advantages to food source alone, but there are other factors, and the differences in feed, lighting, and water between one hobbyist and another is another variable in a pond vs. tank comparison.
The cichlids I kept in ponds thru summer in the states always seemed to look better when I brought them back in, in fall, and I'm sure the varied diet had something to do with it. But I believe the constant availability of fresh and different types of algae may have been more important than the some of the other random foods like insects that fell in ponds.
I would constantly see cichlids grazing on algae throughout the day, even the carnivores, so I started adding spirulina based pellets to cichlid winter diets.
That said, the UV B rays that seem to be critical to the digestion and processing of minerals, and vitamins of other cold blooded animals like reptiles and amphibians, may also contribute to fish, as neutrino suggested and may be as important as diet alone.
I had considered having UV B bulbs on timers from 11Am until 2PM on my tanks, to see if there was a noticeable difference in color, and also wondered if there would be a health improvement to some cichlids like haitiensus which seem prone to bacterial infections in aquaria. But moved before I got the experiment started.
I would constantly see cichlids grazing on algae throughout the day, even the carnivores, so I started adding spirulina based pellets to cichlid winter diets.
That said, the UV B rays that seem to be critical to the digestion and processing of minerals, and vitamins of other cold blooded animals like reptiles and amphibians, may also contribute to fish, as neutrino suggested and may be as important as diet alone.
I had considered having UV B bulbs on timers from 11Am until 2PM on my tanks, to see if there was a noticeable difference in color, and also wondered if there would be a health improvement to some cichlids like haitiensus which seem prone to bacterial infections in aquaria. But moved before I got the experiment started.
Agree with Duane regarding algae.
Fry of any species I've bred, including carnivore species, like to graze on algae (and whatever other microflora and fauna live in the algae matrix) ime when it's available. So I like to provide some algae covered driftwood in fry tanks for that purpose. Adults of some carnivorous species I've had, like Cyphotilapia, will also occasionally graze on algae ime, especially if it's easily accessible and especially when they're hungry; I suspect type of algae available might make a difference also in this case.
Fry of any species I've bred, including carnivore species, like to graze on algae (and whatever other microflora and fauna live in the algae matrix) ime when it's available. So I like to provide some algae covered driftwood in fry tanks for that purpose. Adults of some carnivorous species I've had, like Cyphotilapia, will also occasionally graze on algae ime, especially if it's easily accessible and especially when they're hungry; I suspect type of algae available might make a difference also in this case.
I agree with previous posts, and I have also observed algae being consumed by fish classified as carnivores. I now feed NLS AlgaeMax as part of a weekly staple to all of my fish, including the carnivores. But there is certainly no argument that outside fish have a higher level of shine, and richer colors than those raised indoors under artificial lighting. Also, viewing (or taking a photo) of a fish outside in natural light, vs indoors under artificial light, can also make a huge difference. Natural lighting itself generally makes fish colors pop.
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Fry especially seem to grow well outside, you can see the patches they've picked clean in the photo in the pond.
I also kept tanks outside that became algae soup, where my surviving populations of fry would double in size and numbers, compared to indoor tank raised fry.
And this even though the pond also had a myriad of predators, like damsel and dragonfly larvae.
You can see the insect predators to the left in the photo below.
