Lake Tanganyika Species • Fish too small for 1mm NLS Pellet

[gschultz0]

My brichardi seem to be spitting out the NLS 1mm pellets. I’ve heard that it will take time for them to accept the pellets after eating flake food, so I imagine the larger brichardi will eventually accept them. However, I have smaller 1-1.5 inch brichardi that are also rejecting them. Are they too small to eat the 1mm pellets, or will they also accept them in time?

[DJRansome]

I have had fish 1" or 1.5" eat the pellets without a problem.

For your 1" or under fish you could try crushing the pellets a little.

Were they used to eating flakes before?

[sir_keith]

If they're happy eating flakes, why fuss with pellets? All my Tanganyikans eat primarily flakes, with only occasional feedings of pellets.

[gschultz0]

I have had fish 1" or 1.5" eat the pellets without a problem.

For your 1" or under fish you could try crushing the pellets a little.

Were they used to eating flakes before?

Thanks for the reply. They were eating Tetra Cichlid Flakes, but I’m worried it has too many fillers.

[gschultz0]

If they're happy eating flakes, why fuss with pellets? All my Tanganyikans eat primarily flakes, with only occasional feedings of pellets.

Thanks for the reply. They were eating Tetra Cichlid Flakes, but I’m worried it has too many fillers. Glad the flakes have been working for you. What brand are you using?

[sir_keith]

If they're happy eating flakes, why fuss with pellets? All my Tanganyikans eat primarily flakes, with only occasional feedings of pellets.

Thanks for the reply. They were eating Tetra Cichlid Flakes, but I’m worried it has too many fillers. Glad the flakes have been working for you. What brand are you using?

Where did you get the idea that flakes have more fillers than pellets? In nature most herbivorous and omnivorous fishes graze, and they never encounter a solid, concentrated food source like a pellet. For these fishes, I prefer flakes, especially vegetable-based flakes (I don't think I'm allowed to recommend a particular brand on this forum). For monster fishes, pellets make sense, but my Tanganyikans get small pellets only once or twice a week, and the rest of their diet consists of flakes and frozen food.

[punman]

I have used Northfin 0.5 mm or NLS 0.5 mm Grow, for fish that find 1 mm too big.
I have also crushed pellet food with a rolling pin or run through a pepper grinder for young fry.

[fishguy1978]

I feed Hikari Guppy 0.5-1.0mm pellets to my multies. I prefer the pellets to flake because they don't break down into dust as I grub through a container.