Best Food For Aulonocara

[foley69]

hi all just recently transformed my 55gal south american tank into an aulonocara tank here is the details:

55gal tank
fluval 4 plus, fluval 205 external for filtration
mixed rock (ocean, lava and some unknown type)

i have 2x aulonocara baenschi benga, 2x aulonocara orange sp, 2x auloncara mdoku ngara, 1x aulonocara rubin red, 1 aulunocara nyassa albino and 1x aulonocara korneliae.

i have them feeding on brinshrimp enriched with garlic and spirulina i tried them with tetra prima and they seem interested then spit it out.

now my question is, if i carry on feeding prima will they take to it or should i try something else if so any suggestions as what would be best.

thanks.

 

[reignofcheese]

I'm not a stickler for brands, I just choose one of the better ones, and mix it up. Now it's new life spectrum cichlid pellets, next time hikari, or whatever. They eat them all and do well on them all.

In my experience if fish don't eat it, and if you stop giving any other foods and keep feeding the food in question (removing uneaten parts of course), they will begin to eat it sooner or later. It might take a few days, or over a week - a little fast won't harm the fish either way. I've also found that once they start eating it, they eat it from then on, even after reintroducing brine shrimp and other stuff.

 

[foley69]

thanks i think i will just keep trying them on it and hopefully they will take to it sooner or later and any uneaten food will be hoovered up by my pictus so thats fine.

i do also have some new era south american cichlid pellets that they might eat as i know aulonocara like protein based foods. you think that may be ok for them?

 

[reignofcheese]

If you were using it as a sole food for the fish I would say don't cheap out and go buy proper type pellets, but as part of a greater diet like you are doing the new world pellets will be fine. Aulonocara are resilient fish, they don't have any real weaknesses to watch out for besides aggression from each other.

 

[cichlideo]

There is lots of good commercial fish food out there. I personally would recommend NLS since you can feed it to Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores. The extra protein in will be excreted by the Herbivores. Very good food in my opinion.

 

[foley69]

Well they are quite happy to munch on mysis and brine shrimp but that won't provide enough nutrition for them I have made a mix of tetra prima and jbl gala which I think if I stick too they will take it eventually also they are all about 2 inch what size do they start to colour as they are all land at the moment