# What to feed my little friends



## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Here's what I have:

2 female guppies
2 gwarf gourami's
1 African orange crayfish
1 German Blue Ram Cichlid

I have TetraMin flakes and while the guppies and gourami's are liking it, crayfish could never get to the food. Blue Ram is getting some leftovers but he's not as active as the others.

I bought some Omega One freeze dried brine shrimp for a variety of food, they seem to create a mess although it clears up afterwards.

I'm concerned about my crayfish and Blue Ram, what I can feed them and especially the crayfish, he doesn't seem to have a chance to get any food! Please help, I want my little friends to be healthy and as happy as they can be.

Any sugestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

Don't worry about the crayfish when he gets hunger he will eat one of the fishes.


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## fly4awhiteguy (Dec 27, 2011)

+1. Crayfish are scavengers, and will eat whatever they can catch- including fish and live plants if you have any...they also will eat just about any fish food you put in there.. if you don't want to lose any of your fish it would be a good idea to keep him well fed. I feed my electric blue crayfish bloodworms and tetra pellets. I haven't really looked but I do believe there are other foods you can buy that are more specific to crayfish.


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks, should I get some pellets that suppose to sink to the bottom of the tank? I absolutely don't want to loose any fish in the tank.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

One of the best things you can do for all your fish and the crayfish too, would be to get them some live food. Micro worm cultures are really very easy to keep and nearly all fish love them. Very nutritious, but a bit fatty, so should not be fed daily to most fish. A few times a week is good. You can also use frozen brine shrimp or frozen blood worms, might want to chop the frozen lump of worms in a couple of pieces for the guppies to make smaller pieces perhaps. 

Omega One makes an excellent sinking pellet for algae eaters and also a shrimp pellet that sinks. Both are great, best I've ever used, hardly any flour or other messy binders in it to gunk up the water. The gouramis are omnivores, so they need both plant and animal foods.. they like algae, so an algae flake, like Omega Kelp flake, would be good for them too. But try to get some live foods for them a few times a week. The crayfish will like any sinking pellets, anything like worms and if he's not hungry he's not so likely to go hunting for fresh fish.


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Thank you for all the responses, I found these from Petsmart:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753181&lmdn=Brand

And this:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11268251&lmdn=Brand

And this:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3302106

Am I good to use "Super Kelp" as a general meal for all my fish in the tank? Then a few times a week with frozen worms? I look at the pic of the sinking shrimp pellets, they seem to look big. I wonder if it's okay for my crayfish since he's only about an inch in size?

I bought a small package of Hikari Cichlid Gold but even in baby pellet size, still too big for my fish.

It's funny how much I care about the food for my pets, including my 2 dogs. Me I just grab whatever


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Call me stupid, but how do I feed the fish with frozen bloodworms. They seem to come in individual packet size. Do I need to thaw the packet before dropping into the tank? What if the packet is too large for one meal, can I freeze it again after thawing?

Much appreciate your help.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

I buy the hikari bloodworms frozen in a big flat blcok and that way I can break off just as much as I need with a kitchen knife, I dont bother pre-thawing them, I find the juices in the water entice the fish to feed better, I just hold the frozen chunk at the surface and swirl it around allowing it to melt the bloodworms off.

the fish dont seem to mind.

for the individual packeted bloodwroms - i'd just use a knife or whaever to cut the frozen chunk to size and put the rest back in the package.

I also like feeding spirulina, and shrimp pellets, most of the fish go crazy for the shrimp pellets. 

as for regular every-day food, I'm a big fan of NLS pellets, I feed the .5mm and 1mm size, the little guys have an easier time with the .5mm and the big guys devour the 1mm.

the fish seem to respond better to variety for me, some days its bloodworms, others daphinia, others brine shrimp. I also tend to feed 3 times a day in smaller amounts - ie they eat ALL the food in 1 minute

hope that helps?


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

With the fish you have I wouldn't go crazy buying foods. 

Buy a good quality flake a pellet and mix it up from time to time. NLS as mentioned make great pellets.

The crayfish might like a frozen pea here and there. Just take it out of the shell.


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

best of luck with the crayfish. they can be NASTY... had a gorgeous electric blue (back in the days when i had a community tank). and the thing ate 7 of 20 something fish in a little over a week... he was given away lol. I'd come home to fish heads floating around my tank...

my wolf fish wasnt that aggressive lol. now i'm mainly cichlids  such a shame because the crayfish was something nice and different in the tank... I think mine was just a really good one off rogue hunting crayfish... he's stalk fish and chase them! 

Stupid me had it in a planted tank so there was easy access to most of the tank from plants too.


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks, I know they can be aggressive but didn't know they can be that nasty. I'll try to keep him happy then!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

The products you found at Petsmart are the exact same ones I feed my own fish and inverts.. I have had good luck with them, but they are not the only brand that's good and you should have a good flake food as well and then mix up the feedings from day to day to give variety. 

Omega One is simply a brand I have come to like and have had good success with. As for the bloodworms I usually pop one chunk out of the package and chop the lump in half. You can chop off just as much as you need and put the rest back in the freezer, but in a bag, because once the foil is cut it can leak a bit. Usually the chopped bit gets a bit mashed up but no matter really. 

I start with half a chunk I drop in the tank still frozen and it melts very fast and every body comes running to grab one as they drift away from the lump. Shrimp argue over them and will tear one in half, each shrimp getting a piece. Smaller fish will just gulp one down like a kid will with a piece of sphagetti. If all the worms disappear in less than a minute I will give them the other half as well. Bottom feeders like the worms too, but rarely get any unless I put some on the bottom for them, typically they're eaten long before they sink to the bottom. 

Since you have only a few fish, buy only the smaller packages of dry foods. Large containers may be cheaper per unit, but they will get too stale long before you use them up. You won't be using much per day with the number of fish you have. Only give them what they'll eat up in two or three minutes, so leftover food does not spoil and mess up the water.


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Thank you, I have a guy at work that I'm splitting food with him. I'm buying the smallest package I could find, but most of the time they are still too big.

I'll get some blooworms, I'm sure they will like it.


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Got some frozen blooworms and boy they like them to death!

I saw my crayfish grabbed one as it was failing down to the tank, lucky him. The cube melts quickly and they chase after them.

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I think you will find it well worth any added cost to feed good food, and I think that is true for any pet, of any kind. Feed it good stuff and you give it the best chance to thrive, look its best, with fish that's often seen as brighter colours and often stimulate more behaviours, including breeding. You are what you eat, after all.


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