NLS = More detritus?! Quick question.

[tcarswell]

I recently got my bichir tank to accept NLS thera A 3mm pellets. I am happy to have them on a healthy diet staple. However I noticed there seems to be a ton more detritus production ... Is this a result of better food = less needed in which case id be over feeding and producing more poop ?

Any input would be great.
Thanks guys.

 

[cichlid2006]

since i switched my fish to thera A ive noticed that there is a tone more large poops and a bit more granular (i assume from the smaller bichirs).
i think some of the small sand sized stuff may be food rather than poop and i may be overfeeding. im going to try and reduce the amount again and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Pharaoh]

In my opinion, most of it comes from overfeeding. I deal with this a lot. LOL

 

[tcarswell]

Ok ! Thanks guys. Its a bit funny because if this thread didn't get replies you two were the exact guys I was gonna PM on this matter.

Thanks fellas!

 

[Pharaoh]

LOL

 

[cichlid2006]

after a few days with two smaller feedings a day, the amount of detrius laying around is far less than it was. the larger obvious fish poo hasnt changed and is still present in all its glory but the more sand sized particles have all but gone.

i think i may still be slightly over feeding but it seems that the majority (in my case) was due to overfeeding. im using quite a bit less NLS than hikari pellets of the same size so its taking a little getting used to.

 

[tcarswell]

Thanks cichlid2006. I think your right... I just gotta get used to feeding less compared to whole shrimp hikari and all the other stuff.

Thanks guys!

 

[jschall]

My snails, which were free with some of my plants, will eat through my bichir's poop, turning it into tiny tiny tiny poop that immediately ends up in the filter. I never actually see poop lying around.

Here's a list of fish that eat 3mm pellet in my tank, and how many pellets I try to get each one:
12" ropefish (that eats pellets, 2 others that aren't eating yet) - 2 pellets
4" ornate - 2 pellets
2x 6" sen - 3 pellets/ea
8" delhezi - 5 pellets
4.5" african knife fish - 1 pellet
So I put about 13-15 3mm pellets in the tank every day.

 

[tcarswell]

I like that idea! But what if the snails end up in the filter due to breeding ? also don't bichir's eat snails ?

 

[Pharaoh]

I like that idea! But what if the snails end up in the filter due to breeding ? also don't bichir's eat snails ?

I have a few Apple snails in a couple of my tanks. They do a great job of cleaning up the leftovers. one of them dies and I really noticed an immediate difference in what was on the bottom of the tank.