Hardiest (NOT expendable) Fish for a Fish-in Cycling?...and foods...and art!

[itiwhetu]

There are dozens of videos showing that cories do take up a mouthful of sand, filter it, then expel the sand via the gill slits. This is a scientific fact. It happens, as everyone knows. You could believe the earth is flat, but it doesn't change the facts.

If I am going to except that Cory's are in fact filter feeders then it is only logical that all Cichlids that pick up gravel or sand and move it are also filter feeders. So we now have to closely look at what substrate all the Cichlids are kept on so they can also filter feed.

 

[Byron]

If I am going to except that Cory's are in fact filter feeders then it is only logical that all Cichlids that pick up gravel or sand and move it are also filter feeders. So we now have to closely look at what substrate all the Cichlids are kept on so they can also filter feed.

Yes, I agree that substrate is also important for cichlids, as they feed from the substrate. I do not know to what extent they may "filter feed," but I do recall seeing my Apistogramma do this at times.

 

[Avel1896]

I know Fluval. It is a good brand using mostly natural ingredients.
I'm currently making a "comparative table" on high quality fish food, but there are so many brands....
Which ones have your preference ?

 

[itiwhetu]

I know Fluval. It is a good brand using mostly natural ingredients.
I'm currently making a "comparative table" on high quality fish food, but there are so many brands....
Which ones have your preference ?

This is the only food that I have fed for almost 50 years. The most important thing about flake food is that you can grind it into a fine powder. This product I can grind between my fingers to get it as fine as flour. It also has none of those brightly colored pieces that you see in some other foods. Any flake food that is sold in bulk packs is usually pretty good, the reason I say that is because the people who buy the bulk packs are usually breeders and are very particular about what they feed, ask @emeraldking about food. So many people feed particles to their fish which are just far to big, the food needs to be ground so that the little mouths can handle it.
I also feed Algae discs and don't really care which ones they are all much of a muchness.

 

[Avel1896]

From NZ ? I'm afraid I won't find it in France....

 

[itiwhetu]

From NZ ? I'm afraid I won't find it in France....

No sorry, but just look at bulk packs.

 

[Avel1896]

bulk packs

? ?

 

[itiwhetu]

? ?

Any food that comes in really large quantities

 

[Byron]

I know Fluval. It is a good brand using mostly natural ingredients.
I'm currently making a "comparative table" on high quality fish food, but there are so many brands....
Which ones have your preference ?

I don't find searching past threads easy on TFF, but if you manage it, there have been a couple of threads on fish food manufacturers. But we can proceed regardless, as most of the members who posted in those will likely enter this one as well.

The ingredients they use are what I (and many others) look at to decide what is or is not quality fish food. As one example, the cereals problem. The more cereal fillers, the less wholesome the food for fish. Compare Omega One's Veggie Rounds with Hikari's Algae Disks which are both intended for vegetarian-based bottom feeders. Here are the ingredients, first for Hikari:

White Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Wheat-Germ Meal, Alpha Starch, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Soybean Meal, Fish Oil, Brewer s Dried Yeast, Shrimp Meal, Spirulina, Salt, Carotene, Monopotassium Phosphate, Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Vitamin K3, Etc.​

​

Two issues here, first being all that "fish meal" and "alfalfa meal" and "yeast" stuff, and the "etc" at the end leaving me wondering what other junk is in this. Compare to Omega One's ingredients:

Salmon, Whole Herring, Wheat Germ, Wheat Flour, Rice Bran, Kelp, Whole Shrimp, Pea Protein, Wheat Gluten, Spirulina, Herring Oil, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Inositol, Astaxanthin, Canthaxanthin, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement​

​

There is no fish meal, but whole fish. And no meals or yeast. This is unquestionably better nutrition.

You will find similar differences between all Omega One foods and competitors, with very few exceptions. There are other good brands, like New Life Spectrum. I use these two brands plus the Bug Bites, and nothing else any longer. There are good brands I do not know about, others will be able to mention them.

 

[Avel1896]

I fed my Betta with OmegaOne Betta Buffet, Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro, JBL Plankton Pure-NovoTab-NovoFil-NovoFex,live daphnias and vinegar eel. Sometimes, in an outpouring of generosity, I deprived myself of some poached mussels (before preparing them "marinière") and gave him small pieces it wouldn't have taken much for Cupang to perform a somersault

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Fascinating thread! Nice to see that the cory substrate headbutting has continued since the last time I logged in!

@Byron , Lovely to see you here! And I hope that you're getting stronger and better each day I also really appreciate the sourced info you share with us. I have a great deal of respect for Ian Fuller, and since I'm still pretty new to the hobby, loving my different cory species, and redesigning tanks now that I have more knowledge - the substrate and quality food information is so useful to me. Thanks to everyone who shared their opinions and experiences, it's always helpful.

I'd like to talk about my own experiences with cories and substrates, especially my tank that has pygmy cories reproducing so rapidly that I have no idea how many are in there! (dense planting/hides/leaf litter and insect sized fry make a headcount impossible without tearing down the tank to catch them all!) and how my cories on sand have done compared to the cories in my inherited tank that lived on a mixed substrate of smooth(ish) river gravel and sand. But I would feel guilty for hijacking @Bruce Leyland-Jones 's thread any further! Perhaps we could start a thread for discussion on substrate preferences/sources? A pinned thread with linked sources could be very useful for those wanting more info too.

