What is the best food to feed my tropheus???

[rechaud]

Like i said, need some suggestions please.
Thanks
Réchaud...

[beowulf]

While I do not have tropheus per say, I like to mix what I feed my fish.  I like to use a good dry pellet food, some frozen (brine shrimp, blood worms whatever), some hommade frozen food and some live when I can get it (fish go crazy for the California Black Worms).

[rechaud]

i know that but tropheus are vegeterian so no protein, thats the probleme 

[sniggir]

 Not that you are going to listen to my suggestion... but whatever.... high quality spurilina pellets, Nori, you can make home made with spinach and grean peas, spinich and multivitemans, and then add gelitan.

[beowulf]

You can still give them small amounts of worms whatever jsut don't go crazy and as mentioend i would make a hommade mix using all kinds of veggies and maybe a little shrimp and freeze it.

Also peas are amazing and loved by so many fish.

change: ahh been informed by the great and missed PFG that trophous are known for bloat so then yes no protein I was warned with my malawi to watc the protein but a little was ok, my bad.

I would still make then a frozen veggie mix which you could break off chunks and feed at will.

[PaleoFishGirl]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/feeding_tropheus.php

[beowulf]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/feeding_tropheus.php

I love the idea of letting algea grow to watch the natural grazzing behaviour.

[Sue]

I've kept tropheus for years. I prefer to stick to flake food, mainly spirulena, but I feed a variety of stuff to them. I also like to have nice growth of algae in the tank for them to graze on, as it gives them something to do other than fighting.

I read your bi-line and it mentions you have 6 of them. I know they are costly but it really really makes a difference to house a large number of them together.
With only 6, when they mature they will start to kill each other off.

[rechaud]

i go for some info and they say to me that 6 was the minimum required and in a 55 i was not able to go higher than that so cross my finger 

Have one more question: I go to BA and i buy the spirulina flakes but there is a lot of protein, about 42%, i was not able to find something lower that that so am i ok with what i have??? I also put a sheet of letuce in the tank.

Thanks.

PS: I'm asking all that questions because i just want to make sure everything is perfect, i don't want to loose them guys

Réchaud...

[PaleoFishGirl]

A guy here in Winnipeg with a gorgeous Tropheus colony feeds them NLS 1 mm cichlid formula exclusively and they are very healthy.  He also recommends HBH Veggie flake if you need a second choice.

[Al]

As Paleo points out, NLS mini pellets and a good quality veggie flake (HBH graze or veggie, Omega Sea veggie flake) would be excellent choices. I keep and have kept trophs for years and yes they are prone to bloat if not fed correctly. Keep them on a good diet as above, lettuce also works as a treat or zucchin that has been blanched. Also, be religious with water changes - weekly 20-30%. As suggested by Sue, your numbers are WAY too low for tropheus - you need at a minimum 15 in a colony or aggresivenes will mean deaths in a continuous fashion. And keep everything you do regular - trophs hate change and thrive on routine - lights on at the same time, water change routine, feed them at the same time every day, etc. This is what most troph addicts wil tell you. In addiition, I am suggesting that your 55 is small for a group of trophs - usually a 4 foot 75 is the minimum, but hey, sometimes things can work but these are tried and true methods. I don't know the size of your trophs now, but if they are fry, you still have time to adjust some of your husbandry. Enjoy the trophs - they are  wonderful fish in a group. Good luck!
Al

[markw]

As Al and Sue suggest, you CANNOT keep 6 Trophs alone in anysize tank. If they can catch each other they will kill them. Guaranteed, no money back! Feed them a good quality veggie flake like HBH. Don't mix things, they're not like humans that need different food everyday. It will kill them to mix foods. If you keep them on a constant food and keep things routine like Al says, and put more Trophs in that tank you'll be fine. Whoever sold you 6 and told you they'd be fine in a 55, has never kept Trophs before and is not doing the hobby any good.
They are great fish, but keep doing you're homework and you'll enjoy them!
markw

[Houndog]

I feed NLS 1mm pellets to my Ikola II's, they seem to do very well on it. I was feeding the fry/juvies .5mm NLS Growth until I realised the new fry were able to run and hide with a 1mm pellet, my biggest problem is finding home for the juvies

[lis_]

I don't know why I never seem to get fry like you do Jeff...or at all for that matter. I feed mine NLS as well veggie flake but they are never as eager with it as I would like. When I feed them flake foods, they just run and hide until they are sure of what it is

They are grazers so I'm always moving in and out rocks from other tanks that have an abundance of green algae. Within a few days, they have those rocks picked clean. I have tested Nori but they weren't too keen on it and it just ended up all over everything, uneaten...what a mess! I agree that routine and a good diet is key to keeping them happy.

All the best with your new colony

l.