Feeding Acei?

[scifisarah]

I have been feeding my all my cichlids 0.5 mm NLS Thera A food. Most of them seem to be doing great, but my four Acei seem a bit scrawny and aren't as interested in the food as the others. They usually pick a few pieces then hang back and the food is gone pretty quickly. I have Hikari Algae Wafers, but when the first four ingredients are fish meal, wheat flour and wheat germ meal, and starch I'm thinking it might not be a very great product for a herbivore fish. Any suggestions for what else I can add to their diet that is more herbivore based to bulk them up a little and add to their diet? Specific brands and where to purchase them would be great, instead of just saying "algae sticks" etc. Thanks!

[Ron]

Spirulina-based flake food

[scifisarah]

Spirulina-based flake food

Any certain brand? Here are my options on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=spirulina#/ref=sr_st?bbn=2975479011&keywords=spirulina&qid=1362434702&rh=n%3A2619533011%2Cn%3A!2619534011%2Cn%3A2975446011%2Cn%3A2975479011%2Ck%3Aspirulina%2Cp_85%3A2470955011&sort=reviewrank_authority I also gave them some zucchini today and the Acei and plecos seem to be liking that.

[four_by_ken]

Talk to Marty.

[djlamonica]

Oyers sells veggie flakes and mixed veggie flakes for 5 dollars a half pound, defiantly worth picking some up if you plan to go there or are going on the fish room tour.  If they are a stop.  All my fish love them.  It could also be stress killing there appetite/making them thin.

[scifisarah]

I rehomed my group of five cyno afras yesterday, so I am hoping that makes it a bit calmer for them. The two that lost the top of their tail fins from afra bites have grown them almost all the way back now. I probably won't be heading out that way anytime soon but will check them out if I am ever in the area. 

[Regalblue]

Spirulina-based flake food

Yep... that's what mine eat, along with plecocaine.

[Dan K]

Oyers come to nearly all if not all of the GVAC swaps and auctions and you can have them bring whatever you need. We have an auction coming up in a few weeks.
Give them a call at a decent hour........(810) 229-2122

[auratus]

Yellow acei are are Mbuna but are special in many ways , tiny babys with huge broods for their size had 66 babys from 4'' female.  They tend to swim in schools higher in the water .  They tend to be shyer than other Mbuna and suffer from stress and wasting away I sometimes thnk angelfish would be better tank mates then other Mbuna :   )   I dont think diet makes much a difference as far as the problem its stress.  IMO

[Ron]

Any certain brand? Here are my options on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=spirulina#/ref=sr_st?bbn=2975479011&keywords=spirulina&qid=1362434702&rh=n%3A2619533011%2Cn%3A!2619534011%2Cn%3A2975446011%2Cn%3A2975479011%2Ck%3Aspirulina%2Cp_85%3A2470955011&sort=reviewrank_authority I also gave them some zucchini today and the Acei and plecos seem to be liking that.

I think it's interesting to see Spirulina 20 on that list. I thought the company that made it went out of business 5-6 years ago, but perhaps I was wrong. However, I also don't recall it being made by "Zoo Med". It was a great flake and I'd recommend it based on what I used years ago. I currently use a mix I get from Oyers that was mentioned above. In general you want a spirulina flake, but not pure spirulina, and I'd suggest getting the largest flake size possible - you can always crush it smaller, but it's hard to make it larger. 

To expand on other brands I've tried ... I didn't like Wardley. Omega One I've got mixed feelings about as expressed in the past on this forum. IMO it starts to smell bad a lot sooner than other flake. HBH Graze is a good one, but the flake size isn't as large as the two from my first paragraph. I used to buy it in bulk from www.jehmco.com .

FWIW, fish food gets to be much better pricing in bulk than in little containers. I typically purchase 1-2 times per year and store it in the freezer, getting out small quantities good for a few weeks that I keep in smaller fish food containers (empties from the past).

[scifisarah]

Thank you all for the advice. I have so few fish compared to you, that I would worry about it going bad if I got a large container. At this point in my hobby, I don't really mind paying a few dollars more since it will probably be a once or twice a year purchase. I think I will check out that Spirulina 20 for now and hopefully it will help them.

I need to get a Kh/Gh kit to test our water, I hope that is not having ill effect on them because of our water softener. I am hoping all the rocks from our yard are putting some hardness back into the water. I've been doing a 40-50% water change every weekend and the FX5 seems to be doing a great job now that it is cycled.

My Maingano males are starting to color up with black on the bottom now. In the group of 7 youngsters I got at the auction, I think I have three or four males so I need to decide which one to keep and rehome the rest. I'd like to wait a little longer to see who has the nicest coloring. They aren't really bothering the Acei, but that should quiet things down a bit. Only one of my saulosi males is getting a lot of blue and darker stripes, but I can't imagine all six of the others are females. It would be nice though! Scared to hatch anymore chicken eggs this spring and end up with all roosters again. Too many feisty boys around here! I feel bad for our son because he always bonds with and wants to keep the boy animals we end up rehoming.

[Ron]

However, I also don't recall it being made by "Zoo Med".

I thought about this more driving into work and it was originally made by Aquatrol which did go under. Hopefully Zoo Med bought the recipe when they bought the name. Let us know what you think of it after you've tried it out for a few weeks.

[scifisarah]

However, I also don't recall it being made by "Zoo Med".

I thought about this more driving into work and it was original made by Aquatrol which did go under. Hopefully Zoo Med bought the recipe when they bought the name. Let us know what you think of it after you've tried it out for a few weeks.

Maybe Zoo Med bought them out? I found some info about it here under their product review: http://www.oscarfish.com/foods-review/spirulina-20.html

[Marty]

Thank you all for the advice. I have so few fish compared to you, that I would worry about it going bad if I got a large container. At this point in my hobby, I don't really mind paying a few dollars more since it will probably be a once or twice a year purchase. I think I will check out that Spirulina 20 for now and hopefully it will help them.

I need to get a Kh/Gh kit to test our water, I hope that is not having ill effect on them because of our water softener. I am hoping all the rocks from our yard are putting some hardness back into the water. I've been doing a 40-50% water change every weekend and the FX5 seems to be doing a great job now that it is cycled.

My Maingano males are starting to color up with black on the bottom now. In the group of 7 youngsters I got at the auction, I think I have three or four males so I need to decide which one to keep and rehome the rest. I'd like to wait a little longer to see who has the nicest coloring. They aren't really bothering the Acei, but that should quiet things down a bit. Only one of my saulosi males is getting a lot of blue and darker stripes, but I can't imagine all six of the others are females. It would be nice though! Scared to hatch anymore chicken eggs this spring and end up with all roosters again. Too many feisty boys around here! I feel bad for our son because he always bonds with and wants to keep the boy animals we end up rehoming.

If you put the food in the freezer, it will extend the shelf life.