Angelfish Diet

[KathyM]

Just wanting to get a general feel for what other folks feed their angels?

We feed Tetra Pro (recommended by LFS so if it's wrong, I'm open to ideas) and the occasional pinch of crushed dried gammarus shrimp. They also eat the catfish pellets. They've had live bloodworm twice so far (only had them a month).

I've been told today they should be getting mainly frozen food and I wondered what your thoughts are on this?

 

[DanDanUK]

Just wanting to get a general feel for what other folks feed their angels?

We feed Tetra Pro (recommended by LFS so if it's wrong, I'm open to ideas) and the occasional pinch of crushed dried gammarus shrimp. They also eat the catfish pellets. They've had live bloodworm twice so far (only had them a month).

I've been told today they should be getting mainly frozen food and I wondered what your thoughts are on this?

Putting aside our past conversations!

I feed mine a mixture of flake and live foods. And the live foods been brine shrimp, bloodworm and daphnia

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I feed mine alot of frozen or live food. Bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia. I put in shelled peas every now and then but I don't know if the angels actaully eat any of it. The other fish do. I also add algae wafer, catfish pellets, the occassional tetramin crisp and until a few weeks ago, one had the run of a great many livebearer fry. And she was one excellent hunter! And being that she has prooved to be gravid rather then just a tad fat lately I'd say she, and my other angel in a seperate tank, have thrived on their food.
On the whole I rarely feed flake food to any of my fish. The only ones I give it to now are a special type of spirulina flake for my Malawis and baby food for fry. And currently my gouramies, who have a massive appetite for some odd reason right now. I did used to feed more flake to my angels but they seem healthier and happier on a higher protein diet.
P.

 

[KathyM]

Thanks both of you.

I was actually contemplating changing what dry food they get for something a bit more natural (as well as upping the amount of live/frozen they get big time).

Would something along the lines of bloodworm, krill or shrimp pellets be suitable as one of their foods/treats? They're young angels of about an inch to an inch and a half in body size (excluding fins).

Thanks

Kathy

 

[nmonks]

In the wild, of course, angelfish eat neon tetras.

Not that I'm recommending you feed neons to your angels, though. Bloodworms and mosquito larvae are ideal staples for this type of fish, but don't undervalue flake. While it seems boring to us, flake is safest way to feed your fish. It gives them 100% of all the nutrients they need, particularly the trace minerals and vitamins it's easy to miss out on when feeding just one or two types of frozen or live food.

I always recommend using flake or pellets as the staple, and frozen as the treat.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[KathyM]

Thanks Neale

Is there a particular type/brand of food you would recommend? I see the pellets (krill, GLM, bloodworm, etc) on ebay etc and wonder if they're nutritionally balanced. But then on the other hand I get told that Tetra is a bit on the cack side *lol*.

Thanks

Kathy

 

[nmonks]

To be honest, I don't think it really matters. Where most aquarists go wrong is to buy big tubs and use them up over a year or so. The problem with this is the "shelf life" once opened -- some of the essential nutrients oxidise, and the nutrional value declines as a result. So after a few months the fish can eat all the flake they want, but still be starved of certain specific nutrients. I throw away any pot of feed more than 3-4 months old.

If you want to buy in bulk, then perhaps the thing to do is to divide a big pot into small tubs, and then freeze or otherwise store the smaller tubs until you needed them. But that's a bit of a hassle given how cheap flake is. I just buy a small tub as and when I need it. Often I'll use on brand one time, then another the next, and so on, so that my fish get some variety.

Personally, I've found the Interpet flake to be accepted by even somewhat tricky species such as halfbeaks and wild danios. Colour enhancing food, for whatever reason, never seems so popular. Those trout pellets sold as catfish food (and their floating mini-pellet equivalents) may be cheap but they seem the least popular of them all. I do worry a bit about their high protein levels. On the other hand, the Hikari products all seem very readily taken, and when I kept cichlids of various types, Cichlid Gold seemed to be accepted by most.

So basically, get a small pot of whatever is to hand in your local store, and see how it goes. I think aquarists over-worry about feeding their fish. Flake food has been around for decades, and the manufacturers are pretty good now and producing stuff that is optimised for the health of tropical fish. Alternate with frozen bloodworm, and use live foods as treats when you have time to sit and watch your fish, and you're in business!

Cheers,

Neale

Is there a particular type/brand of food you would recommend?

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I have to agree with the shelf life of flake. Although some seems to go icky faster then others. It's obvious when it's not so fresh just by it's texture when you handle it and I found that a big put off when using flake. I have found the tetramin crisp popular amongst most of my fish (I have some rather fussy bettas) and it keeps fresh much better then some others I've tried but I still prefer to use live and frozen foods most of the time now. I think simply because it suits me! My puffers won't touch flake ever and neither will a few of my betta boys, so having the frozen and/or live food as a staple works for me. Plus, as you pointed out, angels eat neons in the wild. A high protein, low fibre diet with zero ash content, and the ash content I see on all flake food is a big concern. Seems to me the companies way of bulking out with a very cheap and incredibly pointless ingredient to me and that can't be healthy long term.
P.

 

[KathyM]

Thanks Neale - so basically I'll carry on as I have been

 

[KathyM]

Looking on eBay now. Have bought a 6 pack of different pellets (as much for the plecs as for the angels, which they can be crushed for). However, got a spare couple of quid in Paypal, and wondered which out of these two frozen foods would be best for a first try for them:

Hikari Bloodworm
Ocean Nutrition Cichlid Mix

Thanks