Food stuff I feed my fish

This is a cumulative work showing what we have found to work better for the fish we keep. Before going on, there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind while reading the tables that follow.

1. We have not tried every single food which is in the market today, so those are the ones which worked well for us while there may be far better foods out there which we have not used yet.

2. One food may be good for one particular species in the tank of one hobbyist while the same species in the tank of another hobbyist may not touch it. Furthermore, the distinction between "like the food" and "eat it", although subjective, is an important one. "Like" it means that the fish will try to get as much of it as it can as quickly as possible. "Eat it" means that the fish will finally eat it although it may take some time and only after it makes sure that its favorite food will not hit the water.

3. Please note that most cichlids, especially the large ones, will stick to one type of food and will not accept any other type unless starved. This is not the correct way to feed them for many reasons. To avoid this, you can offer them a combination of 3 or more food types on a daily basis and 1-2 additional food types 1-2 times per week. Ideally, the fish should not be allowed to feel "full" if it goes for one of the food types only. It takes practice but it can be done.

4. Always take into account that smaller / weaker fish will not go to the surface so you should take care to add food that sinks quickly which will allow them to eat while the larger / stronger fish in the tank are busy eating near the surface of the water. When growing fry, it is essential to make sure that all the fry are able to take the larger sized food before discontinuing the smaller one. If in doubt, offer both of them.

5. Do not overfeed. Fish should be chewing all the food offered to them in less than 5 minutes. Uneaten food should be removed especially if your filtration system is barely efficient and there are no catfish in the tank. It is recommended to starve your fish at least once per week (not the fry or juveniles). Your adult fish should be fed once daily. The younger the fish, the more feedings per day should be offered. For fry less than 1 month old, this may be as many as 7 feedings per day, evenly spread during the light period.

6. You can save a lot of money if you buy the larger food packs. Most common food types are now offered in 10 liter packs which are almost 60% cheaper when compared to the smallest packing size of the same food. Some points to be taken into account: a) the large packs carry an expiry date on them (or they should). If you can't consume all of it before the expire date, it is better to use a smaller size or share it with a fellow hobbyist, b) all commercial dry foods are very sensitive to humidity which may destroy / deplete their nutrients or even become the host of microorganisms. It is better to open the large pack and transfer the food you will need for 7-10 days in smaller packs (you can use old empty food cans for this).

7. If you want to feed your fish with live food, you can look around you. Earthworms are everywhere, mosquito larvae will be in every water body left out during the winter months, algae can by cultivated in outdoor small tanks etc. In any case, it is very important to ensure that the live food will not be the carrier of pathogens, which is a very good reason to have your own cultures.

8. Last, but definitely not least, make sure that you are feeding your fish the right stuff. As an example, feeding vegetables to carnivore fish is a mistake which will have a direct impact on their well being.

Food (description / commercial name)	Physical form	Fish that love it (primary selection)	Fish that eat it	Comments
Dr Bassleer Biofish food	granulates M and XL	All my adult cichlids	All the fish	Now my main cichlid food again. XL granulates are fed to the Malawi cichlids, M granulates are fed to my SA cichlids.
JBL Grana cichlid	partially sinking granulates	All my adult cichlids	All the fish	Was my main cichlid food. Should come in larger packages for convenience and cost reasons.
JBL Novo Tab	sinking tablets	All my pleco's	Pleco's + cichlids	Food for all fish.
JBL Novo Fect	sinking tablets	All my pleco's	Pleco's + cichlids	Food for herbivore fish.
JBL Novo Plecochips	s(t)inking tablets	All my pleco's	Pleco's	Contains 10% wood what should beneficial for the digestion of most pleco's. Smells more than the other foods though.
JBL Novo Tom	Powder	Fry (0-10 mm)	Fry	Fry raising food that contains artemia. Works great in my opinion.
Tetramin Pro	Flakes	The smaller fish in my South-American tank	All the fish	Basically not needed , but I want to grant the small fish to have their own specific food too.

Thanassis

We would like to note that MCH is not sponsored by any company or individual. The use of commercial names was essential for this article.