CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Hi,
I'm new to this hope i'm in the correct place to ask questions....

Is it ok to feed frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp???? I've read conflicting info on this, so what better place to find out than to ask the experts...

I started up a 55 gal tank in oct 2007 needless to say they've out growen it so i'm now in the process of setting up a 75 gal to split them up...

Thanks
connie

Hi and welcome to cichlidfish forums!
Well you really should try and post fish questions in the other areas but we'll move this one for you. In my opinion it really just depends on the SOURCE of the food you bought for your fish, ie do you TRUST the source such that you know that there's small chance of your oscars getting sick, diseased etc from eating that....in and of themselves there's nothing wrong with feeding that to your fish

It's best to avoid live feed at all costs because you don't know the origin or the level of contamination. Easiest way for your fish to get sick. If you want live food you're best to breed it yourself. i don't know if you call them the same thing but gamboozia breed really really easily. fast breeding, decent eating. Happy fishing

Frozen foods are all great as bacteria can't breed in the low temperatures fouling the food. plus the companies are too smart to contaminate any food they pack. The only trick with frozen id to make sure it matches your fishes diets. I'll use POSAQUA varieties as an example. In a community tank it's best for a type called community cichlid or complete cichlid which suits boths herbivorous and carnivorous (or insectivorous) fish By either containing the vitamins and minerals they need or the different food types. Beef heart is fantastic for the meat eaters, Oscars do really well. Brine shrimp etc and Mysis are good, but not too often.

It's important to change what you feed your fish around every now and then. Alternating between pellets and frozen. Live on rare occasion, and sometimes zucchini and lettuse etc for those bottom feeders. Try to avoid mosquito larvae purely because of a bacterial risk, and for a cheap alternative for fish with big appetites....best kept secret....FISH BAIT!!!! Mullies etc are awesome, squid, lots of goodness.

when feeding fish (juveniles excepted) it's best to feed them at night about 10 minutes before the lights go out. The fish have time to eat and are less active while producing waste products, which means it affects them less due to less stress(light causes stress). also any nocturnal fish such as loaches, some sharks, pretty much all catfish, plecos etc, get a chance to go eat and clean up the tank after the bigger fish have fed. This works well in an oscar tank when the oscars are paired with clown loaches (That are too big for them to swallow, because trust me, spines and gross taste aside, the oscar will still get his munch on!!!)


Hope this helps!!

It's best to avoid live feed at all costs because you don't know the origin or the level of contamination.


Mistake.


I meant to say "if you don't know the origin"
even then it's a bit iffy because you have to be careful that the origin is clean and healthy.

Oh and for bottom feeders, discus, eels and any fish that need a quick fattening up, go BLACKWORM!! It's awesome.

If you have giant gourami, try banana.


But try to avoid feeding fish a food that doesn't occurr in it's natural habitat as a trial. stick to what's known because you never know when something might be good eating for one fish and be toxic to the next!!!! (I mean people food by that!) Never ever put cooked meat into a fish tank.