Rams eating catfish pellets?

[FishOhio]

So my Bolivian ram tank is coming along, the Serpae tetra are doing well , the red eye tetra have not so I decided to add some peppered Cory’s that will take their place (got a bad batch perhaps, as all the other fish were unaffected) well the food I have for my Cory’s in my other tank was a good place to start for this one and the rams started going crazy for it. I haven’t actually seen them eat any of the food I bought for them, just the catfish food. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[CassCats]

Rams eat similar food naturally, and feed in the same area (substrate) as corydoras. Bottom dweller food is more preferred for them. Mine eats just about everything offered, as long as it's low in the tank. He will follow the cories for goodies if he sees them eating too

 

[FishOhio]

Rams eat similar food naturally, and feed in the same area (substrate) as corydoras. Bottom dweller food is more preferred for them. Mine eats just about everything offered, as long as it's low in the tank. He will follow the cories for goodies if he sees them eating too

Interesting, what’s funny is I bought sinking cichlid pellets specially for them and the tetras like those, now I have the ram eating the catfish food . Next my cats gonna be asking for a bowl of dog food!

 

[CassCats]

If you look at the ingredients of most fish foods, many are the same

Have you tried our Fluval Bug Bites? These are a huge hit for most fish and are fantastic staple foods for tetras, rams, and cories

 

[FishOhio]

If you look at the ingredients of most fish foods, many are the same

Have you tried our Fluval Bug Bites? These are a huge hit for most fish and are fantastic staple foods for tetras, rams, and cories

I have not but I did see them at pet supplies plus when I was buying cat litter the other day, might have to give it a shot!

 

[CassCats]

Definitely worth trying, they're a quality food and most fish go nuts for them.
You can crumble them smaller as well if you find that your upper fish are nabbing them before they hit the bottom as well

 

[fishorama]

Well, I almost never disagree with Cass, lol. But none of my fish liked Bug Bites (flakes or pellets) much. My "usual" flake is Omega 1 Super Color or Ken's Earthworm Flakes. For pellets, I like Ken's Multiworms & a couple kinds of "catfish" pellets & veggie pellets for my BN plecos (but other fish eat it too). I also like Repashy gel foods of a couple kinds. All of my fish eat treats of frozen bloodworms & brine shrimp with spirulina too. I'm big on a variety, no fussy feeders allowed! That can help if you should run out of the "favorite" kind.

But I agree w/Cass, read the ingredients! Many are similar. You want the 1st 2 or 3 ingredients to be actual fish, shrimp or similar. Not fish meal (well maybe 3rd or so) NOT soy, corn, wheat products unless way down the ingredients list. Some veggies like algae or spinach are good too even for mostly carnivorous fish.

You can freeze fish food if you have only a few fish or (say it ain't so, lol) a couple tanks. That allows you to feed a variety without the foods going stale or "off".

 

[CassCats]

How dare you, there can only be one!!!!
(Just kidding!!)

OmegaOne is also a great brand, their pellets are good, especially the shrimp pellets. My cories like those a lot. They also make good freeze dried treats, I occasionally offer those once in a blue moon. Freeze dried can cause issues if fed all the time.

The OmegaOne veggie pellets are also really good for vegetarian fish.


I'm not a fan of the flakes though. Used to feed them but too many times I'd find bone bits in them that it wasn't worth it for me to risk feeding them to small fish.

 

[fishorama]

Huh, I've never noticed bone bits in my Super Color Flakes . I'll have to watch for that! Although I'm almost out, I'll need to pay more attention! None of my fish are very small, so maybe they don't have a problem with "crunchy bits"? There is a difference between Super Color Flakes & some other Omega flakes last time I read the ingredients...could it be you Canadians get a different form?!? LOL, you know I'm teasing you, eh?

 

[CassCats]

Huh, I've never noticed bone bits in my Super Color Flakes . I'll have to watch for that! Although I'm almost out, I'll need to pay more attention! None of my fish are very small, so maybe they don't have a problem with "crunchy bits"? There is a difference between Super Color Flakes & some other Omega flakes last time I read the ingredients...could it be you Canadians get a different form?!? LOL, you know I'm teasing you, eh?

They were in multiple batches, so figured it was no longer a once off and stopped feeding them.

 

[GaryE]

If I am feeding prepared foods, I use at least 3 types in rotation. The differences are minor, but they may matter. I like a veggie flake, a colour flake and a staple.

