Comparing malawi flakes to pellet food

[krakena_9]

Hey guys, I've been experiencing some fish loss lately due to malawi bloat.
I've been feeding them Hikari cichlid excel and Gold as pellets, along with Seachem nutri fluffnut, chlorella flakes, and nutrifluffnut cichlid flakes + Xtreme krill flakes.
I'm thinking of trying something new - feeding them only flakes. Maybe the pelleted food is causing the bloat.

Will they be fine on just flakes, or do they need pellets too?
I don't think I'm overfeeding, but I've heard it's easy to do. I used to feed twice a day and the food's always gone quickly.
I've heard mixed reviews about Hikari food - some people love it, others don't.
I'm gonna try Northfin cichlid formula and veggie version soon.
If I do give them Hikari pellets, I'll only feed once a day.

The main question is - is a diet of just flakes (like Seachem nutri fluffnut) + Frozen Spinach and frozen mysis once a week enough?
I do 30% water changes three times a week, and my pH is around 7.8 - 8.0.

[Giggletons]

Hey guys, I've been experiencing some fish loss lately due to malawi bloat.
I've been feeding them Hikari cichlid excel and Gold as pellets, along with Seachem nutri fluffnut, chlorella flakes, and nutrifluffnut cichlid flakes + Xtreme krill flakes.
I'm thinking of trying something new - feeding them only flakes. Maybe the pelleted food is causing the bloat.

Will they be fine on just flakes, or do they need pellets too?
I don't think I'm overfeeding, but I've heard it's easy to do. I used to feed twice a day and the food's always gone quickly.
I've heard mixed reviews about Hikari food - some people love it, others don't.
I'm gonna try Northfin cichlid formula and veggie version soon.
If I do give them Hikari pellets, I'll only feed once a day.

The main question is - is a diet of just flakes (like Seachem nutri fluffnut) + Frozen Spinach and frozen mysis once a week enough?
I do 30% water changes three times a week, and my pH is around 7.8 - 8.0.

I think the bloat might be due to the flakes not being soaked, soaking them beforehand could make a difference, or maybe switching to sinking pellets could help too.

[krakena_9]

Hey guys, I've been experiencing some fish loss lately due to malawi bloat.
I've been feeding them Hikari cichlid excel and Gold as pellets, along with Seachem nutri fluffnut, chlorella flakes, and nutrifluffnut cichlid flakes + Xtreme krill flakes.
I'm thinking of trying something new - feeding them only flakes. Maybe the pelleted food is causing the bloat.

Will they be fine on just flakes, or do they need pellets too?
I don't think I'm overfeeding, but I've heard it's easy to do. I used to feed twice a day and the food's always gone quickly.
I've heard mixed reviews about Hikari food - some people love it, others don't.
I'm gonna try Northfin cichlid formula and veggie version soon.
If I do give them Hikari pellets, I'll only feed once a day.

The main question is - is a diet of just flakes (like Seachem nutri fluffnut) + Frozen Spinach and frozen mysis once a week enough?
I do 30% water changes three times a week, and my pH is around 7.8 - 8.0.

I think the bloat might be due to the flakes not being soaked, soaking them beforehand could make a difference, or maybe switching to sinking pellets could help too.

Forgot to mention that i always soak the pellets, but never did with the flakes, so i'm curious, are you saying that soaking flakes could also make a difference?

[Giggletons]

Hey guys, I've been experiencing some fish loss lately due to malawi bloat.
I've been feeding them Hikari cichlid excel and Gold as pellets, along with Seachem nutri fluffnut, chlorella flakes, and nutrifluffnut cichlid flakes + Xtreme krill flakes.
I'm thinking of trying something new - feeding them only flakes. Maybe the pelleted food is causing the bloat.

Will they be fine on just flakes, or do they need pellets too?
I don't think I'm overfeeding, but I've heard it's easy to do. I used to feed twice a day and the food's always gone quickly.
I've heard mixed reviews about Hikari food - some people love it, others don't.
I'm gonna try Northfin cichlid formula and veggie version soon.
If I do give them Hikari pellets, I'll only feed once a day.

The main question is - is a diet of just flakes (like Seachem nutri fluffnut) + Frozen Spinach and frozen mysis once a week enough?
I do 30% water changes three times a week, and my pH is around 7.8 - 8.0.

Yeah, that's right, flakes have air in them too.

[graye]

I'd advise against soaking flakes - they'll just disintegrate. Take a closer look at the fibre content of the foods you're offering and do a brand comparison. Herbivores need a good amount of fibre in their diet, but it's often lacking in commercial foods. I've never fed pellets to my Malawis, and I've kept and bred several tanks of them over the years. I always made sure to give them the highest fibre foods available at the time.

Bloat isn't directly caused by air, it's usually a sign of dropsy, fluid retention, or gas buildup from their diet. Mbuna are naturally adapted to eat 'aufwuchs' - the algae and tiny creatures within it. They're similar to mollies in that sense. The creatures in the algae gardens have shells, which provide the necessary roughage to help move food through their system. They need that roughage to stay healthy.

[krakena_9]

I'd advise against soaking flakes - they'll just disintegrate. Take a closer look at the fibre content of the foods you're offering and do a brand comparison. Herbivores need a good amount of fibre in their diet, but it's often lacking in commercial foods. I've never fed pellets to my Malawis, and I've kept and bred several tanks of them over the years. I always made sure to give them the highest fibre foods available at the time.

Bloat isn't directly caused by air, it's usually a sign of dropsy, fluid retention, or gas buildup from their diet. Mbuna are naturally adapted to eat 'aufwuchs' - the algae and tiny creatures within it. They're similar to mollies in that sense. The creatures in the algae gardens have shells, which provide the necessary roughage to help move food through their system. They need that roughage to stay healthy.

Thanks for the info graye, i will stop feeding pellets from now on. I keep Aulonocara and Lethrinops, so i'll look into high fibre foods for them.

[graye]

I'm just one voice among many, and I think it's essential to gather more information before making a decision. When considering others' advice, look for those who provide clear explanations and reasoning behind their suggestions. It's not about blindly following conclusions, but rather understanding the thought process. We often find ourselves contradicting one another, and that's where critical thinking comes in.

I've had experience with Aulonacara, but my previous post was mainly focused on mbuna.

[krakena_9]

I think i've found the issue with my bloat problem. It's probably the large pellet size i was using - 3mm. I've heard that pellets over 3mm are better suited for bigger malawis like haps.

I've switched to Northfin krill pro 2mm and will be feeding those along with flakes until i get my hands on Northfin cichlid formula and veggie formula.

Does anyone know if 3-3.4mm pellets are too big for Aulonocara, causing bloat if they eat too many at once?