# Frozen Fish Food - Feeding help



## Xathine (May 29, 2009)

So I decided to try and give our fish a frozen treat.

I went to the LFS and they gave me something.

There are no markings on the package, it comes in tiny cubes.

Anyways, I did a water change tonight, and a little while after I let the cube thaw and chopped it up and put it in.

It was WAYYYYYY to much, and out of my 3 fish, only one decided to eat 


Anyway, should I do a water change again? Or just wait until next week?

Also, I have a rainbow shark, upside down catfish, and a dalmatian molly.

The molly is the only one that every goes after the food. The other two normally just hide, and I haven't seen my shark eat in a few days.

What else should I try feeding him? I also noticed tonight that his colors are fading, and his fins are turning clear and are no longer the orange color 

I'd post up my tanks ph rating and all that but I don't have a tester


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

If you do not have a test kit to check ammonia and nitrite levels, I would do a water change.
I am thinking that your tank is a newly setup and posible not cycled?
Fading colors can be a sign of stress from poor water conditions. I would take some tank water to the store to be tested or buy an API test kit.


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## Xathine (May 29, 2009)

Twistersmom said:


> If you do not have a test kit to check ammonia and nitrite levels, I would do a water change.
> I am thinking that your tank is a newly setup and posible not cycled?
> Fading colors can be a sign of stress from poor water conditions. I would take some tank water to the store to be tested or buy an API test kit.


Alright I'll do a water change in the morning.

Our tank wasn't cycled before we put in fish (LFS advice) So I've been doing 15% water changes every couple of days. And every other change I vac the gravel.

When I do a change I put the de-chlorinizer in and some "cycle" stuff that helps establish the good bacteria needed to finish the cycle.

I'll get the water tested tomorrow as well.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

When doing a cycle with fish, I try to keep ammonia and nitrites under .25 ppm.
Sometimes I have had to do daily 50% water changes to keep everything under control till the cycle kicked in.
The water change and water test tomorrow sounds like a good plan.


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## Xathine (May 29, 2009)

So should I change the water more often? 

Or is 2-3 days with a 15% change good?

I won't be able to pickup the home test kit for a few weeks.


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## Xathine (May 29, 2009)

Should I continue putting this "cycle" stuff in?

Or should I just do stright water?


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

I would do 25% daily until you get a test kit. You want ammonia less than .5 and nitrite less than .25.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

The cycle product is said to sometimes be helpful but not always.
It will not harm anything buy adding it, so the choice to use it is yours to make.
Milkailas water change schedule sounds good. If you get your water tested today, try to post your results.
If ammonia or nitrites are extremely high, a larger water change may be needed.


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## Xathine (May 29, 2009)

Alright thanks guys.

I ended up doing a 50% change last night, and a 20% change this afternoon.

I'll continue doing 25% changes daily until I can get the at home test kit.

I took my water to the LPS, they didn't give me any numbers just told me I was low on good bacteria and needed to add my of the product "cycle" when I do my water changes ><


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## Oldman47 (Sep 7, 2007)

If they are telling you the bacteria is low, they mean the water quality is terrible. A 50% daily change until you get your own liquid type testing kit. I expect that you will see your fish perk up quite a bit very quickly. The cycle product is a waste of money for you but a real income producer for the LFS. You need a good dechlorinator for water changes and try to get a reasonable temperature match with your tank water.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

Unless you have one heck of alot of fish in a tank those small cubes of frozen foods will be wasted and aid in fouling up your water. Thaw it ahead with a little tank water and use a syring next time to deliver very small amounts and don't give more until they consum it all, Most all fish that has never had frozen foods before will take a few times before readily devouring it. You are not suppose to do any gravel vacumming during a cycle, The most of your beneficial backteria grows in your gravel, But since you have so much frozen waste I would only do a skim of the gravel to only collect the wasted food particals, nothing else, During a cycle limit your feeding as much as possible... The product "Cycle" is a waste of money, If you have the extra money and don't care then use it.... If you don't have a test kit then you need to do at the very least 25% water changes every day, maybe even more, depending on how many fish you have in the tank and its size, Ammonia is bad and nitites are even worse, When the fish store did your tests you should have asked them for the results, Especially the ammonia and nitrite readings, Then you could have had some idea of where your cycle is at,


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree with what has already been said - keep up the daily water changes and get yourself a good liquid test kit as soon as possible. I like the API Freshwater Master Test Kit as it has a nice balance between user friendliness and accuracy. In the meantime, keep up those water changes. Get your water tested at the store but make sure they're using a liquid kit or electronic probes rather than paper strips. Ask them for specific numbers for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as this will indicate how far along your cycle is.

I would hold off on feeding messy foods like the frozen foods (likely bloodworms, brine shrimp or tubifex if they're coming in those cubes) during the cycling process. Frozen foods are a nice treat but aren't required for the species you're keeping. Messy foods just provide more ammonia which is the thing you're combating through this whole cycling process.

Also, your shark needs a diet heavy in vegetable matter so offering him spirulina enriched tablets or flakes and fresh vegetables will be a nice supplement to his diet.


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