# CAN I FEED MBUNA SPIRULINA FLAKES ONLY?



## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

Im asking is i can only feed them spirulina flakes due to every other pellet food leaves so much dust in my water and takes forever to clear up... the only food i noticed this doesnt happen with are flakes... can i raise my mbuna juveniles on this spirulina flake food by itself?

heres a the latest pic of my tank... its clear now.. but after feeding i dont even like to look at it for awhile


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

Spirulina is normally used as a supplement to a well balanced staple food. Your fish would probably live eating only spirulina, but they wouldn't be as healthy as if they were eating a food designed to be nutritionally complete.

Have you tried New Life Spectrum cichlid formula?


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

jcabage said:


> Spirulina is normally used as a supplement to a well balanced staple food. Your fish would probably live eating only spirulina, but they wouldn't be as healthy as if they were eating a food designed to be nutritionally complete.
> 
> Have you tried New Life Spectrum cichlid formula?


yes i have the NLS growth pellets... the fish tear them up... but it leaves even more dust than the spirulina soft pellets i have... problem would be solved if they created NLS flakes lol... unless they exist somewhere i havent seen.... i have used tetra flakes for cichlids but i dont think they are good quality flakes... the fish poo seems harder and browner when i use that cheap stuff.. so i stay away from it..


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

I wouldn't pass up the benefit of NLS grow for a bit of cloudy water after feeding.

Maybe try feeding them a bit less? Are you only giving them what they can consume in ~30 seconds or less? There shouldn't be any excess hitting the bottom of the tank.


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

jcabage said:


> I wouldn't pass up the benefit of NLS grow for a bit of cloudy water after feeding.
> 
> Maybe try feeding them a bit less? Are you only giving them what they can consume in ~30 seconds or less? There shouldn't be any excess hitting the bottom of the tank.


i have 30+ fish its rare for any pellets to hit the bottom... even the syno catfish join in the feeding... Since flakes def do not create dust are there any NLS equivalent flakes available that you know of? I really think flakes are the the cleanest option to use... but i will def use the pellets if thats my only option for the best welfare of the fish...


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## 660dave (Apr 30, 2013)

You can get NLS flakes, not tried them myself though. It says they are for smaller fish, maybe not suitable idk.


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

660dave said:


> You can get NLS flakes, not tried them myself though. It says they are for smaller fish, maybe not suitable idk.


now that sounds interesting, do you have a source for those flakes? all my fish are still between 1-3.5 inches they should still be able to eat them....


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## notchback65 (Apr 3, 2013)

I use Cobalt Flake food,I use the Premium Cichlid Flake and the Premium Spirulina Flake.
I feed my fish 2-3 time per day,I feed them 2 parts Cichlid Flakes to 1 part Spirulina Flake.


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

notchback65 said:


> I use Cobalt Flake food,I use the Premium Cichlid Flake and the Premium Spirulina Flake.
> I feed my fish 2-3 time per day,I feed them 2 parts Cichlid Flakes to 1 part Spirulina Flake.


would you happen to have a link i can go to order these flakes? have u had any issues using flake only? no bloat? are flake high in protien?

:-?


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Omega One Cichlid Flakes is a good high quality food.


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

b3w4r3 said:


> Omega One Cichlid Flakes is a good high quality food.


Would you recommend the Omega One super veggie flake instead of the normal cichlid flake they make? as a staple diet.. looking for somethin i dont have to change for awhile...


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## notchback65 (Apr 3, 2013)

Mr2Good said:


> notchback65 said:
> 
> 
> > I use Cobalt Flake food,I use the Premium Cichlid Flake and the Premium Spirulina Flake.
> ...


I've had no issues..
*vendor link removed*

Please send a PM.


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Mr2Good said:


> Would you recommend the Omega One super veggie flake instead of the normal cichlid flake they make? as a staple diet.. looking for somethin i dont have to change for awhile...


I never used the veggie flakes though I'm sure it's a good food also. I feed my mbuna the regular cichlid flakes exclusively and consider it a balanced diet with every thing they need.


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## 660dave (Apr 30, 2013)

Mr2Good said:


> 660dave said:
> 
> 
> > You can get NLS flakes, not tried them myself though. It says they are for smaller fish, maybe not suitable idk.
> ...


