I would not use dried krill, I have had way too many people feed it and then the animal refuses anything else. Something like the HBH Super Soft krill has it in it, but helps prevent the refusal of other foods.
Good 'growth' food
- Thread starter jagarundi
- Start date
reptileguy2727 said:
That's why I started my first post pushing for variety - I'm always mixing up the buffet for my fish - they never get a chance to get use to anything - and krill is an important componant. Again, a variety of high quality foods, good filtration and frequent large water changes are the key to good growth. A healthy fish will always be eager to eat just about anything you throw in the tank - my little scaled goats (unless of course, they are my clown loaches, but you get the idea....).
In general this is true. But even nice healthy big cichlids get dried krill and want it liek ice cream. I think that dried krill is not vital considering how many foods have it as a main ingredient. So they still get it without the risk of refusal. I think it is just safer to not risk getting there in the first place than run the odds.
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
You can feed a variety But there are high quality pellets out there that are very nurishing and nothing else is needed like New life spectrum and HBH super soft. I have seen some beautiful fish That have been fed NLS exclusively.
You might find this to be an interesting read.
http://www.malawimayhem.com/articles_newlifespectrum.shtml
BTW - The same approach & logic applies to all species of cichlids, as well as pretty much every species of fish kept in captivity.
This link shows the same fish on a varied diet compared to the same diet.
http://www.cichlid-food-canada.com/gallery.html
You might find this to be an interesting read.
http://www.malawimayhem.com/articles_newlifespectrum.shtml
BTW - The same approach & logic applies to all species of cichlids, as well as pretty much every species of fish kept in captivity.
This link shows the same fish on a varied diet compared to the same diet.
http://www.cichlid-food-canada.com/gallery.html
akapaul26 said:
As I have stated all along, variety is the way to go, and I agree that NLS makes a very good food that I have used - however, while your links are interesting, keep in mind that the first one is actually written by NLS and reprinted on that site and the second is written by a company that distributes NLS. I'm not saying that the information is incorrect, but merely that you need to be careful of possible biases. This is always an issue when trying to find impartial reviews of any products we might use.
Regarding the Krill issue, again, no one is advocating the sole use of krill. However, krill or krill meal is used as a major componant of the food used for both freshwater and saltwater fish farms and has been the subject of numerous scientific studies showing its valuable contribution to growth. It is high in protein and quality fats and contains important amino acids. Again, I only state this not because I advocate krill only diets, but rather that I don't want people reading this thread to think krill is bad for your fish - that, IMO, would be a mistake, given the well-documented research on the benefits of using krill as a componant of fish diets.
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
The point I was trying to make was there is no harm in feeding high quality pellets exclusively and that good growth and color can be obtained from a varied diet and from a single pellet food. There are also other factors as stated earlier good filtewration and good water quality. I'd like to say dont limit yourself but at the same time dont kill yourself worring if your fish are getting a highly varied diet. I feed NLS and HBH but throw some frozen food in for a snack every once in a while. My fish will eat pretty much anything so I dont have much worries.
I found the biggest growth spurt with beef heart. My clown loaches grew very fast when I started feeding them the beef heart as well as my daily staple foods. Again...to sum up, I totally agree that variety is the way to go/grow!
Some fish just grow faster then others (even of the same species).
Take for example clown loaches vs. severums.........! My severum went from 1" to 5" in 6 months! He/she? is a piggy.
:dive2:
Some fish just grow faster then others (even of the same species).
Take for example clown loaches vs. severums.........! My severum went from 1" to 5" in 6 months! He/she? is a piggy.
:dive2:
liv2padl said:
Checked the ingredients of the NLS 'Grow' formula and it seems to have more protein and less ash than the regular pellets. It had more of something else too but I cant remember. It was also the same price as the regular forumla. Don't plan on trying it, I'll stick with NLS + HBH spirulina + leaf lettuce/cucumber + frozen treats, which has worked great for me so far.
You don't say how big the Jag is, but I would be feeding him a lot of live earthworms - they are excellent. Fresh shrimp. Krill is great. Beefheart can be a pain to prepare yourself, but is good too. These are all health protein sources.
NLS is high quality food and I use it as part of my fishes diet, but it's a dried food and in my experience, doesn't create the best growth and vigor when used by itself. It's a great color up food, but I get more growth, vigor and spawning when using live/fresh foods.
Also, vegetable matter is overrated for cichlids. When a wild fish eats vegetable matter, they are getting all sorts of other micro-organisms along with it. A little spirulina will meet most of the fishes needs for vegetable matter - I don't bother with the peas, spinach etc.
Water changes help lots with growth.
hth,
joelfish
NLS is high quality food and I use it as part of my fishes diet, but it's a dried food and in my experience, doesn't create the best growth and vigor when used by itself. It's a great color up food, but I get more growth, vigor and spawning when using live/fresh foods.
Also, vegetable matter is overrated for cichlids. When a wild fish eats vegetable matter, they are getting all sorts of other micro-organisms along with it. A little spirulina will meet most of the fishes needs for vegetable matter - I don't bother with the peas, spinach etc.
Water changes help lots with growth.
hth,
joelfish
