# Feeding Tropheus



## kentc64 (Dec 16, 2016)

I have a couple of questions for those of you with Tropheus keeping experience.

1. How often do you feed? I currently just feed once a day but have read where others feed 2 to 3 times a day in smaller quantities.

2. For those that feed more than once a day.Do you feed the same food every feeding? All I`ve ever done is a high quality Spirulina with skipping a feeding once in a 7 day cycle.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

Are they adults? Fry? Juveniles?

This is my third time with tropheus. I feed the adults twice a day. Each time all they can eat in about 30-40 seconds. Adding it slowly to the tank over those 30-40 seconds.
New Life Spectrum cichlid pellets or NorthFin Veggie formula sinking pellets. Variety is NOT the key, consistency is. No treats of shrimp, etc, etc, like people do with other cichlids. Keep it simple and basic.

I have never lost an adult tropheus (except one that jumped ship and found him dead on the floor).
I don't skip a day a week for tropheus like I have for other cichlids. Consistency is important I think.
Sometimes if I am gone for a long day, (like leave in the dark or return in the dark), they only get fed once (30-40 seconds) but that is rare.
Juveniles get the same treatment as above but three times a day.

By the way, keep up with the water changes. If you are changing water once a month then you should not be feeding twice a day. But then, If you are changing water once a month then you should probably not be keeping tropheus anyways.


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## kentc64 (Dec 16, 2016)

They are sub-adult and I do weekly 30 % water changes


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

Mine are fed 1x per day, I feed Kens green flake, and Kens spirulina pellets. Pellets are either 1 or 1.5mm. In past, I've used NLS and some other foods. Key is to slowly introduce new foods. The tank gets a 50% change weekly. This is a colony that has gone from 23 to over 50 and always has juvenile and fry in it.

My schedule just does not allow for feeding more than 1x daily.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I used to feed my groups (30-36 pc per group) 1tsp of 1mm pellets, twice a day. I would mix NLS thera+A NLS cichlid formula, Northfin veggie and Northfin cichlid.
I changed about 90-100g on my 120g tanks every weekend.


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## kaphil (Aug 3, 2006)

In response to your questions:
(1) twice a day when I can, once when I can't
(2) always feed spirulina flake and NLS pellets. 2-3 times a week I feed mysis and cyclops.

I have a tank of duboisi with juvies and fry that is starting to get over-populated! It does mean my feeding has to cater for all sizes and ages.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

kaphil said:


> In response to your questions:
> (1) twice a day when I can, once when I can't
> (2) always feed spirulina flake and NLS pellets. 2-3 times a week I feed mysis and cyclops.
> 
> I have a tank of duboisi with juvies and fry that is starting to get over-populated! It does mean my feeding has to cater for all sizes and ages.


Do you feed Mysis in order to condition the females for breeding purposes? I would feed mysis once a week if I was trying to build up the numbers of the group.


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## kaphil (Aug 3, 2006)

Not really - can it have that affect?
To be honest I have always added some frozen food to the diet of my tropheus, small amounts only and mainly mysis and cyclops though I have occasionally fed daphnia. Also it is handy for the fry because of the small bits that adults leave but fry will eat.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

kaphil said:


> Not really - can it have that affect?
> To be honest I have always added some frozen food to the diet of my tropheus, small amounts only and mainly mysis and cyclops though I have occasionally fed daphnia. Also it is handy for the fry because of the small bits that adults leave but fry will eat.


Yes, it can help the females become gravid. No wonder you have lots of fry. :thumb: 
I use it the same way to condition Foai.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

noddy said:


> kaphil said:
> 
> 
> > Not really - can it have that affect?
> ...


Used to use it for same purpose with my Frontosa. Interesting that it is ok to feed to trophs. Might have to try it, not that I need more fry though.


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## THEnelsonbruhs (Aug 12, 2021)

“New Life Spectrum cichlid pellets or NorthFin Veggie formula sinking pellets. Variety is NOT the key, consistency is. No treats of shrimp, etc, etc, like people do with other cichlids.”


Is it okay to feed my tropheus juveniles spirulina flakes and pellets simultaneously or should I stick with only one food? I’ve been feeding them the flakes and the pellets for 2 weeks and no problems so far


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Your pellet should have the spirulina and other (even better sometimes) algae in it already. It won't hurt them to feed both at every feeding, but once the flakes run out I would not replace them.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

DJRansome said:


> Your pellet should have the spirulina and other (even better sometimes) algae in it already. It won't hurt them to feed both at every feeding, but once the flakes run out I would not replace them.


