I am curious as to a type and size of NLS pellet to try with large carnivorous cichlids(fish larger than 12"). I find this thread enlightening and have followed it since forrest first posted it. I have used nls before but found that most of my fish turn up their nose at it so I just went with other foods that they will eat readily. By no means am I jumping totally on the NLS wagon but will give it a try again in conjunction with my usual feed.
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- Thread starter fishman09
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Mine devour the floating 7.5 mm pellets.They do not adore the 3 mm sinking pellets
Most, smaller ones like the 1 mm sinking pellets.
I find that some of the big ones are starting to prefer the 7.5 mm NLS to Massivore delight. Some that were drugged on Massivore are spitting it out and gulpimg the big NLS.
For me I'm using the 5mm jumbo floating pellets for all my larger fish 8-10", and when they get to the 12"+ range I'll be getting the 7.5mm XXL pellets and that's probably the biggest pellet I'm going to use. They do however have a 10mm monster pellet for true monsters and may use it when my Dovii and Umbee exceed 16" or so. Feeding the smaller sized pellet is much cleaner from what i can tell and I'm not seeing any particles leaving the gills.
My advice would be to choose a certain fish and change to exclusive NLS feeding and test to see if there is a tangible difference in time. As someone who fought the people saying to go NLS for the longest time I can truly say that it was long overdue for me to switch and am seeing improvements in fish I already thought to be stunning already. Fish may grow quickly and have beautiful colors but I've seen mood improvements in fish such as my Umbees which never used to be personable or beg for food till i started feeding NLS and now they are always hungry and can't get enough of the stuff. My female Umbee is also displaying the most magnificent coloration I've seen on her since I have had her. My Labiatum has hit a growth where his fins have seemed to fill in and become even more long and flowing (all since starting NLS) who also had zero issue eating the stuff, and now goes nuts for it. NLS is my secret weapon as far as raising the Beani I am growing out and the results thus far are awesome. Not had a single death and all are showing incredible vitality and vigor and of course gobble the 1mm pellets like they're starved.
I have noticed however that I am not feeding any more in amount of food to my fish but am seeing much more poop which to me means a higher amount being processed and passed through and much more frequently as well. The poop is much more solid than ever before and well formed and compact also to me means higher amounts processed.
The term "you are what you eat" is probably one of the most true statements to ever be told and goes just as well with people as it does with our fish. IMO why waste all our time and money into all the fancy equipment and buying very expensive wild or rare fish and the time spent changing all that water if we are going to feed a inferior food?
If you use floating pellets now, I'd try to use a floating NLS, and if you use sinking, sinking NLS. That's the only advice I can give to make the transition easier.
mrmann ........ a lot of that will depend on the fish (sinking vs floating) but for large sinking pellets I would recommend the 6mm TherA, for floating pellets either the 4.5mm Jumbo Fish formula, or as Miguel suggested the 7.5mm Extra Large fish formula.
My C. pleurophthalma shown in the pics below are 12-13", and prefer the 4.5mm floating, to the point that they flat out refuse to eat frozen/fresh shrimp, krill, tilapia, salmon, etc. So when people say that you can't, or shouldn't feed NLS to large predators, I just kind of roll my eyes.
At 17-18" inches when the following photo was taken by GMFISHNUT of his umbee, raised on NLS. Trace also feeds the 3mm & 6mm NLS to his umbee, and his fish are just as impressive as George's.
My C. pleurophthalma shown in the pics below are 12-13", and prefer the 4.5mm floating, to the point that they flat out refuse to eat frozen/fresh shrimp, krill, tilapia, salmon, etc. So when people say that you can't, or shouldn't feed NLS to large predators, I just kind of roll my eyes.
At 17-18" inches when the following photo was taken by GMFISHNUT of his umbee, raised on NLS. Trace also feeds the 3mm & 6mm NLS to his umbee, and his fish are just as impressive as George's.
Can all those that feed their fish NLS post pictures of the fish? I currently like Hikari and most fish seem to love it but might consider switching. What would be the best diet for for a Sting Ray,Tiger Shovel Nose Catfish, Arowana, and Peacock Bass NLS wise?
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IMHO the 7.5mm floating pellets are good for fish up to 36", perhaps even larger. I personally wouldn't bother with the 10mm unless you have some extremely large fish that will not feed at the surface.
Vanimal - you might have a difficult time converting some of those fish to NLS, aros can be fussy when it comes to pellets to begin with, as can some of the others. If you are asking about pellet size, that will be based on the mouth size of your fish, so it really depends on the overall size of your fish.
I haven't got those fish yet. My current stock all like Hikari though. But what kind should I feed? I'm guessing Cichlid formula to the Peacocks? But they don't seem to have foods specifically for carnivores like Hikari does so I'm wondering what to feed. Also what would be good for the bottom feeders?
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Also where is the best place to buy it from? Amazon seems to have decent prices but are there cheaper places?
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