# What are you feeding your cichlids?



## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Dave got me on the idea of making my own fish food, after looking around i have found a few recipies, does any one have any out there? 

I am thinking beaf heart, liver, shrimp, and spinach will all be present 

Let me know,

Alex


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## ninez (Apr 21, 2010)

pallet is nice and clean and won't stink the water

frozen cubes of beef heart/liver & shrimp is nice if you have a freezer next to your fish tank


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

new life spectrum pellets pretty much exclusively
the occasional treat of mysis shrimp, and spirulina flake for the fry
i used to feed the hikari cichlid excel but i noticed better color with NLS and havent gone back


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Hikari Cichlid Gold
Hikari Carnivore Pellets
Tetra Colorbits
NLS Thera-A

=) Only dry food for me~


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

NLS Thera A
Dainichi Ultima
Tetra Colorbits
HBH Veggie Flake
Occasional frozen Bloodworm and Mysis


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## bettyboop (Jun 4, 2010)

For my Green Terror, Oscar and Flowerhorn;

Hikari Bio Gold Plus pellets
Frozen bloodworm cubes
Frozen jumbo Mysis shrimp
Market shrimp, 
and sometimes a tiny bit of scallop and/or crab if I have some around, plus any bugs I happen to catch in my house


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Hikari Cichlid Gold
Tetra Colour Flakes
Bloodworms
Beef Heart
Random Bugs
Random Helpings of Seafood or meat in the house thats going to be cooked


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## kodak (Apr 25, 2010)

Still NLS...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


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## jdm_03 (Apr 22, 2010)

Nls...............


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i read that you shouldnt feed fish beef proteins, or proteins that come from land animals for that matter because they contain organisms ie bacteria that fish did not evolve alongside and therefore it may affect them differently than if another land animal was eating it.

think of all the NA natives that were wiped out by diseases we carried that we received - and received immunity to after living in close proximity to our animals for many many generations, i dont wanna do that to my fish


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

NLS nothing else.


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## ninez (Apr 21, 2010)

NLS?? 

A new thread will be needed as to which store has the best price on NLS


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## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

- Prawn (frozen and raw)

- tilapia (frozen and raw)

- squid (frozen and raw)

- smelt (frozen and raw)

- herring (frozen and raw)

- krill (frozen and raw)

- silver sides (frozen and raw)

- mysis shrimp (frozen and raw)

- Brine shrimp (frozen and raw)

- algae wafers

- regular wafer

- shrimp pellets

- flake food

- vegetables, i.e: cucumber, zucchini, yams, sweet potatoes, broccoli, romaine lettuce, peas

- pellets, i.e Hikari Cichlid gold, Hikari Massivore and NLS Cichlid formula (this is what i feed MOST)


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

ninez said:


> NLS??
> 
> A new thread will be needed as to which store has the best price on NLS


pets and ponds is one of the sponsors and they sell tubs of NLS 2.2KG for 67 bucks


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## PeteAce (Oct 23, 2010)

The New Life Spectrum Cichlid formula is about double the price of other brands. I'd like to know if it's really any noticeably better?? I'm new to breeding convicts, not sure yet if I want to invest in NLS?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You have to check ash content and other ingredients. Fish food is like any other food for pets. If it's full of fillers, it's just all coming out as poop, so you have to feed more. NLS and some of the quality foods are nutritionally denser so you don't have to feed as much. So your price calculation should be based on usage, not price per unit weight of the food. I find I feed a lot less with NLS and Dainichi (even more expensive than NLS).


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

PeteAce said:


> The New Life Spectrum Cichlid formula is about double the price of other brands. I'd like to know if it's really any noticeably better?? I'm new to breeding convicts, not sure yet if I want to invest in NLS?


it is definately worth it, ive had a 300g container of NLS its only half empty after feeding a heavily stocked 37 gallon cichlid tank for 4 months. a little pinch goes a long way, and they dont seem to poo or need to eat as much as with other foods full of fillers. and if you get the big pale the price is actually pretty good.
not to mention the color of my pseudotropheus acei yellow tail noticably improved after feeding nls for a couple weeks (was feeding hikari cichlid excel before that)
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c7026/c150740/p17055168.html


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You don't have to mail order it. April sells NLS at very competitive prices. Jay at Arovillage also does.


