I have read in a number of places that it is good to fast cichlids one a week. I was looking for opinions on the subject. Right now I feed my 2 Jacks and Oscar twice a day everyday a diet of Hikari Gold, Hikari Bio-Gold, Hikari Freeze Dried Krill, Hikari Freeze Dried Ocean Plankton, Wardly Algae Disks, Wardly Cichlid Crumbles, and OSI Spirulina pellets. Oh, my fish are 4"-5", what do you think about their diet and the fasting thing? Thanks
Fasting Once A Week Good?
- Thread starter GT3050
- Start date
Fasting your fish.
Fasting your fish is beneficial for the following reasons.
It give the tank a chance to catch up biologically. Good thing.
It also helps to clean a fish out. There is some debate on this but in my opinion, it seems to help.
With cichlids, being the avid eaters they are, some can get grumpy when dinner isnt on the table on time, so pay close attention on those off days so that you dont have undue aggression in the tank.
Hope this helps
Exodon
Fasting your fish is beneficial for the following reasons.
It give the tank a chance to catch up biologically. Good thing.
It also helps to clean a fish out. There is some debate on this but in my opinion, it seems to help.
With cichlids, being the avid eaters they are, some can get grumpy when dinner isnt on the table on time, so pay close attention on those off days so that you dont have undue aggression in the tank.
Hope this helps
Exodon
Try some shrimp from the supermarket, or frozen bloodworms form your lfs. Variety is good.
Yes, if you have large cichlids, cats or whatever you might want to fast them. But you may only be feeding them twice a week anyway, if it's some kind of large predator. For the size of fish you have, once , twice a day is ok. For some fish, particularly grazers fasting is a bad thing - it's difficult to get some of these things to survive on just two meals a day
Yes, if you have large cichlids, cats or whatever you might want to fast them. But you may only be feeding them twice a week anyway, if it's some kind of large predator. For the size of fish you have, once , twice a day is ok. For some fish, particularly grazers fasting is a bad thing - it's difficult to get some of these things to survive on just two meals a day
i've supported fasting in the past but now i logically believe that is better to reduce 2 days then fast 1 day. OK to explain u feed 2 times a day( im feeding my new JD 3 times)
so thats 14 meals a week
for 2 days i feed 1 meal split into 2 portions
so then its really 12 meals a week
i dunno seems to keep my fish happier than when they go a whole day with nuthing and splash the surface alot at anything
so thats 14 meals a week
for 2 days i feed 1 meal split into 2 portions
so then its really 12 meals a week
i dunno seems to keep my fish happier than when they go a whole day with nuthing and splash the surface alot at anything
oscars are insectivores for the most part, feeding on all sorts of invertebrates that hit the water surface as well as other things like nuts and seeds, etc.
this is not to say that they wont eat of the occasional fish.
and no i am not the least bit offended, i 100% agree with you!
constipation is actually not a problem for my O's thus far....but a quick visit to any of the oscar sites out there will give you an idea of just how common this is...
you would be hard pressed to find someone who feeds a more varied diet than i do:
hikari cichlid bio-gold (soaked in vitamins once weekly)
tetra cichlid sticks
crickets
earthworms
krill
panfish worms
occasional fresh/frozen fish filets
feeding a varied diet is important for most cichlids, especially oscars which are prone to HITH when diet is poor and nitrates are high for prolonged periods of time.
i think that feeing oscars (and probably other omnivorous cichlids) foods which are high in fats too often is probably responsible for constipation in most cases.
i feed several times daily, but very small feedings at each interval.
i am also anal about water quality with my oscars.....i usually do 25-30% water changes 2 times a week, sometimes more.
M
this is not to say that they wont eat of the occasional fish.
and no i am not the least bit offended, i 100% agree with you!
constipation is actually not a problem for my O's thus far....but a quick visit to any of the oscar sites out there will give you an idea of just how common this is...
you would be hard pressed to find someone who feeds a more varied diet than i do:
hikari cichlid bio-gold (soaked in vitamins once weekly)
tetra cichlid sticks
crickets
earthworms
krill
panfish worms
occasional fresh/frozen fish filets
feeding a varied diet is important for most cichlids, especially oscars which are prone to HITH when diet is poor and nitrates are high for prolonged periods of time.
i think that feeing oscars (and probably other omnivorous cichlids) foods which are high in fats too often is probably responsible for constipation in most cases.
i feed several times daily, but very small feedings at each interval.
i am also anal about water quality with my oscars.....i usually do 25-30% water changes 2 times a week, sometimes more.
M