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feeding quandary.....

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  Termato 
#1 ·
Hello all,

So I just can't seem to get a good feeding regime down..

I have a busy community tank, and feed all kinds of stuff. if I put flakes in, the tetra, danios and platys ravage that stuff up in seconds! and my botia loaches, corys and bolivian ram don't get any.

I feed frozen daphnia, which at least most of them get some, some does settle on the substrate but not much, so not sure the corys get any, and only a little for the loaches as they are more active.

I have sinking pellets, If I put them in for the corys and botia the tetra, danios and platys just go nuts and eat them all up too, even if they have had flakes or daphnia. sometimes they look like their stomachs could literally burst!

I feed frozen bloodworm, which they love but that doesn't last long, and am positive the corys aren't quick enough.

I have some tabamin tablets, which are popular so I sometimes split one tablet into two and put in separate parts of the tank which the botia go nuts for, and the ram likes them too but its just a massive free for all, with the platys and danios feeding off them too.

In desperation I got some algae wafers, hoping the corys would go for them..... nope, ALL of the other fish just eat them too, like everything else.

URGGHHHH, everyone must be getting food, as they are all still alive but who knows what the corys eat??

some times I'll drop the daphnia in, and then after I'll put one tabamin tablet in, or i'll give them flakes and some sinking pellets. try and mix it up.

My problem is, all the fish eat everything and they are ALL ravenous beasts.
What do I do???

Any suggestions please?? (I have heard members talk of dropping pellets in after lights out, but I fear the greedy fish would just sniff them out in their sleep)

here is a little pic of part of the feeding frenzy, and no sign of the corys....
Thanks.
Simon

P.S I don't feed all that stuff at once BTW... only one or the other, or sometimes a mixture of two things. I am always worried about over feeding.
 

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#2 ·
I have had the same problem and have come up with a solutions.

Soak all the dry food you are putting in the tank.

Flakes, Freeze Dried even the pellets.

Soak it for at least 10 minutes.

Once soaked you can pour the little cup or shot glass (that is what I use lol) into the tank (I use tank water) and half the food goes right to the bottom. The corys eat and the Bolivian.

Okay, now to make sure that the tetras and other fish don't eat this food. I also take DRY flakes that arent soaked and put them in at the same time.

The tetras and mollies go to the top flakes and some that go down. They cannot eat the soaked food fast enough and find it easier to eat the food at the top.

Hope this helps!

Edit: Some people suggested those feeding things you put food inside of to bring the food down to them...but I found this to work.
 
#3 ·
Feeding the bottom feeders after lights out is a great idea. Most of the other fish rely on sight and bottom feeders often rely on smell so they have an advantage if the other fish cant see.
Also putting your hand with the food in at least halfway down may work. The top fish will likely scatter and not even notice your dropping food.
Hahah that fish in the top left corner is awesome... demon fish :)
 
#4 ·
the demon, is one of the Glowlight tetras. those red bits are awesome especially in low light!

I always put the sinking pellets in with my hand, right down to the bottom. doesn't work, as soon as they see one of the loaches or anyone for that matter start eating something they all ATTACK.

Could be that I only have 3 pepper corys, no room for any more which is a shame, if I had more maybe they would be more active at feeding time.

I always feel that if I put some in after dark, that it will just sit there creating problems. at least when the lights are on I can see that the food gets eaten. I dunno, I think I will try Termatos idea of soaking it all first. Might put a few pellets in after dark see how that goes.

cheers guys.
 
#5 ·
One thing that I have found is feeding when it is dark dark. The room is pitch black, and I can barely see what I'm doing. Everyone has already gone to sleep, and I'm getting ready to sleep too. The sight-fish won't have a lick of light to see by. I also drop the food in through an opening by the filter as opposed to the regular opening because fish learn that sound. My bottom-dwelling Pangio loaches are fat and happy!
 
