suggested diet for apistogrammas for them to thrive not just survive

[marbles]

just after a really good diet for my dwarf
what is every one useing


thanxs

[Apistoinka]

Some of us might use pellet... But for me I'll prefer live food like grindal worm, brine shrimp, vinegar eel or micro worm... That's all I can think off... Grindal worm can cultivate so won't waste money on buying...

[doppelbanddwarf]

I've managed to breed different apisto species with just New Life Spectrum pellets as main diet or most of the time the only diet. However this is mainly due to convenience as I'm not home on weekdays and my parents do the feeding.

[mobile2007]

The question of what to feed the fish is actually quite similar to our own eating.

Idea - More proteins, more variety of food for the minerals and trace elements.

Pellets like NLS are actually good enough and provided the necessary nutrients for the fishes. However, fishes, just like other animals, they feed on instinct and live food aroused their feeding frenzy.

The other thing to note is, not to pump them too fast. Pumping them too fast will cause the fish to grow out of shape.

[sen_jie]

Although many people swear not to touch it, but i still use tubifex worm as treats for my apistogramma. (of course the danger of disease is very high)

But come to think about it, worms exist in the wild. So i prefer to feed them something which is close to nature. However their daily staple diet is still pellets.

[doppelbanddwarf]

For live treats for my dwarf cichlids I actually prefer to feed them malayan shrimps, but that is very occasional. I feel that it is safer.
I lost several dwarf cichlids to sunken stomachs or diseases from either daphnia and tubifex.

[jeremiahtan]

For live treats for my dwarf cichlids I actually prefer to feed them malayan shrimps, but that is very occasional. I feel that it is safer.
I lost several dwarf cichlids to sunken stomachs or diseases from either daphnia and tubifex.

Pardon my inexperience, how would feeding tubifex worms cause sunken stomaches?

In addition, is there any way to avoid diseases caused by tubifex worms?

[doppelbanddwarf]

Apistogrammas seem to be more prone to internal bacteria from tubifex compared to other fishes. I avoid by completely not feeding it to them. However I believe some of the forumners have had more success cleaning and feeding tubifex to their fishes.

[stormhawk]

Tubifex occasionally carry parasites with them, that can cause internal infections in some fish, especially apistos. Using tubifex is not advised for apisto unless they are kept clean and the hobbyist ensures that the worms are healthy. It is much easier to use FBW or pellet foods for apistos, along with live adult brine shrimp. With Daphnia/Moina, a sift net is necessary and is good as a supplementary food, but as with all live foods, the risks are present.

Same thing with dried foods that are not stored properly, or with frozen worms that can spoil really quickly once the foil pack is broken, which is very easy to do. I find that any food, even live or prepared foods, will have risks. So if you really want to be sure, be stringent on your checks, especially if you're using dried food.

[mobile2007]

Some people here swear by tubi, some adult brine shrimp, some NLS pellets.

I think all the food are ok as long the fish is eating. For me, i had lost quite a few to internal parasites,, so i am more careful with tubi ( but i still feed them once a while).

Some even make their own secret fish food with spirulina, shrimps paste etc.

[Luc Tango]

if you really want to feed live feed, i suggest using medication for internal parasites. or a routine deworming every few months. i've lost apistogramma to sunken bellies and internal parasites before even though they were on frozen blood worm diet.

right now, i keep some predatory fish that are on feeders and i dose internal parasite medication once every 2 weeks just as a precaution. so far so good.

[jeremiahtan]

Thanks for the tips guys, looks like I need to get some deworming medication then

[sen_jie]

if you really want to feed live feed, i suggest using medication for internal parasites. or a routine deworming every few months. i've lost apistogramma to sunken bellies and internal parasites before even though they were on frozen blood worm diet.

right now, i keep some predatory fish that are on feeders and i dose internal parasite medication once every 2 weeks just as a precaution. so far so good.

Hi Luc can i check with you, when you dose medication do you remove your filter media? If not the medication will cause some inbalance to your water parameter and a new set of problem will exist.

[Aquanoob]

Actually, from my experiences with my Apisto Caca and Viejita, they are not fussy eaters. I feed them normal fish flakes, Hikari Cichlid pellets and weekly brine shrimp, but they will also eat algae wafer and even decap bbs egg and green pea. As a guide, I think a balance diet of proteins and the greens will be much healthier. Come to think of it, we should all eat more greens as well, or just me.

[Aquanoob]

As long as you do not have activated carbon (charcoal) as your filter media, it is fine to dose medication. AC will absorb the medications and ferts from what I read in the forum.

[stormhawk]

If you have space and a spare tank, a simple plastic tank with a sponge filter and plastic plants can be used as a hospital tank. Just cycle it the way you would with any tank, keep one or two zebra danio in there to keep the filter BB happy while the tank is not in use, then you can use the de-worming medication with little problems.

[Luc Tango]

Hi Luc can i check with you, when you dose medication do you remove your filter media? If not the medication will cause some inbalance to your water parameter and a new set of problem will exist.

Hi Sen Jie, nope. I never removed my filter before. never had any problems with filtration. But i do understand that certain medication will kill all form of bacteria. (Good or bad) so better read up before using them.

Just for everyone's benefit, I am using EIHO products. ( No affiliation) I tried their Parzi Gold on fishes with camallanus worms and it was effective, though I do not know if the worms died or it just went back in the ***.

[sen_jie]

Hii Luc, yea i am keen on the medication which you are using. and Bingo, indeed you mentioned it. Wa actually looking for a mild medication for deworming. Do you think i can jus add them in with my filteration still going? (As i feed my fishes tubi once a week, will like to do deworming on a regular basis)

[Apistoinka]

After all let's say I'm using grindal worm and if I fed the worm oat after all the worm is still a healthy food for them as the worm are eating the oat... So maybe I think self cultivate live food might be the best as we know where they come from and is it dangerous to feed it to our beloved Apisto...

[stormhawk]

Self-cultivation is easy where grindals are concerned. You can use these grindal worms as a treat for the fish, but you need a feeding dish or bowl in the tank and use a dropper or turkey baster to place the worms gently in the feeding dish. That way they don't escape into your gravel and die there.

As for de-worming fish, if you can find fenbendazole, that will probably be your best bet. However, getting the dosage is the tricky part. If EIHO's Parzi Gold works, then might as well use that.