# Underfeeding, overfeeding, oh my!!!!!



## lkmalawilvr (Jul 29, 2013)

I am new to the aquarium hobby. I have a 215
gallon tank that was started in early May. Since then, I have learned alot (the hard way). Long story short, I currently have: Fish in tank: 10 clown loaches: 4 green bn plecos; 8 Placidochromis milomo; 8
Aristochromis christyi "Malawi Hawk"; 8
Lichnochromis acuticeps "Malawi Gars"; 8
Cyrtocara Moorii "Blue Dolphin" . All fish are small sized, around 2 inches. I just added the haps a week and a half ago. My problem is feeding them. I was told since I added 32 at one time to feed lightly for two weeks. I am feeding draf cichlid flake. I guess this was to give the tank sufficient time to catch up with the new bio load. I want to be sure that they are all sufficiently be fed. I am feeding in my opinion a pretty big amount twice a day. Two very large pinches. The tank has two powerheads and the food goes everywhere but they seem to eat it pretty quickly. I need help in determining how to feed them the correct amount without overfeeding and hurting them or causing a problem with the water parameters. If it matters, I am running an eheim 2260 and a eheim 2262 on the tank. I was told to feed by their bellies and to be honest, I can't tell if they are sunk in or look full or fat. I am also concerned that the plecos and clowns are sufficiently fed and would like to target them too to be safe. Can anyone help this noob out? Thank you very much.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

How did you cycle the tank? What was in the 215 beforehand? Just the loaches and pleco? Have you tested your water since adding the haps?


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## lkmalawilvr (Jul 29, 2013)

I had fish previously but a mix of cichlids from every lake and fish that were not compatible. I originally hired an aquarium maintenance company to start up the tank and help me with fish but that was a nightmare. I believe the tank is cycled now. Although I was a bit concerned about adding 32 fish at one time. I have tested the water parameters and everything looks great. Zero ammonia and nitrites and low nitrates. My ph and hardness are on the high side but from everything I have learned cichlids prefer that.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

lkmalawilvr said:


> I had fish previously but a mix of cichlids from every lake and fish that were not compatible. I originally hired an aquarium maintenance company to start up the tank and help me with fish but that was a nightmare. I believe the tank is cycled now. Although I was a bit concerned about adding 32 fish at one time. I have tested the water parameters and everything looks great. Zero ammonia and nitrites and low nitrates. My ph and hardness are on the high side but from everything I have learned cichlids prefer that.


Sounds good.

You could try turning off the powerheads and/or filters at feeding time if you're concerned the flake is getting sucked up by the filters. Your fish should look streamlined. I'll try to find examples online of a fat and sunken belly fish.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Having trouble finding a good picture of an overweight/overfed fish.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

You can look at the male zebra in my avatar...my big boy. He is not overfed but claims more than his share of food at feeding time and is just shy of being overweight in my opinion.


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## lkmalawilvr (Jul 29, 2013)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Having trouble finding a good picture of an overweight/overfed fish.


Thank you. What about target feeding the clowns and plecos. I see some of the clowns feeding from the top but not all of them. The ones that don't are obviously smaller than the ones that are feeding from the top. Should I try algae wafers or something?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

> Should I try algae wafers or something?


I would. Throw them in at night. Loaches are nocturnal, right?


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## NestoJR (Sep 13, 2012)

You have a big tank so you could try putting food at both sides of the tank. You can sprinkle food on top, away from the loaches/bottom feeders and the cichlids will go for that. Then go to the the other side near the loaches and put your hand down in the water and throw it at them. Thats what I do to feed both the aggressive and timid ones. The loaches will go up but usually feed from the middle/bottom area.

Its always best to underfeed rather than overfeed especially when you're concerned with fish that are prone to bloat. Sometimes I feed every other day and our guys are fat. Fish can survive days without food and rather than go by their "belly", just feed what they'll consume in 30 seconds to 1 minute. Overfeeding your cichlids is what you should be most concerned with, the bottom feeders will eventually find something. Dropping algae wafers at night could help but your cichlids could also just dominate it.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

My cichlids owned the algae wafers at first, but they eventually tired of them. Now when i drop the wafers in, 1 or 2 might try and nibble at it once or twice, but they pretty much leave it alone and the loaches/plecos get to enjoy it without being bothered.


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