# Feeding Multifasciatus



## boro1981 (Mar 30, 2009)

I have some Multies in a 40g tank, currently feeding them a mixture of flake food and frozen (brineshrimp, bloodworm and daphnia). Someone has told me not to feed them bloodworms because it can cause issues but I haven't read anything anywhere, what do you guys think?


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## drungil14 (Jan 11, 2009)

That is true. I would only feed them aquatic life.


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## boro1981 (Mar 30, 2009)

Thanks, i'll stick to the flake food from now on.


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## rlendog (Oct 15, 2002)

The frozen daphnia is excellent food for multies. It is healthy for the multies to have some frozen or live food in addition to flake. I also feed mine frozen brine shrimp with no issues. Blood worms and tubifex worms could be a problem because they live in bacteria infested mud, but even they could work if you get a brand (such as Hikari) that removes the parasites. I have used those occassionally as well without trouble. But if you want to play it safe, stick to the daphnia and brine shrimp (and maybe mysis shrimp as well) as your frozen food. Another good food for multies is Cyclop-eeze. I use freeze dried, but they also have frozen.


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## rrich741 (Apr 18, 2008)

Is it okay to be feeding gold occies and brevis blood worms?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> Is it okay to be feeding gold occies and brevis blood worms?


I've fed blood worms to caudopunks and they loved them, no problems. Do fish never eat insect larvae 
in the wild?? Not sure why blood worms get such a bad rap. Frozen blood worms are not going to 
contain live parasites. I think the risk of feeding certain foods is often overstated. Problems with fish 
come more from stress due to poor conditions rather than a specific food item IMHO.

I've also fed them to occie's (forgot to add).


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It's commonly suspected to be a problem for the more herbivore mbuna...too fatty. However, I imagine much more appropriate for carnivores. Personally I stick to NLS.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

DJRansome said:


> It's commonly suspected to be a problem for the more herbivore mbuna...too fatty. However, I imagine much more appropriate for carnivores. Personally I stick to NLS.


Understood, but, I'm very skeptical. How fatty is it? What does that mean? Do the folks making that 
claim know what it means? Is fat bad for fish? Why? It's just too easy to regurgitate what we hear on 
these forums.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Good point, but I also prefer to take advice when given if received from enough respected sources (Cichlid-forum mods, etc.) rather try it out to see if it kills my fish, LOL.

Anyway, I've found a safe harbor with NLS.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Anyway, I've found a safe harbor with NLS.


I have too. I haven't found a fish that hasn't thrived on it. And I'd be afraid also to feed blood worms to my 
tropheus because of all I've heard, even though I really don't believe it'd do them any harm. I don't risk 
it either. It's kind of like saying there's no such thing as ghosts, but then being afraid to go into a 
supposedly haunted house. Some day I'm going to raise a colony of tropheus fry on blood worms and 
brine shrimp in an attempt to get over my fears.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I would think that if you were able to raise trophs on brine shrimp and blood worms they'd have a drastically shorter intestinal tract and would probably be more resistant to bloat.


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

My multies get the NLS Cichlid Forumula 1mm Sinking Pellets and my colony is thriving. Occassionally I'll throw in some frozen mysis shrimp (maybe once a month) for a treat. Also I fast them once a week when I do my water changes.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Since when are blood worms _not _aquatic?

Blood worms are fine but not as a staple.

Depends on the fish. I have fed some fish lots of bloodworms and never had any problems but then on the other hand some fish get constipated after just a few days of constant bloodworms.

Regardless NLS for the win! I found one of the smaller containers can last forever and after some time now as a staple my Leleupis are more brighter than they have been the entire time I have had them.


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## boro1981 (Mar 30, 2009)

> My multies get the NLS Cichlid Forumula 1mm Sinking Pellets and my colony is thriving. Occassionally I'll throw in some frozen mysis shrimp (maybe once a month) for a treat. Also I fast them once a week when I do my water changes.


Does fasting help, at the minute I feed mine at least once a day. Pretty small portions, there's never any left at the bottom of the tank but i've often wondered if I should be fasting them for a day a week?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I never purposely fast my fish. I don't believe fasting either helps or harms. Some say it clears out 
their system once per week and that helps them, but not sure what they base that on.


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

prov356 said:


> I never purposely fast my fish. I don't believe fasting either helps or harms. Some say it clears out
> their system once per week and that helps them, but not sure what they base that on.


Yea my understanding is that feeding a pellet food is quite rich compared to their natural diet and the leading cause of death amongst aquarium fish is over feeding. Supposedly fasting helps prevent bloat and other digestive related problems by allowing them to "clear out" their digestive tracts. If it isn't helping them it certainly doesn't harm them, but I've read articles by quite a few "experts" that suggest fasting once a week.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> but I've read articles by quite a few "experts" that suggest fasting once a week.


I have read them as well, but again, I wonder what they base it on? You can go crazy following the 
advice of 'experts'. I'm sure they don't even all agree.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

My tanks are neglected for about a month each year as I travel for the holidays and conferences. I have friends stop in and check filters, temp, and feed some premeasured amount. Each year I come back and some new fish has spawned, the water is cleaner, the plecos have done their job, and after that first water change and a big meal, every tank goes wild with spawning. :lol: Right now my 55 gallon tank has at least 7 different batches of multifaciatus fry less than 3 months old. And, my juvenile gobies are starting to pair up and spawn. opcorn:

I can't artifically recreate these neglect events, I've tried. :roll: But in trying to, I don't feed every day, I do ignore my tanks when necessary without feeling guilty, and then have the sudden increase of attention towards cleaning feeding, etc.

From observation, I think having good and bad "seasons" trigger physiological responses in my fish that would otherwise be triggered by natural seasonal changes. Or, maybe I'm crazy. :wink:


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

I neglect my tanks as well  not really for spawning but because of school :lol: 
and sometimes, i feed around 5-6 times a day and do 50% water changes. it really gets them going.

IME, multies are not picky eaters. they pretty much ate anything i gave them. Heck! mine spawned 2 days after i got them! shes dug a little pit for herself and i can see her very skittish now with a shrunken belly and i see her fanning her eggs  i usually feed my multies a variety of frozen food and a staple diet. it consisted of NLS a couple years ago but now i use HBH flakes. and live BBS when there are fry. my wild pair spawned once every 2 weeks with this diet 

triscuit, i think its both :lol:


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