Angelfish And Spirulina

[arielsworld17974]

I give my fish a varied diet and whenever I give them algae wafers with spirulina in it my Marbled angelfish looses his color for like an hour. He really.like this stuff though. Is this normal or does this food stress him out. I know I always have questions about my angelfish I just really love them thanks.

 

[Akasha72]

Hiya, all Central and South American cichlids - angelfish included - need a high protein diet and spirulina isn't protein (as far as I'm aware it comes from plants). To keep these angels healthy you'll need to make sure they get plenty of protein - and even more so should they start breeding. Plenty of protein will help their colours 'pop' and help them to grow into healthy adult fish.
 
Mine love their bloodworms, artemia and mysis and so I feed Mysis on a Monday evening, Artemia on a Wednesday evening and they get the bloodworms on a Saturday night. The rest of the time they get Tetra prima. They do sometimes go and steal an cory pellet which has different stuff in but that's fine. So long as I know they are getting their protein. 
 
If you keep this in mind then there's no reason why they shouldn't grow up healthy

 
 
If you look here at part 2 of the video is shows the breeder feeding young angels protein several times a day http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/437421-this-is-how-they-live-in-the-wild/

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Angels are omnivores.
 
For years I have fed all of my fish every Saturday night on Spirulina w/garlic and paprkia flake from kensfish. This includes the domestic DD black angels and their offspring when I kept them. It still includes my altum angels, Even fry get this food.
 
I know that some fish which prefer meat still need veggies in their diets when very young. I always feed pleco breeding tanks a mix of meaty and veggie foods a few times a week.
 
The best food for angels is live, especially for spawners and it is essential for newly free swimming fry.

 

[arielsworld17974]

I know they need good protein. I make.sure I feed them brine shrimp (which is their favorite), blood worms and algae wafers. As well as some.basic fish flakes once in a while. I just like to make sure they have some veggies in their diet. That's why I chose algae wafers. Maybe it just makes him mad when he doesn't get what he wants lol

 

[attibones]

Spirulina is actually a cyanobacterium, and many algae wafers are made with (if not totally) spirulina. Fun fact: it is supposed to be excellent for human dietary needs as well. 
 
Do you feed the spirulina in the form of algae wafers? I had one fish who was very skittish for the first month I had him. Every time I dropped anything larger than a brine shrimp he lost color and hid for a few hours. The wafers seemed to be a big trigger for this kind of behavior. This was a German blue ram, but I fed the algae wafers for other inhabitants in the tank. I would break up the wafer into pieces which seemed to help until the new guy settled in a bit more and lost his timidity. 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Here is the spirulina flake I feed http/www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/fish-food-feeders/kens-premium-spirulina-garlic-paprika-flake.html
 
Here is is in the bits form i feed http/www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/fish-food-feeders/kens-premium-spirulina-bits-garlic-paprika.html
 
You can read about spirulina here https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirulina_%28dietary_supplement%29

 

[arielsworld17974]

Yes they are algae wafers. I break them up and let them float to the bottom. He doesn't hide from them he actually seeks them out and will eat as much as he can. So weird that his color fades because of this. He only fades when he stressed. Maybe feeding time just stresses him out because he's not necessarily the big man on campus when it comes to feedings.

 

[Akasha72]

 he's not necessarily the big man on campus 
 
 
He will be soon! Once he starts filling out and growing he'll be the big man then 

 

 
 
I remember how shy my angels were when I first got them. Now they rule the tank and my male curviceps has been knocked off his 'boss of the tank' perch lol