Special Haitiensis diet questions/requirements?
- Thread starter capefeartarheel
- Start date
Polomax has been an inspiration to me for years and always raises super spectacular cichlids. Don't know what to say in this case though, I won't go against Rapps. What I can say is that I wish I was even half the fishkeeper Polomax is. His methods may differ from others' but the results are some of the best I've seen.
capefeartarheel;2567933; said:
Jeff has stated the opposite as well. This thread from Mo's site is 4 years old. Feed them what you want to feed them. The veggie thing may be a CYA (cover your ass) type thing. But you can raise these fish on any food if you keep them free of stress. The high heat and the clean water help. I'd say, if you got a group of 20 from one batch, put 10 in a tank by themselves with plenty of hiding spots and place the other 10 in a tank with a couple of larger, fairly territorial and aggressive fish with few hiding spots. Feed the ones in the tank with the aggressive fish a veggie-based diet and the ones in the other tank a high protein growth food that is 60% protein (I have used one myself from Ken's). I'll bet the ones in the tank with the aggressive fish die from bloat (not from being beaten up) and the ones in the tank to themselves will live and grow (at leat until they start fighting each other).
Stress is where I'll put my money and I'm sticking to it. Believe what you want. Feed them what you want. I know what has worked and what hasn't worked for me. Unfortunately, many of us learn the most about fish from bad experiences. But those lessons stick. Polomax24 has some of the best fish I've seen and he knows his stuff. Duanes is top notch too.
My post of the aquamojo forum wasnt taking a side either way, just another opinion that I found and threw in the mix...which, incidentally, polomax requested to go look at. Nothing more, nothing less.
I just want to keep my fish alive and healthy!
I just want to keep my fish alive and healthy!
capefeartarheel;2568477; said:
Props to you for trying to get the most info and wanting the best for your fish.
Odo's rock and I look forward to seeing your fish as it progresses.
capefeartarheel;2568477; said:
What you did was fine. Every time I look at getting a new fish that may be hard to keep I get as much info as possible. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but I don't hold any of the experts like Rapps to such high esteem as to not question them. If I was selling you a bunch of fish that may bloat, and bloat is associated with high protein diets in cichlids, then I will tell you to stick to a veggie-based diet as well as tell you to do all the other stuff metioned so when/if they die, it questions your fishkeeping skills rather than the establshed dogma. Proving that stress is related to bloat is more difficult to prove and has a meager following, but it does not mean it is a wrong hypothesis. The only real way to learn things in this hobby is to experience them yourself.
This discussion had a - suprisingly - civil tone until the last page or so.
In Ad Konings book "Cichlids of Central America", which provides one of the best descriptions of speciation / specialization of Central American cichlids, he describes haitiensis as among the "primitive predators from Caribbean islands".
Lack of competition has allowed haitiensis and others in this category to remain relatively unspecialized feeders that "lived on anything available. The main prey consisted of crustaceans and insects, and vegetable matter was probably eaten, but whether it is of any nutrtional value is uncertain. Small fishes, however, were not disdained..."
In nature, haitiensis is not a specialized herbivore.
In Ad Konings book "Cichlids of Central America", which provides one of the best descriptions of speciation / specialization of Central American cichlids, he describes haitiensis as among the "primitive predators from Caribbean islands".
Lack of competition has allowed haitiensis and others in this category to remain relatively unspecialized feeders that "lived on anything available. The main prey consisted of crustaceans and insects, and vegetable matter was probably eaten, but whether it is of any nutrtional value is uncertain. Small fishes, however, were not disdained..."
In nature, haitiensis is not a specialized herbivore.
