Mini Cichlid Pellets And Small Tropicals Don't Mix!

[Gvilleguy]

I might be getting some young Bolivian Rams in my tank this week, and as part of that prep, I bought a bag of "mini cichlid pellets". My Neons and Danios are very aggressive surface feeders, so I thought I might need some food that sinks down to the Rams. I just wanted to see how fast the pellets would sink, and I threw a few into the tank yesterday. The Zebras and Glofish were actually taking the entire pellet into their mouths, but they were too big to swallow, so they would spit them back out. Suck in, spit out, repeat. After I watched them for awhile it looked like everything was okay.

Returned to the house hours later and found one of our yellow glofish on the bottom of the tank, dead, with a pellet stuck down its mouth. The fish apparently could not get the pellet out and suffocated on it. I feel really horrible that I killed one of our fish by trying this food!! I had never heard of a fish choking on food before, and did not think it could happen.

 

[ZoddyZod]

my zebra danios will regularly attempt to eat pieces of shelled pea that are far too big for them. They will swim around for ages with a piece lodged in their mouth/throat.

Sadly fish can be a bit 'dense' when it comes to feeding.

 

[gbailey141]

Sorry for your loss mate.

 

[jameshunter63]

my cherry barbs do the same to sinking catfish pellets. just keep feeding the rams this, make sure you feed at the same time and hopefully they will learn. You will need to feed the rams though so just make sure you do if you get them.
james

 

[Gvilleguy]

I'm thinking I should try a "medium" size pellet rather than the mini type, so perhaps the smaller fish won't be able to swallow them whole.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I use a cichlid 'micro' pellet (roughly sand grain size). They are easily small enough for all my fish.

 

[james_fish]

Why not just try some frozen food as opposed to pellets, I know my dwarf Cichlids love it.

It is also friendly to all other type of community and there is plenty to go around, so everyone is happy.

James.

 

[Gvilleguy]

I went with an even smaller sinking pellet - 1 mm size. I tried it today, since I added four bolivian rams, and none of the smaller fish seemed to have any trouble eating them. And most of the pellets got to the bottom since I distracted the small fish with flake food first.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Two of my Golden Wonders gave me "kittens" several weeks ago, when I was trying out some Tetra Ominvore tablets. These fools tried to swollow them within seconds of the hard tablets sinking from the water surface, I really was convinced that one female was going to lose her upper mouth! (her upper mouth showed a "crack" line that was flecing like elastic)

It has been something I have meant to ask for a while... Do Golden Wonder Killis naturally have a "flex" line in their upper jaw, or is it supposed to be an unmoveable extension of their head?