They are here on the NLS website, about halfway down. Look to be readily available from retailers (in UK and US) 
*vendor link removed*


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

THANKS ALOT PEOPLE'S! ILL UPDATE THREAD WITH THE FOOD I END UP GOIN WITH.. MAYBE A VID TO TEST THE CLOUDINESS...


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## fishing12 (Dec 15, 2012)

The NLS Flakes I have are 49% Protein, good for my Haps not so sure for the Mbuna.


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## Allan01230 (May 23, 2013)

Nls carries the flakes you could have your lfs order them or go to their website *vendor link removed* 
I used to have a promblem with dust until I started feeding every other day and a smaller amount. Use the 1mm pellets for fish up to 5 inches. This stuff is highly concentrated thus a little goes a long way.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

I just switched to DRAF flakes. My fish *love them* and I don't see a lot of waste buildup in the water from them. I also use some spirulina flakes. My feeding regime is flakes in the AM and NLS 1MM pellets in the PM. On light days (2 times a week) either flakes or pellets only that day. And one day of fasting.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Just a quick thought... Do you have enough filtration? Looks as if you have plenty of surface agitation. Seems odd you have so much food dust that the tank is hard to look at.

Or maybe try soaking your pellets for a minute, draining the water and then feed. May aid in removing food dust.


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

I have always considered feeding time just a few minutes to expect things to be floating around a little haphazardly. Stuff just get stirred up when everyone is chasing down the food. It is especially noticeable on our F. rostratus tank, as they throw sand everywhere looking for pellets that may have reached the bottom.

Iggy might be on to something though. Everything normally settles back down in our tanks within 15 minutes of feeding.

Either way, I wouldn't want to feed our mbuna a flake with 49% protein.


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

Odd, I feed NlS 1 mm formula and it doesn't cloud the water up at all. Sure, the fish may kick up some poop when darting around during feeding, but I've never experienced any cloudiness from dust coming in with the pellets.

In addition to Omega One which someone previously mentioned, you could also try HBH 8 Veggie Flake.


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

letsgoflyers6387 said:


> Odd, I feed NlS 1 mm formula and it doesn't cloud the water up at all. Sure, the fish may kick up some poop when darting around during feeding, but I've never experienced any cloudiness from dust coming in with the pellets.
> 
> In addition to Omega One which someone previously mentioned, you could also try HBH 8 Veggie Flake.


I feed Primarily Dianichi Pellets and Growth NLS pellets for the lttle guys and I too have never seen a clouding issue, are the pellets sitting being uneaten? I know the very botton can have some power but nothing like the end of a container of flakes.

Curious.


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## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

Sorry for the delayed response people. I have 1 fluval fx5 for my 90 gallon according to the flow rate it should be plenty enough. Ill try soaking pellets and feeding smaller amounts to see f that helps. I agree I don't want high protein flakes. I'm goin to try the omega one super vegi flakes. I believe that's the name. But imma use the rest of these pellets first. Can't waste money lol. Thanks for all the responses this site is the best !! :dancing:


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I get a fair bit of cloudiness while feeding NLS 1mm. In my case, it has to do with the amount of pellets being introduced into the tank, as it's heavily stocked. The cloudiness isn't so much from the food as it is from the fish being messy (and gluttonous) eaters.


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Don't soak the food, the water will quickly dissolve vitamins and decrease the nutritional value.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You should not have cloudy water unless you are drastically over feeding or your filtration is not good enough.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

b3w4r3 said:


> Don't soak the food, the water will quickly dissolve vitamins and decrease the nutritional value.


Is this true? How quickly?


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Is this true? How quickly?


The food contains water soluble minerals and vitamins. Some may be lost due to processing, but I'm sure that quality foods add them back in some way. How quickly they dissolve depends on the chemical in question really, but I don't see the point in soaking food for any amount of time.
Plus soaked food would probably make more mess as it doesn't hold together as well.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I understand what you're saying.

I've had to soak pellets in water with Metro. The pellets stayed true to form. Softer, but not falling apart. They did not turn to mush. Even then I did not experience what the OP is.


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