What else to feed mbuna's

[Nina7777]

Hi All-
Ok First Question:

Currently I am feeding my cichlids (listed in signature)
-Spirluna Flakes
-cichlid pellets
-algae tablets
-seaweed

Can anyone recommend some type of frozen food?

I know there is a ton of information out there, but i want to know what works for everyone else.
Thanks!

Second Question:

Currently I have large gravel in the bottom of their tank. They try to dig but cannot. The filter in their tank has not been had enough time to establish enough bacteria, this is why i didn't want to change the gravel. But now i feel bad.
Is it possible to get the gravel to maybe a half an inch thick and then add a layer of sand? Would this even be beneficial to them? and if so how do i go about doing this without upsetting the fish.

Thanks!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You're pretty much covering their diet by the sounds of it. You can give them some frozen invertabrate too (brine shrimp, mysis).

IMO wait it out till you are comfortable with the maturaty of the filter and then swap out the gravel. Putting sand on top doesn't work well, the gravel always ends up back on top eventually.

 

[Exiled]

Hehehe-- your feeding regimen is the same is mine (exept for tablets--mine are still little tiny fish) Hmmmm now you have given me an idea--think I could crush those algae tabs up or are they as hard as nails?

I had a similar problem with the gravel and then wanted sand--unforunatly I have 300 lbs. of rock in the tank on top of the crushed coral gravel.

This is my plan to convert the tank to sand--maybe it will help you....

First off, I would wait until all your rocks and plants and filter are highly established with the biological filter.

My plan:
Get a bunch of large 5 gallon buckets never used for any type of chemical--(NEW!) and fill them up with the rocks etc... and fill the bucket with tank water using a siphon.

When all the rocks are out, I am going to siphon/clean the gravel thouroughly using a Python hose, (so when I am removing the gravel, not as much filth and debris is released into the water)
Then I'm going to attach a THIRD hang-on-back filter to the tank--to help the mechanical filtration (when debris is released)

Then I will slowly begin scooping out the existing gravel into separate buckets, then when that is finished, add in pre-washed sand. And re-rockscape the tank.

Needless to say--I'm going to get a second pair of hands to help me out with this. I will have to bribe him with a few of my fish as payment though .
Estimated time this will take: 2.5 hours.



Good luck!

P.S. I see you live in New England -- I'm in Connecticut-- How close are you to Hartford? Maybe we can help each other out!

 

[Nina7777]

Yeah mine are all still tiny too. I tried feeding them zuchini but they couldn't fit it in their tiny mouths. They are so small that even the mini cichlid pellets are a bit too tough for them to eat, so since they are suck smart fish, they wait untill they soften up then gobble them up. I break the algae tablets into thirds and scatter them around the tank, they can't eat them at first but once they soften up a bit they gobble those up too. I replaced the zuchini with seaweed and they absolutely love it.

Thank you for the suggestion on how to convert to sand, But i need to wait at least another month before I can do that. The filter was brand new! and I have a feeling the gravel is very nasty, as all the fish in my 55 gallon used to live in there, and although i cleaned the gravel every week they still made such a mess!

Are you planning on removing your fish and putting them into a bucket or cooler when you do this as well?

Thanks again!

EDIT: didn't even see your P.S. My town is the last town in massachuesetts before you go into thompson and putnam connecticut. I don't know how far away hartford is though i'm geologically challenged

 

[Adrinal]

 

[Exiled]

Wow-- I used to live right around there (not anymore though). I'm about 50 minutes away from you. Gimme your email--we can swap fry around when our babies grow up to be big strong sex machines!

P.S. Where's my dang TOTM banner !