NLS switch...Guarantee...document daily.

[joecoulson]

Ok, so was on this forum last night and today discussing the nutrition fed to Mbuna and how I was under the impression that high protein was the enemy (bloat) and to go with a more plant matter based food for my fish. After a suggestion from someone very knowledgable, I researched this theory and have concluded that maybe it's not as simple as "stay away from protein".

I have been feeding my 13 Africans (mostly Mbuna) Omega One super veggie pellets. My reason for this brand was 1. Made in USA, which I always support the homeland if possible and 2. Kelp being the main ingredient. This main ingredient of plant matter is what I have been led to believe the best option for herbivore fish like Mbuna. For the most part, I have had no issues with this product and the fish love it. Their colors are nice and there is no cloudiness or smell from the water with feeding this pellet. I feed them inconsistently ( I have always fed my fish this way, I don't think they would get consistent meals in the wild but therein lies my main misleading foundation for my decisions) sometimes once, sometimes three times daily but always small amounts. I learned early on in this hobby the domino effect of overfeeding. The tank gets weekly 30% water changes and is treated with Seachem rift lake salt and Seachem Cichlid Trace. It is a 65g and is filtered by an Eheim 2217. There are two pumps in the tank for circulation and there are plenty of hidey holes. In my eyes, a pretty good place to be confined to.

After this discussion between a knowledgable person and myself, I have decided to take the guarantee challenge. What I will get if there is no change from what I was doing is experience. I don't imagine anything else will be as worth this.... I have purchased the following:

It was suggested to me to take it easy with the amount fed for the first few days so for today, I have fed them about 1/2 the amount I would have fed them in one feeding of the O 1 product. They readily chowed down (as I bet they would with Tetra community flakes..) and I watched a few differences. With the other product, they were larger floating type pellets and barely ever did some get to the bottom of the tank. I have massive circulation in there and may need to shut off during feeding. The NLS pellets are much smaller. They eat as fast as they can, but some made it to the substrate. Now this is the first time I have seen some of the fish "eartheating". They managed to sift through the Aragonite and get the leftover pieces they missed at the surface. This makes me feel better about the fact they don't float. I have to wonder too, what was the filler in floating type pellets?

So here we are on day 1 of the switch to NLS. It is more expensive, but in life I am a true believer you get what you pay for. I will pay attention to every feeding and try to post daily what I see. I may not get to post daily but I will document every feeding. I also will take updated pictures of each of the most colorful fishes. Pictures taken recently (on the O 1 diet) can be seen here: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/album.php?albumid=5574

Feel free to comment. I am not getting anything for doing this, I am just curious to test a sucessfull company's guarantee.

 

[joecoulson]

Fed small amount just a minute ago before lights out. Same thing, 10% or so falling to the substrate specificlly b/c of the circulation. But again, after initial feeding at te surface, they are at it again, picking through the Aragonite. Fortunately I have the pump down low to pretty much keep the food circulating until it's eaten. So first impression of the pellet being too small and not floating are really a non issue in this tank with these fish.

 

[J.Lake]

like to see the outcome. I already rock nls pretty hard but have never ran a experiment.

 

[aclockworkorange]

Stick with the small pellets. My experience with NLS is that it is not a "miracle" food and I don't think anyone from NLS claims it is. I think of it simply as a very nutritious health food. Don't expect to see a huge difference in adult fish after a month, this may happen but I just wouldn't expect it. Just simply know you are feeding a very high quality food for your fish, and judge results on their own.
The real differences I've seen is when you grow a very young fish out on 100% NLS. If this is the case, I'd definitely put money on it over omega one every time. I have fed hikari, omega one, and NLS, and NLS is the only thing I will now feed to any fish I can pellet train.

 

[joecoulson]

Fed twice again today, still smaller amounts. Noticed that the fish seem to find the smaller pieces faster and less is makng it to the floor of the tank. There a cpl of the fish that hang out down below though to get a jump start on those pieces that do make it down. No real evidence that they prefer the food because like I said before, they will eat anything vigorously. Will continue to feed the smaller amount tomorrow then amp it up to normal levels on Thursday. What I do like about some pieces going to the substrate is that it gets mixed up quite frequently by the fish sifting through it for food and less chance for waste and algae to accumulate there. I like nice clean sand

 

[aclockworkorange]

I think it probably gives them an opportunity to partake in some natural food seeking behavior and is likely beneficial in that sense as just simple recreation for the fish. Same reason they provide "puzzles" with food rewards in many public aquariums for fish.

 

[joecoulson]

I think it probably gives them an opportunity to partake in some natural food seeking behavior and is likely beneficial in that sense as just simple recreation for the fish. Same reason they provide "puzzles" with food rewards in many public aquariums for fish.

Agreed, plus it's fun to watch, gotta say, all this is new and the only change is feeding NLS. Looking good.....

 

[joecoulson]

They seem to be a little more aggressive...maybe the fact that they are getting less for the first few days and are now pretty hungry. We are back to normal irregular feeding amounts and will be able to see if that helps. As of right now, color is unchanged, health unchanged. Will do a water change tomorrow and maybe I will see something then?

 

[ecoli73]

I have fed NLS to my africans when I had them(heater failure killed all of them after 7 years last nov).

I had no issues with it and I didn't lose any cichlids due to food issues.(the ones I lost were due to aggression and it was pretty obvious).

Then again, I fed hikari to my SA/CA tanks 5 years before that and now, and also have no issues; they eat like pigs and grow as typical cichlids.

So I am not sure how long you want to keep the experiment.

Floating vs sinking is a matter of choice; I fed both currently and those that falls to gravel bed my plecos and oscars will get.

 

[Dan F]

Interesting thread!

I am a little curious why you would feed one or the other? It seems like it would be better to feed a variety of foods rather than just one.

I currently feed my cichlids NLS Cichlid Formula, NLS Growth Formula, Hikari Cichlid-Gold, Hikari Cichlid-Excel, Hikari Sinking Wafers, and O.S.I. Spirulina Flake every day.