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## PeteAce (Oct 23, 2010)

Ok, thanks so much. Just what I need to know, I'll contact them for the pricing. 

Update: April does not sell them anymore... anyone knows where I could get at a good price? Island Pets is the only one I find, but their price is a little higher.


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## logan22 (Sep 6, 2010)

i agree with death sting.. thats what i feed mine...NLS is pricey at ipu! but i got some for half the price at JNL aquatics..i have the 5.3 Oz from there for 8.99


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

You could try Rogers Aquatic as well. They're a sponsor here. J&L has some selection too but mainly focused on marine fish food.


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## PeteAce (Oct 23, 2010)

Has anyone tried Tetra Cichlid Sticks? I couldn't find any NLS in my LFS (king ed). I don't feel like to go all the way down to Surrey to just buy that.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

go to either IPU burnaby (phone them first) they usually have it, if not try JL aquatics
both have locations less than a 5 min walk from a skytrain


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## Shell Dweller (Jul 11, 2010)

I ground up some fresh beef heart, shrimp, prawns, fresh sole, peas, corn meal, spinach, flake, and vitamins. Rolled it out to 1/4 inch or so and then cubed it after freezing. My fish love it. I also feed them NLS, along with frozen grated chicken hearts, zuchinni and lettuce leaves. When they have a cold I give them chicken noodle soup....LOL jk..


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## Brisch (May 13, 2010)

My cichlids get
4 different kinds of pellet
3 different kinds of flakes
a couple treats a week consisting of hikari whole krill and bloodworms


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## BubbaGump_59 (Jul 23, 2010)

i feed my fish
cichlid pellets
hikari flakes
fresh cut squid rings
fresh shrimp/prawns
bloodworms 
and mysis shrimp!

a balanced diet is a healthy diet!!!


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

2wheelsx2 said:


> You have to check ash content and other ingredients. Fish food is like any other food for pets. If it's full of fillers, it's just all coming out as poop, so you have to feed more. NLS and some of the quality foods are nutritionally denser so you don't have to feed as much. So your price calculation should be based on usage, not price per unit weight of the food. I find I feed a lot less with NLS and Dainichi (even more expensive than NLS).


+1
I was using tetra pellets and flakes, along with once a week of blood worms and brine shrimp.

I keep hearing people talking about NLS (New Life Spectrum), and Harold from Fairdeals really swears by it. So I picked some up from Rogers. Switching was like putting the cichlids on crack! They just go nuts on it.
+1


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## Slopster (Mar 14, 2011)

I heard Bloodworms were not good for Africians, is this true??
and is there anywhere in Langley or the surrey area where one might find NLS??


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

Rogers carries NLS


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## MNP (May 4, 2010)

We maintain 9 tanks, raise and breed discus and africans with 2 saltwater tanks just for the fun of it. We switched to NLS a couple of years ago and shop exclusively at J&L probably for the better part of the last 10 years.

If i have learned anything in my 40 yrs in this money sucking hobby its that:

Blood worms should only be used on trout farms.
Brine shrimp provide little or no nutritional value and a waste of money.
Most vitamin enriched foods are a crock. _Just give em the damn vitamins._
Spirulina only means its green.
More than 1 container of food per tank is too many.

For us with the exclusion of a couple of saltwater specialties, NLS medium fish, community fish and cichlid fomula foods have resulted in active, heathly tanks with almost 0 fish loss in the last 3 years. Even 10 day old fry, just grind em up throw it in and watch em go nuts. Frequency and amount of feed is at least half.

Stuff might be the one of the hobbies best developments ever.


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## jikjak (Jun 26, 2011)

which food would be best for bringing out color in a flowerhorn?

i see many different types of NLS food on their site so im not sure which to choose.

http://nlsfishfood.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=60

also, is petsandponds.com the best place to order this stuff?


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