Help On Food Selection

[algae eater]

Hi Guys -- I have been feeding my fish cichlid flakes but found that they tend to make a big mess in the tank and the filters. I have switched to Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold which are pellets that float. The fish seem to like them but if any of you have used this brand, I have a question. Is there a shell around the food that the fish don't eat? I am wondering because if that is the case, I am defeating my purpose of trying to keep the tank clean. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[e11cloud]

I feed hikari pellets to my cichlids. Make sure you soak the pellets in a shallow dish or cup (because it's already treated water) so that the pellets expand and are nice and soft. If your fish eats them just dropped in there without doing this first, they'll have expanding food in their tummies, which of course, adds problems. I've never had a problem with them making the water fowl. If you pre soak, all the "loose" stuff...and it is minimal, comes off in the water you used to soak it in. You just pick up the soft pellets with your fingers and put them in the tank. And as with any type of food, you certainly don't want to overfeed.

 

[mamafish68]

E put it perfectly

I'd like to add too that I think your probably feeding too much.

 

[Boids-n-more]

How often do you feed them. I feed mine once a day and i give them a treat on the weekend with a feeding. Also a synodontis cat (sp) is real good at cleaning up excess food.