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NLS cichlid formula or Thera A


Cichlidrookie12

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I used to feed Thera A as it had garlic but the red residue that NLS food leaves behind has made me change 

as a food it is very good and the fish grew and coloured well plus found it palatable,

just didn't like the residue clean up in the substrate and filters

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NLS cichlid is an awesome all in one food. Thera might have elevated levels of some of more expensive suppliment ingredients, but the standard NLS range is already a 5 star food. My favorite concentrated food. The trick to reducing powder with quality finely ground pellets is to feed a smaller size pellet to reduce "chew and spew".

The Ocean Nutrition range has a softer pellet which is preferred by some cichlid species.

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I will be the controversial one and say that I do not like NLS.  

NLS produces waste which is very hard to on the filtration system, the fish may love it and it may be good for them but the sticky filth it produces is not worth the hassle.

Dainichi, Extreme, Sera and even Hikari are much better alternatives in my opinion.

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I think there's a double etched sword with NLS. The breakdown is annoying, but you can do simple things to minimise the output by doing what AOA said and feeding a smaller pellet. You can also use a floating feeding station to ensure less pellets stay in the water column thereby reducing breakdown. On a good note, that fast breakdown is also a benefit to the fish as it can virtually guarantee the pellet won't be swallowed and then expand in the stomach causing bloat. This is likely one of the reasons why less fish like herbivores with longer intestines don't have digestion problems with the food.

Dainichi appears to have overcome this issue to some extent whether intentionally or not and I'd put it to the use of clay they've incorporated into the recipe.

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I don't think pellet size is going to help, waste is waste and fish living in waste is counter intuitive, all for a supposed healthier food.  I also will say in my opinion healthier fish on NLS is debatable, Dainichi and Extreme are not exactly cheap, give the same results colour wise but are much easier on your filter and maintenance.

Each to their own but after 3 years of feeding NLS and some debate with Buccal, I bit the bullet and had to say the kid was right, my fish look just as healthy and colourful. :-)

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14 hours ago, PlecoSam said:

I don't think pellet size is going to help, waste is waste and fish living in waste is counter intuitive, all for a supposed healthier food.  I also will say in my opinion healthier fish on NLS is debatable, Dainichi and Extreme are not exactly cheap, give the same results colour wise but are much easier on your filter and maintenance.

Each to their own but after 3 years of feeding NLS and some debate with Buccal, I bit the bullet and had to say the kid was right, my fish look just as healthy and colourful. :-)

Waste is waste, but there is no point feeding a pellet bigger than what a fish can digest only to spit it out back and forth until it can swallow it. This kind of waste is redundant and wouldn't otherwise be present by feeding a properly sized food :wink2:. It wouldn't matter what food you use if you follow this practice you will always reduce the wastage.

If you think Dainichi doesn't leech waste either you're mistaken... just because you may not see it doesn't mean it isn't leaching organics into the water. Don't believe me? Why do you think they say don't soak the food? Brings back the point of feeding the right size pellet so most of the nutrition ends up eaten by the fish, rather than in the water. 

I don't have a food preference and have tried many types. The main difference I find is the ingredient ratios giving different colour intensities and vibrance across different colour spectrums. The physical effect of food waste I'd consider fairly negligible personally. If you've got enough mechanical filtration you should never really get much particle buildup in the water column and regular water changes/sponge cleaning should take care it anyway.

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Waste is not always waste though.... just because food is swallowed doesn't mean it is consumed. Quite a high percentage of fish poo will contain perfectly good food which is why some people run scavenger fish in tanks. Hate seeing fish waste go to waste. 

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By the time a bit of fish poop hits the ocean floor, its usually been through the guts of more than a few fish. As to its make up, well poop is usually mostly dead cells. If its not, its likely the fish is unable to digest that food, or it has gut issues. Its common to find undigestable fecal matter in aquariums, and it can be everything from bone meal to quartz sand.

 

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