Powder blue going nuts!!!
- Thread starter Drewl117
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laga77
New member
Get some variety into its diet. Try spirulina flakes in addition to the nori. Instead of mysis add some plankton. Throw away the pellets and make a mush out of shrimp, clams, squid, and any other fresh food. Live worms either black or white would be better. I made the switch to fresh foods for my fish two years ago and saw a huge difference in their health and behavior.
laga77
New member
Pellets are crap. Read the list of ingredients. They contain mostly fish, krill and wheat in a highly processed form. Marine fish are not meant to eat wheat. There are much better choices for food than pellets and flakes. I used to think pellets and flakes were great too, until I switched.
cham
New member
I'm not sure I agree with this. New Life Spectrum is a great pellet and are fairly widely used by reefers.
My powder blue hasn't seen a sheet of nori or any other food but pellets in several years.
Dkuhlmann
New member
NLS pellets are fantastic and the one I choose to feed my fish. I also feed a mix of mysis, brine and LRS.
laga77 I don't know what your beef is with pellets but you all the time bash them. There is a lot of science that has gone into the R&D of them and they alone can and will keep fish very healthy.
Your opinion is noted but pellets formulated for marine fish most certainly are not "crap"
laga77 I don't know what your beef is with pellets but you all the time bash them. There is a lot of science that has gone into the R&D of them and they alone can and will keep fish very healthy.
Your opinion is noted but pellets formulated for marine fish most certainly are not "crap"
laga77
New member
0.5 mm Small Fish Formula Sinking Pellets
Ingredients: Whole Fish, Whole Antarctic Krill, Chlorella Algae, Whole Wheat Flour, Omega-3, Ulva Seaweed, Spirulina, Kelp, Garlic, Alfalfa, Mollusk, Fruit Extract, Vegetable Extract, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C), Choline Chloride, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, and Manganese Sulfate. This is the ingredient list from NLS pellets. Marine fish do not eat wheat, garlic, alfalfa, fruits and vegetables. Along with the preservatives that are in there. Our fish are under enough stress living in the tiny boxes we keep them in. Adding foods they are not meant to eat only adds to this stress. I will continue to bash flakes and pellets because I have seen what a difference a fresh diet makes. All I am saying is give it a try.
Ingredients: Whole Fish, Whole Antarctic Krill, Chlorella Algae, Whole Wheat Flour, Omega-3, Ulva Seaweed, Spirulina, Kelp, Garlic, Alfalfa, Mollusk, Fruit Extract, Vegetable Extract, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C), Choline Chloride, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, and Manganese Sulfate. This is the ingredient list from NLS pellets. Marine fish do not eat wheat, garlic, alfalfa, fruits and vegetables. Along with the preservatives that are in there. Our fish are under enough stress living in the tiny boxes we keep them in. Adding foods they are not meant to eat only adds to this stress. I will continue to bash flakes and pellets because I have seen what a difference a fresh diet makes. All I am saying is give it a try.
laga77
New member
I am saying all processed fish food is bad. Regardless of brand.
Dkuhlmann
New member
I believe the wheat flour is only used as a binder, what else could be used?
I've fed the NLS for many years to many different species of fish and have never seen any stress involved.
Are the frozen options better? Yes Can you put frozen choices in an auto feeder? No There is a time and place for all of the choices available.
You no doubt have a valid point that frozen or fresh foods are a better option. That I totally agree with!
I've fed the NLS for many years to many different species of fish and have never seen any stress involved.
Are the frozen options better? Yes Can you put frozen choices in an auto feeder? No There is a time and place for all of the choices available.
You no doubt have a valid point that frozen or fresh foods are a better option. That I totally agree with!
Pastey
New member
While the argument can certainly be made that you should not SOLELY feed pellets/flakes, you will be hard pressed to make a case that pellets/flakes don't have any place in a fish's diet. Like a human diet, it should be varied. If I eat nothing but salad for a year, even though they're healthy, I will be an unhealthy individual. This is why I feed pellets 3 times a day (auto-feeder), 1/2 sheet of nori every day and ~1 "cube" of LRS frozen every other day. All of my fish are healthy and active. It's hard to argue that something is bad when there are thousands of people do it and are successful at keeping their fish healthy.
laga77
New member
Yet that binder is being consumed by the fish. Why is alfalfa in there and what the heck is fruit and vegetable extract? Garlic is the one of the biggest con jobs in this hobby. When have any of these existed on the reef? And yes I have tried pellet and flake. The OP has a fish that is acting nuts. He feeds only three items. He needs a larger variety. He can add a fresh diet which you agree is good or he can continue with processed foods which I think is crap and we disagree. To the OP, Good luck with your tang, I hope he gets better for you.
cham
New member
I advocated NLS only because I've seen great results with them first hand. Prior to 2011 I NEVER used pellets and felt the exact same way about them. I was the first to speak up that they're reef junk food.
Until this happened:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2021836
Page 3 post 52 shows a skinny sickly PBT go to a fat fella in 19 days on NLS pellets alone. No other foods were given except for the Nori at the outset of QT because I had not yet learned of NLS. Someone turned me on to them and I bought them simply because this fish would nip at nori but would tear up pellets.
Now I feed heavily with NLS. I also grind it up into a powder and dump it into the tank for the SPS. My RMF Rainbows In Spain acro and a number of others send out feeding filaments when I do this.
After the QT experience I introduced NLS to my main tank and I couldn't believe the coloration I got in my fish. My clowns that I had for 4 years at the time had dark areas on the top of their body, over two months they went to bright orange with no more dark/black areas visible.
If that's garbage, I'll take it.
Until this happened:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2021836
Page 3 post 52 shows a skinny sickly PBT go to a fat fella in 19 days on NLS pellets alone. No other foods were given except for the Nori at the outset of QT because I had not yet learned of NLS. Someone turned me on to them and I bought them simply because this fish would nip at nori but would tear up pellets.
Now I feed heavily with NLS. I also grind it up into a powder and dump it into the tank for the SPS. My RMF Rainbows In Spain acro and a number of others send out feeding filaments when I do this.
After the QT experience I introduced NLS to my main tank and I couldn't believe the coloration I got in my fish. My clowns that I had for 4 years at the time had dark areas on the top of their body, over two months they went to bright orange with no more dark/black areas visible.
If that's garbage, I'll take it.
laga77
New member
Clams, oysters, squid, all from the grocery store is a good place to start. You can chop them up in a blender then freeze in a baggie. Here is a good thread to read.http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2470736&highlight=feeding+clams, A lot of people feed black worms and white worms to their fish. I keep live cultures of both.http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1907090&highlight=black+worms,
Drewl117
New member
Interesting, I'm up to try anything to help my fish! Where do I get these worms from, if I order online do they ship ok? I can handle changing a small amount of water daily. I have never seen them in my lfs and I have been going there for 10 years. I'll call them tomorrow and see what he says.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
laga77
New member
Paul B just shaves them frozen. I have found it is easier for me to throw 10-12 clams and oysters into a food processor and put the mush into a mini ice cube tray. You get cubes the same size as the frozen mysis from the LFS. As far as the black worms, I am lucky. There is a freshwater/reptile LFS near me, so call around your area. If not, there are on-line vendors for both black worms and white worms. Here is another thread on keeping the worms.
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