Feeding Apistos

[chapman76]

Currently my apistos are eating a diet of daphinia(sp), krill, BBS, and bloodworms. I am giving 2 small feedings a day. They are growing pretty quickly and coloring up very nicely.

I am just concerned because they won't eat anything, but the frozen food now that I've started giving it to them. They might peck at the sinking pellets for the corys, but that's about it.

Should I just keep trying to give them spirulia flakes? I stopped even trying to give them flakes because all they would do is fall to the bottom and make my water VERY cloudy. None of the fish ate them as far as I could tell. I still feed some flake for my rasboras, but they don't even really eat it. All my fish eat the frozen. Will this high protein diet hurt my fish? Am I feeding them too much/often? Should I give them a day where I don't feed them? Should I skip 1 day during the week and not feed them? They look fine, but I don't want to risk causing constipation or something that could hurt them. Any input is appreciated. Thanks ahead of time...

 

[chapman76]

Can anyone help me with this? I waited a while to see if someone could help. I wasn't sure.

 

[Mike Wise]

I think that you have spoiled you fish. My apistos eat flake, pellets, frog brittle, frozen & live foods. I feel that variety lead to better nutrition (I also tend to not heavily feed fish that I don't have set up for breeding, only 1 feeding per day. I feel this prolongs their life, too). I must admit that they don't take lower quality flakes or pellets. They ignore algae flakes. They more readily take marine flakes & better (= more expensive) flake foods. Now that yours are used to frozen, they will ignore the dry food until the "good stuff" appears.

If you want to get them back on dry foods, stop feeding them for 4 or 5 days (no, they won't starve), then start feeding small quantities of dry foods only. Once hungry enough, they will it it. This works more quickly if there are other fish in the tank (like tetras) that are eager eaters. The apistos will follow their lead. Then feed only dry food for a week or 2. After that feed live & frozen only in the evening; dry food in the morning. It has worked for me.

 

[chapman76]

Thanks Mike. That's pretty much what must have happened. I stopped feeding the dry food in the first place because they didn't seem to eat it and it was just making the tank cloudy.

So yeah, I started feeding them only frozen. I have Bio-Blend cichlids pellets that are intended for rams and small cichlids. This would get good for my apistos?

I appreciate the help and yeah I have some rasboras that are pigs that will show them what to do.

 

[cootwarm]

Hi Ron,

I feed all my apistos vitamin enriched flake food as a suppliment and haven't any problems getting them to accept it. Even my wild caught apistos have no problem accepting flakes. However many don't take it from the surface, but they forage it off the bottom or catch it sinking.

If the flakes are clouding your water you must be feeding way too much. Flakes don't look it but they're very filling to the fish after they absorb water. Only feed them what they can clean up in about 10 minutes or so.

I haven't fed any of my fish frozen food in years. I've found it not always easy to handle and I worry about the quality. You can't usually tell if it's been thawed and refrozen just by looking. I know many swear by it and probably have a trustwothy supplier. I think the main reason I don't use frozen food is because I don't find handling and preparing live food that much more difficult.

Live food I use are brine shrimp, white worms, daphnia and recently CBW. This I suppliment with the flakes.

Michael

 

[chapman76]

Thanks for the input Michael. I live in apartment with 3 cats who get into anything while I'm away at work. Also, I am VERY limited on space. There isn't really a spot where I could keep/grow live food in my apartment where my wife would let me. That is why is resorted to use frozen instead of just using flake.

I might be feeding too much. I have noticed they like the sinking tablets that I feed my corys. Would that also work as a substitute flake for them? They actually like that. If I just fed enough sinking tablets for the cichlids and apistos, would it be ok to skip flake all together or should I still try to get them to eat it? It is a Bio-Blend sinking tablet.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and I appreciate more also. I am trying all of them and trying to see what ones work best for me. Thanks.