You're not seriously suggesting that pellets are a better staple food for _Tropheus_ than flakes, are you?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If the flakes are better then maybe don't replace the pellets. Is the flake "shape" better regardless of ingredients? Please explain, thanks.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Now* I'M* curious. 
I mean, if the ingredients are virtually the same, besides texture - what's the difference? So, if the pelleted food is kinda hard or something in an unfavorable comparison with the flake, then I suppose you could pre-soften pellet food in a little bowl with tank water or something before feeding. Plus, pre-softened/disintegrating pellets would certainly help to eliminate food concentration in any one area by spreading out into the tank pretty well. That would give everyone opportunities to get some food.

So.... Flake vs. Pellet food in feeding Tropheus: _WHATIZIT_?


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

DJRansome said:


> ...If the flakes are better then maybe don't replace the pellets...


What? I'm doing my best to understand what you're trying to say here, to no avail.



DJRansome said:


> ...Is the flake "shape" better regardless of ingredients? Please explain, thanks...


Of course not. If the pellets have a more appropriate mixture of ingredients than the flakes to which they are being compared, then the pellets are a better staple. Conversely, if the flakes have a more appropriate mixture of ingredients than the pellets to which they are being compared, then the flakes are a better staple. Either way, it's an apples to oranges comparison. More meaningful questions, given that appropriately-chosen flakes and pellets generally have similar mixtures of ingredients, would be- (a) which of these more closely approximates the dietary input of _Tropheus_ in the wild, and (b) which has been empirically determined to be a better staple for _Tropheus_ in captivity?

(a) _Tropheus_ are highly specialized fishes, particularly in their trophic adaptations, that is, the way they gather and process food. In the wild, _Tropheus_ scrape algae from hard surfaces continuously throughout the day, and their long, thin intestines have evolved to process a near-constant influx of small amounts of high roughage food. That is why these fishes are so sensitive to intestinal overloading, which occurs when they ingest large amounts of highly concentrated foods, such as pellets. It is also why feeding _Tropheus_ small amounts of food several times a day is so beneficial. Eating many small (loose) flakes presents the _Tropheus_ GI tract with input that more closely resembles their natural diet, as opposed to a few (compacted) pellets, which have a much higher risk of intestinal overloading.

(b) I am not saying that feeding pellets to_ Tropheus_ is bad _per se_; many people do so very successfully, and if you have dozens of tanks, pellets can be both more economical and more convenient. What I am saying is that if I were forced to chose between pellets and flakes for my _Tropheus_ colonies, I would choose flakes every time. Why? Because as explained above, while it is easy to overload the _Tropheus_ digestive tract with highly concentrated food sources like pellets, it is much more difficult to do so with flakes.

I maintain all my adult _Tropheus_ colonies on a diet that consists of 4-5 feedings of Spirulina flakes for every 1 feeding of NLS AlgaMax pellets (1 mm), fresh greens (Romaine lettuce) once or twice every week, and 3-4 fasting days per month. That diet is invariant, because as one poster noted- '_Variety is not the key, consistency is._' My feeding regimen was established after years of trial-and-error, and using this regimen together with proper water management, I have not lost a single _Tropheus_ to anything other than old age in at least 10 years.

As a point of information, other Tanganyikans (e_. g._ featherfins such as _Ophthalmotilapia_) are even more sensitive to intestinal overloading than _Tropheus,_ and for these fishes I eliminated pellets completely from their diets.

This conversation started when one poster asked whether it would be better to feed _Tropheus_ either pellets or flakes, as opposed to using both, and you replied that the mixture was fine, but to eliminate the flakes completely when his supply was exhausted. Typically enough, that's half true. The mixture is fine, but if one had to decide between pellets or flakes, my advice would be to go with flakes every time. That would be particularly true for hobbyists learning the subtleties of _Tropheus_ keeping. I'd be interested to know what _Tropheus_ keeping experience you have had that led you to offer an opinion which, in my view, was just plain bad advice.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Thanks for the explanation @sir_keith. That all makes perfect sense! And, I definitely appreciate the detail and effort it took to explain your point.


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