Feeding Dwarf Cichlids

[Mofolepo]

I have a pair of Apistogrammas and was wondering if the food I'm feeding them are good enough for them. Right now I am alternating between frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp (both infused with vitamins, etc.). I know there is such a thing as Cichlid pellets; do I need to supplement with this as well for additional nutrients the frozen food might not have?

 

[is300zx]

It's always good to have a varied diet, so adding a good cichlid pellet will be good for them.

 

[mooman]

Apistos can be somewhat picky eaters, but I have always been advised to feed at least one type of dry food in addition to frozen. The dry food I've had the most success with is the kind with the little trigger that dispences it (not sure of brand). I know it's a marketing gimick, but the food is just the right size and has a very strong smell. Any other "pellet" will need to be crushed and is not as readily accepted by apistos.

I put a small amount of this in the tank in the morning and let them pick around for it during the day. In the evening I switch between bloodworms, mosquito larva, and MYSIS shrimp (much more nutritious than brine). Careful as always not to overfeed.

Just a comment on the tank. It seems a little overstocked (and I'm not one to call overstocking every chance I get). Apistogramma are very sensitive to water quality. Aside from that I have found most apistos to be intolerant of cory cats (if not now, they will be when they spawn). I would perform a minimum of 50% weekly wc and be prepared to remove the cories if trouble arises. Good luck.

PS the ghost shrimp will probably get eaten eventually.

 

[Mofolepo]

I'm not sure I've seen the spray type food, but I'll go look for it. They have already eaten the majority of the ghost shrimp and they are bothering the cories a little bit (luckily there is a lot of hiding spaces for them). Is ghost shrimps another good alternative that I can feed them? They are cheap here (15/$1).

Also, I saw a snail in the tank today, will they eat these for me? Or do I need to start scooping them out to prevent an explosion. I think it came with the wisteria I bought on Friday.

I am doing a 33% WC weekly, but can up it to 50% if that is the general concensus.

What is overfeeding? I feed my fish twice a day on Mondays and Fridays, once a day Tuesday-Thursday, and they go hungry on the weekends.

 

[mooman]

Ghost shrimp are a good alternative food source, but I find that they never finish it. Make sure you remove any uneaten shrimp within 24 hours of it being killed.

I've found that apistos will eat pond snails and young ramshorn snails but will not eat the malaysian trumpet snails. I personally like snails as a scavanger and algae eater and always stock new tanks with a few MTS for this purpose. Yes you get an initial population explosion, but MTS tend to restict most activity to lights out and with good maintainance (frequent gravel vacs) they will die back to a nice stable population.

Your feeding routine sounds fine. I would up the WC to 5g per week (you've already got the bucket out, might as well right?).