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feeding times? foods?

farm41

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monroe, or
I have been feeding most of my fish once a day, barbs, tetras, corys, bristlenose and loaches. Will this be alright for the apistos? Or, do they require different care? I'm using frozen bloodworms and flake right now. What do you think about live tubifex? Some people say they're fine and some say they carry disease. I feed live tubifex a couple of times a month and haven't had any problems yet.
 

Neil

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farm41,
I am from the school that prefers to feed less food, but more often and vary the diet as much as possible. But the routine you have is fine. You can read Dwarf Cichlid Nutrition on Apistogramma.com for different ideas or any number of other good articles on feeding. Tubiflex worms should be fine, as long as they are cleaned WELL. It only takes one bad batch to cause all kinds of problems with your fish. If you have a reputable source for them and you run water over them for a day or two yourself you cut down the chances for any "bad guys" being introduced into your tank.
Neil
 

farm41

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monroe, or
Thanks Neil,

When I get them I rinse everyday, I've got one of those special worm containers with the strainer. I picked up some fresh live daphnia yesterday, they are a favorite I think, most of my fish seem to really go for them. This time of year the production is really slow, I have to get lucky to get them, I'm 15 miles out of town so I can't just stop at the lfs everyday. In the summer they have them every time I stop.
 

aspen

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toronto, canada
i use hikari frozen tubufex for by discus babies and feel quite secure just shaving them off and putting them in for my fingernail- sized discus. i would be real careful about using live tubifex, but if you are confident about the source, then it is up to you. tubifex are grown in chicken sh##, and carry all kinds of nasties. be aware you may have a problem, but these types of wormy foods cannot be beat for ease of digestion and nutrition. btw, the hikari brand are triple sterilised and vitamin enriched.

california blackworms are a better choice and can be cultured yourself. when you do it yourself, you KNOW what goes into your fish.

rick
 

Cichlids1

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240
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Central Ohio
I agree. California Blackworms get the award from my fish. They show colors you just don't see everyday when they are chasing the worms around. Live food = lively fish. Also seems to be a good trigger for most of my apistos. Feed them live blackworms for a couple days, and by the end of the week, I've got eggs somewhere in the tanks.

Aspen, have you cultured them before? I was doing some reading on them and gave it a try last summer. Very s-l-o-w process. After about 3 months, the culture might have grown by 25%. I'm used to whiteworms, grindal worms, and microworms...after a couple days you can already see a difference.
 

farm41

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Location
monroe, or
I have bought california blackworms direct from Aquatic Foods before, it says right on the paperwork that comes with it that various times of the year different kinds of worms may be mixed with the blackworms. I assume that means tubifex.
 

aspen

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toronto, canada
blackworms

no, i've never tried to culture them, i've only realised it was possible recently. i am not an old hand in the hobby and am learning things as i go along, but the safe use of live foods is something a good aquarist has to learn. and i guess also the proper treatment of your prized fish when he comes down with something from this practice. there are advantages and disadvantages to live foods. you cannot grow a better fish imo, than with live, then frozen food. when you grow them yourself, then you know what went into them, and whether they are sick or 'not good'. the food you feed the food source is the most important part of them, isn't it? so far i have been moderately successful at brine shrimp, and red wrigglers. i make my own beefheart mix for my discus, and feed mostly frozen food, very little dry.

i had a link to an article about culturing blackworms and will post it when i can find it.

rick
 

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