Supplementing Flake Food

[tkdc80]

Hi All

I snooped around a bit for a thread covering this topic & couldn't find one...please direct me there if it already exists.
I have been feeding my fish flake food only, I would like to supplement with some other types of food.
I would like something, ideally, that all of my fish will enjoy (currently cories, platys, a swordtail - possibly an angelfish in the future).
I've read that freeze-dried brine shrimp and blood worms might work - what do you think?
I would also love suggestions for any veggies that might work well for my community - and how to 'serve' them

Thanks!

Tamara

 

[Corleone]

I'd add sinking shrimp pellets for the corys, as a regular. It's hard to get enough flake to them without overfeeding, so sinking foods are easier.

Other than that, blood worms are fine, or brine shrimp, daphnia, etc. You serve small loose food like that pretty much like you do with flake - scatter it into the water. You can also hold some of it just below the surface to make it sink easier, which will get more of it to the corys. Be sparing with blood worm, as too much can cause bloating in some fish.

 

[dave1987]

frozen,freezdried or live blodworms and daphnia will be ok..also try some frozen peas thawed out in a cup of boiling water also take the outer skin off they should like all this stuff including the angel fish ur going to get

 

[tkdc80]

sounds good.
Any other veggies that work?
Should I just replace a flake meal occasionally with these other foods?

 

[Corleone]

What I generally do is have one feeding a day of staples (flake, catfish pellet, algae tablet) and a second feeding every 2-3 days of treats. If you feed twice a day, you'd probably be fine replacing a feeding every few days with treats.

Other veggies depend on what you have in the tank. Algae eaters, plecs, otos, and snails like cucumber, zucchini, and lettuce. Livebearers will eat anything they can get a piece off of, my platys eat lettuce a bit.

 

[OldMan47]

TKDC80, this time of year, where you live, mosquito larvae are an excellent food. Take a net to almost any small puddle and you can get enough at the water's surface to feed a tank full of fish. The larvae develop just under the water's surface and breath through a short tube-like structure. They can be netted easily with a fish net but will fall down into a deeper spot if they figure out you are trying to catch them. The fish will go nuts over mosquito larvae.

 

[tkdc80]

really??!!? I never ever would have imagined!!! I would think that could contaminate the tank somehow....?
It would be a great source of food....but I live in a condo tower....so puddles and mosquito larvae are hard to come by

 

[Corleone]

Do you happen to have a balcony, or even an outside ledge? A bucket or tuperware dish can attract mosquitos, too. If you're worried about it falling and hitting somebody, use a bucket with a handle and tie it to something inside with a short length of rope. It might get tipped over, but the bucket itself won't fall.