I never see my Balas actually eat...

[dbcb314]

they stare at the cichlid pellets, flakes, krill pellets, and shrimp pellets.

I do see them grazing the gravel and rocks and driftwood all day. They just like "mouth" everything... but during actually feeding time they just get out of the way and hover.

I will try brine shrimp and blood worms next but is this normal for them just to graze all day or what? I could have sworn the one I used to have waaaaaaay back in the day when I was retarded would eat flakes at the surface

 

[lighthouse39183]

Mine eat the flake foods. It is a feeding frenzy in my tank. I feed flakes, pellets, and wafers. They do graze all day also.

 

[Ak-Kronic]

mine will eat flakes and small color bits......they don't eat alot but they do nibble on stuff all day. i feed mine flakes, color bit, and they eat all the cichlid pellets that come out of the other fishes gills. odd fish

 

[twk1]

You'll actually see them eat if they are with non aggressive fishes, but if they are... then they will have to wait till all the other fishes get their share first and then eat whatevers pieces that are left floating around or eating it off the substrate.

 

[dbcb314]

they aren't with aggressive fish and most of my fish are real slow to food