Malawi Flakes vs pellet food

[Aulonocarakriss]

Hello guys, the last couple of months ive been loosing some fishes due to malawi bloat
i feed them Hikari cichlid excel and Gold as pellets and Seachem nutri diet, chlorella flakes and nutridiet cichlid flakes + Xtreme krill flakes
So the thing is, now i will try an experiment feeding only flakes as i think bloat could be due to the pelleted food.

Will the fish be OK, feeding them only flakes or do they require pelleted food also?
It could be due to overfeeding, but i feel like i dont overfeed them. i used to feed twice a day, and the food that i give them is eaten very quick.
ive heard different opinions about hikari food, some say its good, other doesnt.
i will buy Northfin cichlid formula and veggie version soon to try.
if i feed them any hikari pellets from now, i will only feed once a day.

The big question here is, if a diet consistent off Flakes only + Frozen Spinach and frozen mysis once a week, is sufficient enough?
I do, 30% water changes 3x times a week,and my PH is about 7.8 - 8.0

Thanks.

 

[Sgooosh]

Hello guys, the last couple of months ive been loosing some fishes due to malawi bloat
i feed them Hikari cichlid excel and Gold as pellets and Seachem nutri diet, chlorella flakes and nutridiet cichlid flakes + Xtreme krill flakes
So the thing is, now i will try an experiment feeding only flakes as i think bloat could be due to the pelleted food.

Will the fish be OK, feeding them only flakes or do they require pelleted food also?
It could be due to overfeeding, but i feel like i dont overfeed them. i used to feed twice a day, and the food that i give them is eaten very quick.
ive heard different opinions about hikari food, some say its good, other doesnt.
i will buy Northfin cichlid formula and veggie version soon to try.
if i feed them any hikari pellets from now, i will only feed once a day.

The big question here is, if a diet consistent off Flakes only + Frozen Spinach and frozen mysis once a week, is sufficient enough?
I do, 30% water changes 3x times a week,and my PH is about 7.8 - 8.0

Thanks.

i think that the bloat is caused by food that is not soaked. If you soak the flakes before it could improve a bit, or use sinking pellets

 

[Aulonocarakriss]

i think that the bloat is caused by food that is not soaked. If you soak the flakes before it could improve a bit, or use sinking pellets

forgot to mention that, i always soak the pellets but never soaked the flakes. are you sure that you should soak flakes also?

 

[Sgooosh]

forgot to mention that, i always soak the pellets but never soaked the flakes. are you sure that you should soak flakes also?

yes, as they also contain air

 

[GaryE]

Do not soak flakes. They'll fall apart!

Look at the fibre content of the foods you offer, and do a brand comparison. Herbivores need fibre, and foods tend to be low in it. I have never fed pellets to Malawis, and I kept and bred a few tanks of them at one point, for quite a few generations and years. They got the highest fibre foods I could find at the time.

Bloat has nothing to do with air, at least directly. What you see is either dropsy, fluid retention, or gas buildup from food. Mbuna are evolved to eat 'aufwuchs' - algae and the many creatures within it. They are like mollies for that. The creatures in the algae gardens/meadows are shelled, and the hard parts go in with the soft. They need roughage to move things along.

 

[Aulonocarakriss]

Do not soak flakes. They'll fall apart!

Look at the fibre content of the foods you offer, and do a brand comparison. Herbivores need fibre, and foods tend to be low in it. I have never fed pellets to Malawis, and I kept and bred a few tanks of them at one point, for quite a few generations and years. They got the highest fibre foods I could find at the time.

Bloat has nothing to do with air, at least directly. What you see is either dropsy, fluid retention, or gas buildup from food. Mbuna are evolved to eat 'aufwuchs' - algae and the many creatures within it. They are like mollies for that. The creatures in the algae gardens/meadows are shelled, and the hard parts go in with the soft. They need roughage to move things along.

Thank you for your reply GaryE, i will stop feeding pellets. i keep Aulonocara and Lethrinops.

 

[GaryE]

I'm just one opinion. You should collect several before you make a decision there. Look for people who explain why they make suggestions, and consider their reasons, not their conclusions. We all contradict each other at times.

I have kept Aulonacara, but I was mainly thinking of mbuna in my posting.

 

[Aulonocarakriss]

I Think i have figured it out why some of my fish has bloat. i think it may be because i used to feed a too large pellet, 3mm as ive heard 3-4mm pellets are for the bigger malawi's like haps.

i got Northfin krill pro 2mm, and will feed with those pellets + flakes from now on, until i get northfin cichlid formula and veggie formula.

Does anyone know about this, that a pellet at 3mm - 3.4mm is too big for the average Aulonocara, making the fish bloat in case they eat too many big pellets, all at once?

Thanks