#7 ·
Izzy makes a very good point about the "dark" feeding. The tank has to be in complete darkness, meaning no room lights. I wait for about 3-4 hours after the tank lights go out and a couple times a week I drop in some sinking food. I do this in the tank with my woodcats and corys. The woodcats are totally nocturnal, though I do have them trained to appear around 5 pm for bloodworms but I only feed these twice a week. It was when feeding in total darkness that I first noticed all the corys out and about in pitch black. So this works for such fish.

But not loaches, which sleep at night. Mine get tired about an hour before the light goes off, and plop over on their sides.:lol: I have never seen them out and about in darkness, but some food goes in their tank too, for the Hypancistrus furunculus.

The upper fish will be motionless, suspended in the water. But there can be no ambient room light, or the fish will still be active.

The soaking in water is a good idea too, though one I haven't found necessary. I feed the flakes and sinking foods at the same time, but from different sides, so the upper fish are used to flakes going in on the right side, and the sinking gets dropped on the left. It seems to get down...but then I have very polite fish.:jester:

Byron.
 
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#9 ·
I was having trouble feeding my Cory Cats as well. Someone suggested that I feed them at night, and hour after lights out in the tank (sinking pellets). Also, in the morning I give two options. I fish give them flakes, then I immediately add some bloodworms. Since my fish prefer bloodworms, they go for that while the flakes can reach the bottom, allowing the smaller fish and cory cats to get some food before the worms run out. Corys also dine on algae and even sift through poo to get whatever they can salvage. Don't worry about the cory cats.

Distraction is the way I make sure everyone gets fed properly.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I'll just add that you mention your fish are ravenous. Fish are programmed to eat whenever food is available and seemingly beg for food whenever you're near the tank. You may be trying too hard and feeding too much.
Except for fry, I feed twice a day (many feed only once per day) and only what they will eat in a couple of minutes.

I Also suggest that you research the processed food you feed (flake, pellets).
Many fish foods use fish meal (and not all fish meals are created equally) and lots of starch (mostly flours) as a binder and to raise crude protein values - i.e. FILLERS. Fillers that fish can't process and pass on through.
A few higher quality brands use fresh fish and kelp and don't require as much binder/filler which I feel makes them more nutritious. The added bonus is less fish waste in the water!

ref:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquarium/tropical-fish-food-take-2-a-86523/
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#12 ·
Hey Mr Dad,

When I used the term ravenous, I just meant they eat like its the last meal ever... which like you say they are programmed to do! which is fine, its just no matter what I do to distract the upper level fish, as soon as they are done their food they get straight onto the substrate and eat all that up too, leaving very little for the corys who are a bit slow I must say!

As for food, I currently use a brand called Aquarian. Looking at the list of ingredients it sates: Fish and fish derivatives, cereals, veg protein extracts, algae, yeast, oils and fats, minerals, contains EEC permitted preservatives.

Protein 36%
oil 9%
fibre 3.5%
ash 9.5%
moisture 10%
added vitamins per kg, Vit a = 10000iu Vit D3 = 2600iu Vit e 500iu

hope that means something to you, as it doesn't mean much to me. hopefully its a good food for them??

They also get frozen daphnia a lot, and frozen blood worm.
Also use tetra tabimin tablets too.
 
#15 ·
UPDATE.....

So I tried your method of soaking pellets and flakes in my shot glass that I use for about 10 mins or so, then I put in a good pinch of flakes on the surface and then poured the soaked stuff over the other side of the tank.

Success, the corys have been tail up for over an hour in that area, and the loaches also. the ram always gets stuff anyway, but the majority of the other fish kept away, apart from the platys they were hanging around. but I'm pleased the corys had a good meal! such a difference! cheers.:yourock:
 
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#13 ·
I'm not keen on fish meal, fish derivatives and/or cereals. The thread I referenced in the previous post will list foods made with fresh food grade fish. The choice is yours.
 
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