Feeding frozen vs dry

[Daniel36]

So my little buddy has been getting kinda picky these days. Been feeding him Hikari Cichlid Gold for awhile and he doesn’t go for it like he used too. I bought some sinking carnivore pellets and will try that too. I bought some frozen shrimp and he seemed to really like that but I’m thinking it’s not going to have all the nutrients the dry food can provide. He also enjoys the frozen blood worms I give him but I only do that 1-2 a week. So I guess my question is would he be ok if I gave him shrimp in a regular basis? Any advice would be great.

 

[tlindsey]

So my little buddy has been getting kinda picky these days. Been feeding him Hikari Cichlid Gold for awhile and he doesn’t go for it like he used too. I bought some sinking carnivore pellets and will try that too. I bought some frozen shrimp and he seemed to really like that but I’m thinking it’s not going to have all the nutrients the dry food can provide. He also enjoys the frozen blood worms I give him but I only do that 1-2 a week. So I guess my question is would he be ok if I gave him shrimp in a regular basis? Any advice would be great.

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I personally wouldn't feed shrimp to the FH as a staple but alternate into the feeding rotation with pellets. Shrimp will not provide the vitamins that are in most good brand fish foods and some soak shrimp in vitachem.

 

[Daniel36]

I personally wouldn't feed shrimp to the FH as a staple but alternate into the feeding rotation with pellets. Shrimp will not provide the vitamins that are in most good brand fish foods and some soak shrimp in vitachem.

Interesting, I’ll have to look into that vitachem, still very new to the hobby so I appreciate any tips and advice, thanks chief!

 

[Man-made Monsters]

Don’t ever feed cooked shrimp more then once a week to a Flowerhorn. If you do make sure it is chopped into thin short strips or very small cubes. Their stomachs can’t handle it very well otherwise. The shrimp daily is way too much protein! Their stomachs and intestines are not strong and easily get infections, bloated, or suffer anal prolapse. I would never feed carnivore food either. I have been keeping Flowerhorns since 2003. I would feed a pellet that is between 34-40% protein. If he doesn’t eat it the first day don’t feed him the next day, then try again the 3rd day. Don’t worry you aren’t hurting him by not feeding for a day or two. In fact, for an adult like you have, many Flowerhorn keepers will not feed their fish at least one day a week to help clear out their stomach and intestinal tract. Foods I feed include: Hikari Bio-Gold PLUS, New Life Spectrum Algeamax, occasional treats are Fluval Bug Bites, Cooked Shrimp(prepared as described above), Cooked and chopped crab with fresh kelp. Vitachem is an amazing product and you can soak pellets in it for a nutritional boost for your Flowerhorn.

 

[Daniel36]

Don’t ever feed cooked shrimp more then once a week to a Flowerhorn. If you do make sure it is chopped into thin short strips or very small cubes. Their stomachs can’t handle it very well otherwise. The shrimp daily is way too much protein! Their stomachs and intestines are not strong and easily get infections, bloated, or suffer anal prolapse. I would never feed carnivore food either. I have been keeping Flowerhorns since 2003. I would feed a pellet that is between 34-40% protein. If he doesn’t eat it the first day don’t feed him the next day, then try again the 3rd day. Don’t worry you aren’t hurting him by not feeding for a day or two. In fact, for an adult like you have, many Flowerhorn keepers will not feed their fish at least one day a week to help clear out their stomach and intestinal tract. Foods I feed include: Hikari Bio-Gold PLUS, New Life Spectrum Algeamax, occasional treats are Fluval Bug Bites, Cooked Shrimp(prepared as described above), Cooked and chopped crab with fresh kelp. Vitachem is an amazing product and you can soak pellets in it for a nutritional boost for your Flowerhorn.

You’ve given me a lot of good stuff here and I really appreciate it. I’ll give this a try and see what happens. He seems very active and interactive when I walk by the tank. He just makes me so happy and I want to make sure I’m doing good by him. Just to clarify cooked shrimp is preferred over raw? Thanks for the help!