I use a lot of bug bites flakes because they're the only prepared food my killies will lay eggs after eating, although their production is about half what it is with live food. It's zero with foods based on other ingredients. Omega and all the others don't do that, but are fine for my Cichlids, anabantoids, tetras, barbs and Corys. I am extremely brand disloyal and go to ingredients first, but black soldier fly larvae based food seems a step up because of what I see with the killies, who are natural insect eaters.

I dislike pellets, as I keep small species. I go for flake first. I won some bug bites pellets in a raffle recently, and I'll throw them into a grinder before I bother with them.

My favourite food 'laugh' was when Betta foods appeared. They were just regular fish food in floating pellets, marketed like they were something special.

I have noticed that fry growth can accelerate if you can get them to eat prepared foods. But you have to beware, as the fish can easily get fat. That's deadlier for them than it is for us, and there is an element of fast food in some of the formulations out there.

 

[CassCats]

If I am feeding prepared foods, I use at least 3 types in rotation. The differences are minor, but they may matter. I like a veggie flake, a colour flake and a staple.

I use a lot of bug bites flakes because they're the only prepared food my killies will lay eggs after eating, although their production is about half what it is with live food. It's zero with foods based on other ingredients. Omega and all the others don't do that, but are fine for my Cichlids, anabantoids, tetras, barbs and Corys. I am extremely brand disloyal and go to ingredients first, but black soldier fly larvae based food seems a step up because of what I see with the killies, who are natural insect eaters.

I dislike pellets, as I keep small species. I go for flake first. I won some bug bites pellets in a raffle recently, and I'll throw them into a grinder before I bother with them.

My favourite food 'laugh' was when Betta foods appeared. They were just regular fish food in floating pellets, marketed like they were something special.

I have noticed that fry growth can accelerate if you can get them to eat prepared foods. But you have to beware, as the fish can easily get fat. That's deadlier for them than it is for us, and there is an element of fast food in some of the formulations out there.

This.

Variety!

I choose a flake, a vegetarian flake, and a pellet into my feeding mix for my dry food and I do frozen 1-2x a week. Exception is the betta who is on a stricter carnivore pellet (Northfin betta, love their food) since bettas are obligate carnivores and can have digestive problems if fed foods with vegetation in them. My heavy vegetarian eaters get extra vegetarian foods and steamed veggies as well, but I keep a bucket that I mix my dried foods in so they get a variety.

My prepared dry mix

It's a mix of bug bites, spirulina flakes, tropical flakes (couple different brands, some were given to me with some rehomed fish so why waste it).
Plus Northfin Kelp Wafers on the side for the vegetarian-heavier fish such as plecos, ceratogarra, and goldfish.

 

[anewbie]

Interesting, what’s funny is I bought sinking cichlid pellets specially for them and the tetras like those, now I have the ram eating the catfish food . Next my cats gonna be asking for a bowl of dog food!

Our dog did in fact eat the cat food out of her bowl; we didn't realize if she could stretched to 5 ft to reach it on the counter; and boy did she love cat food. If she managed to get the closet open she ignored the dog food and went straight for the cat food.

 

[anewbie]

If I am feeding prepared foods, I use at least 3 types in rotation. The differences are minor, but they may matter. I like a veggie flake, a colour flake and a staple.

I use a lot of bug bites flakes because they're the only prepared food my killies will lay eggs after eating, although their production is about half what it is with live food. It's zero with foods based on other ingredients. Omega and all the others don't do that, but are fine for my Cichlids, anabantoids, tetras, barbs and Corys. I am extremely brand disloyal and go to ingredients first, but black soldier fly larvae based food seems a step up because of what I see with the killies, who are natural insect eaters.

I dislike pellets, as I keep small species. I go for flake first. I won some bug bites pellets in a raffle recently, and I'll throw them into a grinder before I bother with them.

My favourite food 'laugh' was when Betta foods appeared. They were just regular fish food in floating pellets, marketed like they were something special.

I have noticed that fry growth can accelerate if you can get them to eat prepared foods. But you have to beware, as the fish can easily get fat. That's deadlier for them than it is for us, and there is an element of fast food in some of the formulations out there.

I'm feeding my clown kili a combination of decapsulated brine shrimp eggs and live bbs - though in truth they go after just about anything i put in the aquarium as they don't appear to be picky eaters despite their reputation. However the dario dario which are with them are a bit more picky so for now they are getting mostly bbs. I'll have to get them eating something else when i get off the fry bang wagon. I'm not gonna feed the chocolate frys but if the a. sp ladisalo or a. sp Ipirang breed i'll have to give them bbs....