Feeding advice

So browsing here and the web it seems my fish are maybe not getting quite the varied diet they need. Some comments would be welcome.

I feed tetra flakes for the most part, but have read that this should be combined with pellets? My pleco gets his cucumber most days (to be changed to the excellent varied kebab suggested by Reafer:idea

From time to time I throw in some algae tablets (the ones that include shrimp), and they occasionally get lucky with mozzie larvae from a pond outside. Also, once a week or so they get frozen blood worms, but I have read they're not terribly nutritious. Should I be trying to buy live worms of some kind?

And now the question I hope doesn't bring cries of outrage. I love biltong, and it turns out the fish enjoy little flakes of it too. But I worry that the salt and fat are bad - what do you guys think? They really seem to like the meat...

 

its protein, basically what fishmeal is all about as well, and thats what most fishfoods are composed of, dunno about the fat though, that i think is bad. and the amount of salt in biltong will probably not be such a good idea, not to mention the spices etc./..

 

i feed my oscars mostly omega pellets and maybe every third meal i will mix it up with some kelp (veggies) flakes. weekends i normaly feed them frozen bloodworms and the occational earthworm. i tried feeding my other comunities with pellets aswell, but it was almost as if it was to hard for them to get it down and repeatedly spat it out. i now just give them every third meal a bit of veggies flakes and the normal tropical flakes.

 

Dung - If the fish are eating then it is not a problem. The fat is also not a problem as a certain amount of fat is required (check your fish food labels) Just as long as the biltong is a treat and not the staple food.

Cool - If you leave the pellets for a little while they will soften. Often what you think is the fish spitting the food out is the fishes actual eating habits. Fish will more often than not, take a peelt chew a bit, spit it out, then take another bite chew and spit etc..

All fish need a varied diet, so Omega shrimp pellets, one day, Omega Kelp pellets/flakes
the next day, Bloodworm and earthworms are really good, Some frozen food is always good, live food when you can is better, with some raw veggies in between. And dont forget that one day a week, dont feed them at all.

 

Gavin, are you saying that 1 day a week you should not feed your fish at all? Nothing, nada?
TIA

 

We feed our fish a combination of the following foods:
-Omega One pellets (kelp and also the colour enhancing pellets)
- Omega One shrimp pellets
- Omega One kelp flakes
- Omega One veggie rounds
- Prof Dirks granules
- Prof Dirks Brine shrimp flakes
- Prof Dirks Breeder Flakes
- Omega One freeze dried foods
- Fresh veggies
- Frozen foods: Krill, brineshrimp, bloodworm, mosquito larvae
- Live Brineshrimp and live daphnia

 

Nothing - NADA - Bugger all - F,$%#All

If you think about fish in the wild - a daily meal is unheard of - they sometimes go for a week without a meal - It is good for them - something like a fast for us human idiots

 

The only fish which are fed EVERY DAY are the babies.....adults miss a days feeding once a week.

 

Cool, thanks for the tip.

 

@Zafgak,

How often can you feed earthworms?
Any preparation needed? eg. washing etc.

Can I use earthworms from a fishing tackle shop?

Regards

 

I would feed no more than 2 times a week

Leave them in breadcrumbs for a day to clear some dirt out (not all) Chop them up for smaller fish

Earthworms are earthworms - use any you like (just make sure they do not come from Koebergs nuclear reactor or a chemical dump !!!!! )

 

Thanks for the advice will give it a try..

 

i read somewhere you should keep the worms a day or so to have them poop out the last of the soil they "ate" as the soil isn't necessarily good for the fish, that true?

 

The little bit of dirt is - i believe - good for the fish , sort of like roughage

 

+1 BUT not too much dirt.
Earthworms from a tackle shop r normally in a dirt,poo mix,so as Zaf say Breadcrumbs(a little moist of course) work wonders.

 

Hi,

I read that pleco's eat cucumber on one of the posts, can I feed mine cucumber and put it in the community tank and if so, how often can they have it?

Regards,
Candice

 

I have been breeding red worms with some success will make a thread about it later on.

 

in summer i save a lot of money on fishfood.snails and earthworms and lizids are a plenty