Not so messy fish food?
- Thread starter teqvet
- Start date
TherA comes in several sizes, which size pellet is yours? (1mm?)
Also, how long has this tank been established? 2 pinches of food (any brand) should never cause cloudy water in a well established set up. Sumpin seems off here .....
Also, how long has this tank been established? 2 pinches of food (any brand) should never cause cloudy water in a well established set up. Sumpin seems off here .....
Tank has been set up and cycled since mid January. Stock was added late January (31 I think?). Ammonia/nitrite read 0. Nitrate reads 25 (comes out of tap as a base of 20). ph 6.8 as I said earlier. I'll get the mm sizes shortly, need to head to the other room again.
For the record, I have used massivore and nls years ago, and it was a bit cloudy, but never to this extent.
For the record, I have used massivore and nls years ago, and it was a bit cloudy, but never to this extent.
I'm not sure what to tell you, every once in a blue moon someone makes a thread about how cloudy their water becomes after feeding (brand xyz) and yet the vast majority of MFKers never have this issue, with the same food.
There's no plausible reason that I can think of that would have NLS .5 mm or 1mm pellets trigger that kind of cloudiness in ones tank with those fish, especially when only feeding a couple of pinches - other than your bio-bacteria is not fully established yet and therefore cannot handle the payload during feeding.
There's really no other explanation that I can think of.
This is a rather new set up, and if your filters didn't come off of fully mature established tanks that you already had set up, I'm guessing that what you are seeing directly after feeding is a small ammonia spike, which is is causing a mini bacteria bloom.
Your water looked pretty cloudy in these previous pics as well, when you were just first setting the tank up. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...68641-How-would-you-stock-this-aquascape-125g
Or was that just from the sand getting stirred up right before those pics & vid were taken?
Personally I think that your problem will resolve itself in the near future when your tank becomes balanced.
There's no plausible reason that I can think of that would have NLS .5 mm or 1mm pellets trigger that kind of cloudiness in ones tank with those fish, especially when only feeding a couple of pinches - other than your bio-bacteria is not fully established yet and therefore cannot handle the payload during feeding.
There's really no other explanation that I can think of.
This is a rather new set up, and if your filters didn't come off of fully mature established tanks that you already had set up, I'm guessing that what you are seeing directly after feeding is a small ammonia spike, which is is causing a mini bacteria bloom.
Your water looked pretty cloudy in these previous pics as well, when you were just first setting the tank up. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...68641-How-would-you-stock-this-aquascape-125g
Or was that just from the sand getting stirred up right before those pics & vid were taken?
Personally I think that your problem will resolve itself in the near future when your tank becomes balanced.
Well then it sounds like your issue might be the pellets. If a cichlid is grinding them up in their pharynx it means that it's trying to get the pellet to an appropriate size for their gastrointestinal system. If that's causing the cloudiness then buy NLS flakes. They can easily be swallowed.
And I also forgot to include that I have no issues when feeding NLS pellets to my fish.
Best of luck!
And I also forgot to include that I have no issues when feeding NLS pellets to my fish.
Best of luck!
Yea, I don't remember what the cause of the cloudiness of the tank was back during setup. I think it was the sand at that point still. It is PFS. I'm not looking for a cure all by any means. I know NLS is a good food. I've used it in the past. My reasoning for thinking it is the NLS food is it doesn't occur when I feed flake food. Would you not expect the same thing to happen then? I completely agree that it's a new setup and certainly isn't fully matured but everytime I run the API liquid kit, it comes back with good results. I even use a TDS meter to check the dissolved solids level and it only reads 92.
Those fish can easily handle .5mm pellets, and the 1mm shouldn't cause much if any of an issue either, not in a tank that size, with that kind of filtration. Think about it.
PFS comes in all shapes & sizes, so particle size & cleanliness of sand can vary greatly. Personally I have never seen PFS cloud up like that, not even on initial set up - which is why I asked. Your sand, and the constant sifting of geos was something that I also considered.
Another thing to consider is this - your tap water source. Pensacola FL has some of the worst quality water in the entire US. See the following past discussion from a fellow Floridian;
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...91478-Don-t-you-love-roadblocks-in-the-hobby/
From post #42 http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/12/21/daily24.html
and Pensacola, which ranked worst on the list at No. 100.
Honestly I have no idea, what I do know is that I have fed almost every pellet formula that NLS makes, for over a decade, in tanks of all shapes & sizes, from fish that are the size of a pin head, to those that were 30+ inches, and never once seen what you have described.
PFS comes in all shapes & sizes, so particle size & cleanliness of sand can vary greatly. Personally I have never seen PFS cloud up like that, not even on initial set up - which is why I asked. Your sand, and the constant sifting of geos was something that I also considered.
Another thing to consider is this - your tap water source. Pensacola FL has some of the worst quality water in the entire US. See the following past discussion from a fellow Floridian;
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...91478-Don-t-you-love-roadblocks-in-the-hobby/
From post #42 http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/12/21/daily24.html
and Pensacola, which ranked worst on the list at No. 100.
Honestly I have no idea, what I do know is that I have fed almost every pellet formula that NLS makes, for over a decade, in tanks of all shapes & sizes, from fish that are the size of a pin head, to those that were 30+ inches, and never once seen what you have described.
These are the results of our 2011/12 WQ report:
I am definitely aware of how .. not great our WQ is. However, I don't know what, if any, that lends to the 125 tank being so cloudy. My daughters each have a 20l in their rooms that is crystal clear but I also used a black blasting sand as their substrate.
I am definitely aware of how .. not great our WQ is. However, I don't know what, if any, that lends to the 125 tank being so cloudy. My daughters each have a 20l in their rooms that is crystal clear but I also used a black blasting sand as their substrate.
This stuff -xtreme-
http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/fish-food-feeders/xtreme-big-fella-18-oz.html
is excellent and has never clouded my water.
This is high protein food, though.. Im not familiar with the needs of your particular stock.
They do make a variety. I highly recommend it.
It looks like bacterial bloom,, meaning the bio filter needing to re-establish itself. I have seen my tank cloud up, looking just like that for this reason. (Too many water changes?)
.. but leaving it alone 24-48 hours later it has always cleared up.
http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/fish-food-feeders/xtreme-big-fella-18-oz.html
is excellent and has never clouded my water.
This is high protein food, though.. Im not familiar with the needs of your particular stock.
They do make a variety. I highly recommend it.
It looks like bacterial bloom,, meaning the bio filter needing to re-establish itself. I have seen my tank cloud up, looking just like that for this reason. (Too many water changes?)
.. but leaving it alone 24-48 hours later it has always cleared up.