@Bruce Leyland-Jones To get back to the OP, I'm far from an expert, and haven't googled to check parameters/origins etc, but the tank size/dwarf chain loach question made me immediately think of a fish I'd checked out before - have you considered Rosy Loaches? Again, not an expert, never kept that loach species and I wouldn't know about their compatability with cherry barbs and gourami etc, just an idea I thought I'd throw out there based on wanting loaches that wouldn't need a massive 100g tank myself

I need to find out more about the safety of planted tank substrates too. I have sand for most of my tanks, but I have a nano Ciano Cube I want to try my first proper, unprofessional, low tech 'aquascape' with, and I wanted to try a planted substrate in that. The option to create hills and valleys makes it very appealing, but I get overwhelmed with chemistry and composition info any time I research which one to try! Must be smooth, since I tend to go for shrimp and bottom layer fish.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

There was a thread earlier this week where a sinking food with 48% protein was being suggested for cories, and I pointed out that this was too high. Another sinking food had 38% which is OK. When I look up the specs for Bug Bites bottom feeder product, it says 32% protein, which is even better.

Fluval Bug Bites Bottom Feeder Granules (S-M), 45 g (1.6 oz)

Insects are hunted by fish in the wild as they offer a widely available food source. The instinctive feeding habit is the foundation behind Bug Bites, which are formulated with nutrient-rich insect larvae and enriched with multiple quality proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

fluvalaquatics.com

I use the Bug Bites Microgranules since I have corydoras pygmaeus (side note: I can't believe I finally managed to spell that right on the first attempt!) this is still basically the same in terms of the nutrition they need, right?

I do have some concerns that the cories will overfeed on the algae discs I sometimes drop in for the otos that live with them... Should I more heavily restrict algae wafers in that tank? The otos mainly live on the tank algae/biofilm etc, so I only tend to drop half of a small algae disc in once a week or so now, but the cories do mob at those...

I feed all the tanks some softened peas, cucumber, courgette or spinach once a fortnight or so too (for the Starlight plecos, shrimp and otos in different tanks), and sometimes see the cories picking at those. Their usual routine is a light feeding early in the day of Bug Bites, then a heavier evening meal of either live banana/microworms, or one of the variety of frozen foods I use. Usually daphnia or cyclops, moina, krill or mosquito larvae. Whatever small sized frozen foods I can get since my LFS closed down...(sob). Am I overdoing it with the frozen and live foods? I'm now a bit concerned that they'll either get too much vegetation because they do go wild for the algae discs, or be getting too much protein from the daily live or frozen foods!

Very rarely feed mini bloodworms, maybe twice a month, never tubifex - do you mean it's best to avoid the 'meatier' foods like overdoing bloodworms etc, and stick to insects like the daphnia and cyclops? How about the live worms I culture? Gah, I'm so confused

They seem well and constantly colony breeding, spawning and the babies growing in the tank (to the point I'm getting concerned about overstocking, and needing to catch a batch of youngsters to rehome soon), but of course, I have no idea whether they're healthy internally. It's tricky to balance the needs of different fish sharing the same tank eating each other's food! I'm still learning and trying to give them the best I can. Any advice appreciated!

 

[itiwhetu]

@AdoraBelle Dearheart Byron stated in post #24 that Cory's shouldn't have vegetable matter in their diet as they are Carnivorous so be careful of those Algae discs you are feeding your other fish.

 

[itiwhetu]

I cannot let this post pass, as it has misinformation; sorry, but we cannot have new aquarists going under the wrong assumption.

Corydoradinae species are all carnivorous; none of them eat plant matter, and in fact a diet with this in such quantity will likely cause digestive/intestinal problems. But when it comes to being carnivore, protein has to be kept low, as this can cause white deposits. The best food for all cories is what they eat most of in their respective habitats, and that is insects and insect larvae. Fluval Bug Bites is an ideal food. Worms can be fed once a week (thinking frozen bloodworms which is what most aquarists would turn to for "worms"). Frozen or live shrimp, and daphnia are also good foods, especially the daphnia.

While I'm here...graver is not a substitute for sand, period. Look at their natural habitats, I've spelled this out too many times for anyone to still be promoting falsehoods.

I think you will find that they are omnivores, but you will correct me no doubt.

 

[Circus]

I like to "instant cycle" my tanks by using filter media from mynother tanks, it works like a charm. I then add my first two species of fish, then let them settle, then add my next species every two weeks. But that is mostly because I get paid every two weeks, lol.

As far as what order to put your fish in, I would start with your Harlequins or Barbs. Harlequins are very hardy (in my experience) and one of the fish I have never had any problems with. I would put the loaches in last, as they do not do well in new set ups. I have Dwarf Chain Loaches my self in a 29 gallon tank (30 inches by 12.5), but would not like to have them in anything much smaller as far as a footprint goes. I know Rosy Loaches are a bit smaller, but have no experience with them (Yet!). I hope to see pictures of your set up once it is all together!