This is of course the million dollar question. Fish are by nature opportunistic feeders. Meaning that they will feed on whatever they can find. There is no clear cut answer here. A general guideline for feeding flakes and pellets is feed as much as your fish will eat in 2-3 minutes. The key is to feed little but often. This is not only very important for the digestion of fish but also allows the filter to cope easily with any uneaten or undigested food. Wafers on the other hand take longer to be consumed and algae can be grazed upon all day.

Once again, fish are opportunistic feeders. However, it isn’t because the fish rise to the surface of the tank each time one walks buy that one needs to feed them. The importance lies in the quality rather than the quantity. Contrary to popular belief, fish don’t need to eat as much as we think and there are several reasons for this. First and foremost fish unlike us don’t need to spend much energy in fighting gravity as they evolve in a three dimensional environment. Second reason is that fish are cold blooded animals and don’t spend any energy unlike us to keep warm. Third reason is that humans spend lots of energy in producing urine fish just produce ammonia. But last and not least, our fish evolve in an artificial environment however large the tank may well be.

Put it this way… Would you like to eat mash potatoes every day? In principle our flakes and pellets are manufactured to meet all your fish’s dietary requirements. Your fish will live perfectly happy if fed exclusively on our flake range. By combining frozen formulas feeds and the appropriate flakes or pellets, you will bring a little more excitement in your fish’s life. For instance, its well known in the hobby that daphnia (frozen) can trigger breeding responses. Variation in a fish’s diet is not only changing flakes and frozen food but also the way of presenting food. Tools such as our grid feeder for example encourage fish to feed in a ‘natural way’.

Your fish can be fed everyday just make sure there is a lot of variation in their diet. However, as our fish are contained in a relatively small environment and to avoid obesity it is generally accepted that a 1 day a week starve is a good idea. Of course, this theory should not be applied for breeders and tanks full of juvenile fish. Starving juvenile fish will have irreversible effect leading more often to deformed or stunted fish. This is particularly true for discus (small discus with out of proportion eyes).

Correct. Even the more omnivore cichlids will eat some veggies. The key here is to present and prepare the vegetable the right way. Spinach or salad leaves need to be blanched before being placed in your tank. Blanching consist of rinsing under hot water. This process will break the cell walls to allow better digestion. Our Seaweed range offers you versatility and variety all in one. To avoid algae or spinach leaves clogging up filters or overflow pipes we strongly recommend using our seaweed or grid feeding clips. ‘Vegetarian’ fish will graze all day and will feed whenever they want.

Yes, this is correct. All South American cichlids including dwarf cichlids will relish on the idea of feeding on bloodworm, so for these guys it’s safe to use. Cichlids from the great African Lakes on the other hand are very inefficient in digesting hemoglobin. Bloodworm is full of hemoglobin which give the worm its specific color The hemoglobin appears to irritate the fish’s gut and a condition known as ‘Malawi’ bloat may occur. In general, these fish thrive on minuscule food particle that they find in the ‘awfuch’ (plankton and inverts found in the algae growing on the rocks). But you should try feeding your African cichlids Cyclops or you will see the feeding response for yourself.

Live fish are often distributed to predatory fish for the thrill of it. In this day and age, this practice should not be encouraged. It is not only cruel but also a potential risk to the predator himself buy indirectly introducing diseases carried by the prey. One needs to ‘wean’ the fish off live food by fooling the predator. By using our feeding prong you’re one step in the right direction. However, the feeding prong is not a magic wand and it might take a little practice before you get it right. The advantage of our feeding prong compared to other models on the market is that it is made out of clear plastic and as good as invisible underwater. It is also flexible which allows you to recreate some kind of swimming motion. Ideal products to use with the feeding prong are: lance fish, whole mussels, whole cockles , whole krill superba.