Feeding question

[Snuff]

For my mbuna tank, I have both cichlid pellets and spirulina flake to feed them. I am looking for the best way to balance out their diet. How often should I switch between the 2? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[vantgE]

About two to three times a day fortwo minutes by most people and alot of people fast them for a day once a week. You do the fast because in the wild the cichlids eat like cows a little bit but all the time and are always digesting food when you feed them alot for two minutes twice a day this can build up in the digestive system,

This is what i do but i am new to fish so ??
Three times a day for two minutes and fast them once and awhile only about onve a month, but i plan to feed them only about twice a day and three the day before and after a fast when the fish arte full grown as i belive younger fish need to be fed more often

 

[gixer]

do you mean you feed yours for two minutes , three times a day?..
if you do that is far too much for mbuna... i feed my mbune 2 or 3 times a day for about 20 seconds at a time. mbuna are greedy and will eat and eat and eat.. thats far too much.

sorry if you didn't mean that

the key for mbuna is variety. i feed spirulina flake and pellets (soacked first) and a mix i make up of blanched spinach,peas, cucumber, and carrots puree them and freeze then break of small chunks.. they go nuts for algae wafers too

works a treat

 

[thecichlidaddict]

For my mbuna tank, I have both cichlid pellets and spirulina flake to feed them. I am looking for the best way to balance out their diet. How often should I switch between the 2? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Snuff, there is no magic system. Feed one some days, the other some days, not a big deal. If I'm feeding insectivores like Yellow Labs I lean more toward the pellets. If I'm feeding more herbivorous fish like Saulosi, I lean toward more spirulina.

As far as how much, how often. once or twice per day is fine for adults, as Vantage mentioned, younger fish benefit from eating less more often. Two minutes is indeed a lot of food for fast eating mbuna, and while it won't do real direct harm, you will have fat fish and a dirtier tank because of it.

 

[Snuff]

Thanks for the help. I figured there was no real magic system, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't screwing anything up.

 

[vantgE]

my fishes are fine they are quite ashy and wait for it to go to the bottom but yes i do give about two minutes worth and nones tubby

 

[freshmike]

I am with CA....mostly spirulina for the pseudos...but mix it up with frozen once a week and "aquarian" once also, the othe 5 days are HBH veggie8 or just hikari algae wafers....they LOVE those to bits! I have just learned to be VERY careful with how much I feed at a time....I have had problems with my demasoni and msobo....feeding too much. Sucks. They are very sensitive.