Which dry food for Dwarf Cichlids? I need your expertise...

[BallardFishGuy]

Well I bought some Hikari Cichlid Staple Mini Pellets to try first. I got it for a good deal so I didn't mind experimenting. Learned right away I should have bought sinking, not floating pellets. I knew this but they didn't have that formula with sinking. Oh well.

Second my Rams aren't full size yet and my Victoriae are also small (with the smallest being 1'' or so) and the food is too big to eat whole except the largest of them so I will need to crush up the food first which will also help it sink.

Anyway they still ate it and certainly didn't go nuts over it but I think will take to it. I don't want to waste the food so I'll give it a go for a few weeks and see what the final verdict is. I would say if they end up liking it then I would buy sinking food next time and buy the "baby pellet" size.

 

[DMD123]

Pellet size sometimes limits the amount of choices you have. That is one thing I have to credit NLS for, they do have some small sinking pellets.

 

[BallardFishGuy]

Pellet size sometimes limits the amount of choices you have. That is one thing I have to credit NLS for, they do have some small sinking pellets.

Yeah and now I don't want to waste it so I think ill crush it all and work with it, or just try and crush it as I go along per feeding. :no: 

 

[dwarfpike]

An old school mortar and pestle work wonders for dwarf cichlids.

 

[cichlid-gal]

NLS makes a pellet called "grow" that is very very small. It is higher in protein though so you have to watch how much of it you feed.

 

[BallardFishGuy]

An old school mortar and pestle work wonders for dwarf cichlids.

Funny that crossed my mind but an even faster option is my cheapo coffee grinder that I use mostly for spices... I will clean it out first by grinding rice through it then try the pellets, should be fun:!: 

 

[dwarfpike]

An old school mortar and pestle work wonders for dwarf cichlids.

Funny that crossed my mind but an even faster option is my cheapo coffee grinder that I use mostly for spices... I will clean it out first by grinding rice through it then try the pellets, should be fun:!: 

I thought about that ... but already had two, one for coffee and one for spices ... didn't want a roomie to use the fish one for mourning coffee by accident. : 

 

[Anthraxx]

try hikari discus formula, i know its got a higher protein content but your sa/ca dwarfs should be able to handle. plus being a softer readily sinking pellet the fish seem to prefer it. just my two cents (its what i used on my rams, and all my tang shellies)

 

[BallardFishGuy]

Yeah I just tried it and it's not perfect (as it makes lots of food dust) but it works. I'll feed it to my micro-fish too! Maybe I'll take a food strainer and strain out the finest material for the mirco-fish and fry and take the rest for the dwarf cichlids...funny the things you think about when it comes to your fish. My wife thinks i'm nuts... : 

 

[BallardFishGuy]

try hikari discus formula, i know its got a higher protein content but your sa/ca dwarfs should be able to handle. plus being a softer readily sinking pellet the fish seem to prefer it. just my two cents (its what i used on my rams, and all my tang shellies)

Didn't think about that, thanks! They love(d) the Tropical Micro Wafers by Hikari and they are perfect size, I just only had a trial bag of it. And it says it's for Cichlids too...just wanted to go after a food that was specific for Cichlids.

 

[Cory]

Staple is the lowest quality line Hikari makes. Stick with gold or bio gold.

 

[BallardFishGuy]

:cry:  See this is what I get for not being able to make it to the Co-Op today, my lunch schedule didn't allow it.  Too bad I already opened and tried the food. Maybe i'll save it for my pond fish.  Funny the reason I bought it was because it said "growth formula" which must be marketing speak for "i'm cheap, buy me" and it was one of the only ones that was mini... I wanted to buy Bio-Gold but no dice!

Cory - Do you sell Hakari Bio-Gold or NLS?

 

[Cory]

I don't sell either. For the price of those products, I'd recommend frozen and live foods. Cichlid gold is very good, the bio-gold has extra enzymes to help it break down easier to reduce waste in the tank.

 

[BallardFishGuy]

I don't sell either. For the price of those products, I'd recommend frozen and live foods. Cichlid gold is very good, the bio-gold has extra enzymes to help it break down easier to reduce waste in the tank.

Yeah i'm already using Hikari Frozen Blood worms but was looking for a dry food to supplement... what other frozen food would you suggest to compliment that?