african diet

[semper]

what foods are you currently using.

i'm currently feeding african attack, veggie flakes, freeze-dried bloodworms, omega one cichlid flakes and frozen brine shrimp.

like to mix it up a bit.

just checking if there is something else you all are feeding that i can try.

[SCOTT]

Re: african diet

Looks like you have a very good diet going there, altho I would lay off on the bloodworm and the brine. The bloodworm and the brine will cause better spawns, but can ultimately lead to bloat if given to often. I try to limit the ammount of protiens from live/frozen food sources as much as possible in an attempt to head this off before it becomes an issue. Same holds true for feeder fish, you will want to limit the ammounts that you feed for the same reasons. As for additional feeds, you might want to try frozen peas, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, and carrot. If you freeze the peas, carrots,and squash, then thaw just prior to feeding, they will be softer and therefor easier for the fish to eat. Fish like trewavase will deffinately appreciate the added veggie matter and you will see a marked color improvement in all your fish as a result of the natural color enhancers in the fresh veggies as well as improved digestion due to the much higher fiber content.

[HFBfounder]

Re: african diet

I've thought about peas, but haven't tried it. Should I break them open or what? Also, will they eat the skin or just the center?

[szidlon]

Re: african diet

Humm, didn't know that about the bloodworms and shrimp, thanks for sharing.  I have mine on a mixture of NLS sinking pellets, Hikari floating pellets and flake.  Since I'm gone so much they have to depend on an auto feeder for most of the week.  Once a week my "assistant" will give them some bloodworms and on the weekends I will also feed them bloodworms and shrimp along with a piece of zuchini.  I don't know about the pea skins but I do know they eat the zuchini, rind and all with smiles on their faces.

[SCOTT]

Re: african diet

With the peas I squeeze the meat from the pea and discard the skin. With squash, cucumber, carrot or anything else with a rind, I peel them and slice as thin as I can. If you have a dehydrator, this is a good way of making real veggie flakes that your fish will love.

[szidlon]

Re: african diet

Is the rind bad for them   They seem to eat it willingly, but if they shouldn't have it, I'll start peeling it for them.

[guppymax]

Re: african diet

I added orange peel to my duckweed soup on purpose for my Melanochromis Auratus. Was that a mistake?

max

[SCOTT]

Re: african diet

Not at all, I peel mine just to make it easier to eat. A side benefit is that I dont have to worry about pesticides or anything else being transfered to the water. By peeling the veggies I am feeding only the meat to the fish and discarding the tough outer layer which could possibly be contaminated, even after washing. Just another case of better safe than sorry.

[semper]

Re: african diet

awesome guys,

will have to try some veggie matter

usually put zuchinni in other tanks to feed my plecos

[ItsDubC]

Re: african diet

What kind of africans do u have semper?  

It is my understanding that what is good for ur fish largely depends on whether they are herbivorous or carnivorous, ie bloodworms shouldn't be fed to herbivores on a daily basis or they will be susceptible to bloat.  I've also been cautioned against feeding any type of mammalian meat (such as liver) to fish because fish are cold-blooded and can't maintain a high-enough body temperature needed to utilize mammalian fats as an energy source.

It is generally believed that foods high in beta-carotene (ie carrots) bring out the orange hues in a fish's color, while foods containing spirulina algae bring out the blue hues.  Just remember, too much of anything is bad.

I personally use Omega One Super Color floating pellets, TetraCichlid mini granules, and TetraColor Flakes as I like to mix it up too.  My fish seem to love all of them, and my leleupi's face seems to have turned from a greyish-orange to bright orange since I started feeding Omega One pellets (although this is most likely attributed to the fact that I moved her from a tank w/ black gravel substrate to one w/ pool filter sand  ).

When my current food supply runs out, I'm going to put New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula to the test   8)

[semper]

Re: african diet

i keep yellow labs, demasoni, acei, electric blue, auratus

and several peacocks

[ItsDubC]

Re: african diet

Yellow labs are insectivores in the wild but are omnivorous in general.  U could try looking for foods that contain xanthophyll to bring out their yellowness.  Demasoni are herbivorous and would benefit from foods containing spirulina, which would bring out their blues better.  Same goes for the acei and electric blue, tho I don't know if electric blues are herbivorous or omnivorous.  Auratus are omnivorous so they could benefit from both krill/shrimp and spirulina.  Peacocks are carnivores.

As a side note, I've never heard of a problem arising from feeding spirulina to carnivores.

[semper]

Re: african diet

have been feeding NLS for about two weeks or so

heard great things from other forums

also super veggie blend from HBH

[ItsDubC]

Re: african diet

Any noticeable enchancements in color since ur switch to NLS yet?

[semper]

Re: african diet

i wanna say yes, but maybe too soon