40 replies to this topic

[Hypanheaven]

Hi all,

Well is there more foods out there than NLS, ive been using it for years now, and quiet frankly im not convinced its the best food, it clouds my water terribly each and every time i feed my cichlids (20+cm), and $140+ each time i need a bucket which is almost every 1 and a half months. I have seen the hikari carnivor pellets and they seem to be my next step they can be quiet $$ too but will gladly put that in the tank if it doenst turn my water brown each feed., looks to be a clean, highly nutritional food. Any one have any other suggestions? Werdna mentioned he uses aquaponics food, that also looks great, and is so cheap for bulk buys!

Any other options is much appreciated.
Cheers
Brad

Edited by Hypanheaven, 01 June 2012 - 08:47 AM.

[oscar m]

I use hikari cichlid staple it's good stuff there is no mess at all with these they float on top and what's left over u just scoop up and through out my Oscar and pearls go nuts for them and fit around 5at a time in there mouths and there's no colour or cloudiness from them at all

[Hypanheaven]

thanks mate, i should have added that it needs to sink so it can get to all the fish.

[oscar m]

For my bottom feeders and sand sifters I use wardley slow sinking crumbles and have had no cloudy water or mess with these ether if that's anny help I think the do a large pallet as well for bigger fish

[fishking123]

i think you might over feed your fish??? just asking...

[Hypanheaven]

definantly not

[mandm]

We use both NLS and Sera Flora, our preference is Sera Flora as NLS to us creates more reddish fish waste and requires more tank cleaning, with Sera Flora the tanks are always cleaner.

And Fish king we don't over feed our fish either.

[Bowdy]

New era and HBH. Also Aquotix own brand pellets and flake are awesome.

[Hypanheaven]

hey autolink what sera do you use? i aggree with the mass red waste and also after feeding my water is a browny hase for around half an hour-an hour, like the pellets are dusty

[mandm]

Hyperhaven, there are a few Sera varieties Depending on which fish, we have used a couple when we can't get the Sera "flora", but have always preferred the Sera Flora the best for us as an all rounder.

[fishking123]

We use both NLS and Sera Flora, our preference is Sera Flora as NLS to us creates more reddish fish waste and requires more tank cleaning, with Sera Flora the tanks are always cleaner.

And Fish king we don't over feed our fish either.

jeez i was just asking
all good

[scottyhooton]

Sera granugreen is an awesome pellet

[sandgroper]

I only use the 1mm pellet of NLS, the larger pellets the fish would chew and pump a lot of waste out their gills. The 1mm they can just swallow with no waste. cheers Steve

[Riggers]

I'm using NLS as well as HBH and aquotix brand "growth" food. If the NLS is 'clouding' the water try storing it in the freezer, that works perfect for me and I use it to feed 12 tanks with no cloudiness or residual waste

Cheers
Rigs

[Peckoltia]

I'm off the NLS too. It's far too dusty and expensive. It isn't only the dust that hurts your water but also all the uneaten food that inveitably comes out of their gils while feeding, I haven't noticed this as much with other foods.

[Westie]

I suppose the good thing about my tangs only being quite small is that I get away with feeding the smaller pellet size NLS. My frontosa prefer the larger pellet size, but I find it clouds the water, so I feed with them more with the smaller pellet size. Once that runs out I'll use the larger pellets. But my fish definately prefer NLS to the other foods I have tried. I haven't used that New Era fish food yet. I have heard good things about Sera Flora, but have also heard that the Sera Granugreen isn't the best option. Myself personally, I'll stick with the NLS Thera A and Cichlid Formula, as the tangs I got eat that faster than anything else I've tried. Maybe you can buy the big bags of Hikari food like what Aquotix or Vebas sell? Or maybe try their generic brand pellets? If you do try the generic stuff let me know how the fish go, this I would be interested in knowing.

[waruna]

Hi Hypanheaven, what formula and what size pellets do you use? And also what type of fish and how big are they?

I'm off the NLS too. It's far too dusty and expensive. It isn't only the dust that hurts your water but also all the uneaten food that inveitably comes out of their gils while feeding, I haven't noticed this as much with other foods

Hi Peckoltia, If you are seeing uneaten food coming out of your fish's gills you are not feeding the correct sized pellet. They should be able to swallow the food in whole. Nothing should come out of their gills!

when Compared to and switching from other brands we recommend feeding less than 25% to start with. I highly recommend cutting down on the quantities if there is an excessive amount of waste. The food is highly nutritious, one should always feed small quantities rather than trying to fill them up. Your fish should NOT look like beer kegs after a feed. One simple way to judge this by is to cut down on food and seeing if their condition is deteriorating, if they aren't you will know you have been over feeding.

Thank you for all the feed back.

[Anka]

I love NLS <3

So do my fish

[Hypanheaven]

Malawi s ranging from15 to 27cm. Using cchlid formula, 2mm pellets,

Tried some food today that's available at $86 for 20kg, and no that's not a typo, you do the maths 20kg of nls would set you back$1300, its made here in Aus and its actual content is not far of nls, weather or not its usable protiens im not sure.

Edited by Hypanheaven, 01 June 2012 - 08:48 AM.

[Peckoltia]

Hi Waruna

I have tried a few different sized pellets, seems to happen with all of them in particular the larger pellets. If I feed a smaller pellet that the fish can inhale very easily then it doesn't happen so much, but then I need to feed 3x the number of pellets in comparison to the larger pellet. With this increase in number of pellets, comes an increase in surface area when comparing mass vs mass (small vs large pellet), and with this an increase in fine dust that I'm dumping into my tanks.

I like NLS in a nutritional sense, always promoted nice colours and reasonable growth. I just could no longer deal with the mess it was causing when fed in large amounts. I experienced many of the same 'problems' as Hypanheaven.

I am not 'bad mouthing' NLS, as with all things it has its pro's and con's, in my particular situation I didn't find it to be my best option.... trust me NLS as a company has received many of my hard earned dollars over the years.

Like everything in life, it as all trial and error and finding what works for you.

I don't really have anything more to add to this discussion.

Cheers,

Alex