[JessiLou]

After all the advice on here, I ordered NLS for my fish. They seem to really like it but.....it sinks so fast and I think it confuses them. I got the NLS cichlid formula 1mm sinking pellets. I notice my tank is getting covered in a brown dust. Is this from uneaten pellets? They are used to floating pellets and flake. I am not over feeding them. I am actually worried that I am underfeeding them. I have seen the two fry (probably not considered fry anymore) actually eat a pellet or two but I still crush a little flake to make sure they get enough. I put a pinch of the NLS on each side of the tank and they go nuts, but it sinks so fast and most of them don't go after it on the bottom. I have never been able to figure out how much I should be feeding my fish. I have 26 mbuna in my tank the biggest being about 3 inches. I know you should feed them only what they can eat in a certain time, but could someone give me a rough idea of an actual amount of the 1mm pellets so I know if I am even close to the right amount? I don't mean an actual count of the pellets, I mean in tsps or such unless you know how many of these pellets each one should eat lol I know this is a real newbie question, but I have never known if I was feeding the right amount.

 

[kingpoiuy]

When i had sinking pellets I would drop only 2 or 3 at a time. Usually the most hungry fish back off after a while and the next will come in and get some. If you do it right nothing will make it to the bottom.

 

[Joels fish]

If your tank hasn't been up and running long then the brown stuff is likely Diatom algea. It's a pain to control in a new tank but normally goes away on it's own after a while. fish get their fill . Giving them flake with the pellets might be part of the issue since it stays put(more or less) and is easier to get compaired to the pellets. You can try just giving them pellets for a while and see if that helps. As far as the amount to feed , well I would start out with half of what your feeding them (your not going to starve them while you figure this out) and adjust that amount untill food starts being left uneaten. You realy want to avoid food sitting on the bottom for more than just a little bit ie. maybe 30 min. there is no set amount to feed your fish , it all depends on their appetite. Hope that helps a little

 

[JessiLou]

thanks for the help. The tank has been cycled and stocked for 7 months now. I already went through the brown stuff lol. Not sure what this is but my substrate and my rocks have brown dust on them now and it does look like when the tank was new. The only reason I have still been adding some flake is because I have babies in the tank and they are not getting to the pellets in time very often.