New Life Spectrum - Advice Please

I've finally found a NLS stockist in the UK. Now I need to work out which is best for my fish, from the bewildering array of choices! 0.5mm, 1mm, community, etc...

I have the following in my main tank:

- 10 harlequin rasboras
- 6 albino corydoras
- 1 dwarf gourami

Can anyone advise on which size pellets and type I should go for? Thanks in advance!

I am currently feeding TetraMin flakes, plus HikarI sinking wafers and catfish pellets (I think they're shrimp pellets) for the cories. Should I carry on with the cory food or do NLS pellets replace this? Also do I need to do a gradual switch from TetraMin or can I just start feeding NLS?

 

I think it would probably be okay to switch foods right away, but it wouldn't hurt to do it gradually. (i.e. feed x many NLS pellets and x many TetraMin until you totally use NLS)

 

I agree with switching gradually. I would go with the .5 or micro because of the corydoras. I have 1mm and have to soak/crush them first.

 

Brilliant, thanks so much. I'll order the 0.5mm and do a gradual switchover.

Do I still need to feed the cories separately? Or will I be duplicating with their pellets?

Any thoughts on Thera-A versus the normal formula?

 

What do you mean by feed them separately?

 

Sorry, I meant should I add shrimp pellets as well as NLS pellets to make sure the cories get fed properly (as currently I am feeding flake food, and was advised to give cories their own food of shrimp pellets or shrimp wafers too). Hope I've explained that right!

 

You don't need to feed them seperately, but they need something for them like the pellets that will sink to the bottom. I would only add 1 kind of pellet each feeding. I have to net my bettas when I add pellets, they like to eat them, not sure what your gourami will do. My glofish tetra's like to play football with the pellets, so I follow this procedure:

1. I presoak the pellets for 10mins (the corydoras like when they break up and can sift for the pieces)
2. Net the bettas
3. Spread flakes on one side
4. Drop the presoaked pellets on the other side

My fish have kind of gotten used to this, so it works well for me. My bettas go right into the nets each time without a hassle. I know gouramis can have similar beahvior which is why I'm bringing it up. Let me know if anything else would help, haha.

 

Thanks, that's really helpful! The gourami doesn't tend to be too bad (or maybe I just overfeed haha) so most of the shrimp pellets I use at the moment make it to the bottom. But that might be because he's distracted with the flakes.

Would it work to just feed NLS pellets for everyone, and then drop in a few HikarI sinking wafers just for the cories? (no-one else really bothers with these)

 

Are you saying all pellets and no flakes for anyone? I would think your gourami and rasboras need flakes, but I haven't owned the latter. Are the wafers animal protein based? They (corydoras) are omnivorous, so need both animal and plant protein.

 

I have Nls 1mm because they didn’t have the .5 when I went to buy it. I keep some pellets whole for my cories so they sink, and I crush some and add some flake for the tetras so it floats and goes to the mid section.

 

I have Nls 1mm because they didn’t have the .5 when I went to buy it. I keep some pellets whole for my cories so they sink, and I crush some and add some flake for the tetras so it floats and goes to the mid section.

Hmmm... When I crush they still sink, so maybe experiment a little?

 

Yes, I was planning to stop doing flakes altogether and just doing pellets. The NLS seems to be intended for all community fish including rasboras and gouramis (there's a picture of a dwarf gourami on one of the packets so I assume it's OK!). The HikarI wafers are protein-based.

 

I think if you get the .5mm NLS Thera A+ pellets, the entire tank will be able to eat them just fine. I have the 1mm but some float a little longer than others so the top/mid/bottom dwellers all get their fair share.

 

Hmmm... When I crush they still sink, so maybe experiment a little?

I had to experiment a lot!
The crushed parts do eventually sink or get pushed around by the filter, but the cories get their share with them whole.

 

I think the .5 would be good. If they don't stay up long enough, just crush some of them. They should stay up long enough at that point. What kind of wafers do you use? I can only seem to find algae ones.

 

I think if you get the .5mm NLS Thera A+ pellets, the entire tank will be able to eat them just fine. I have the 1mm but some float a little longer than others so the top/mid/bottom dwellers all get their fair share.

Thanks el337, that's very helpful. Can I ask why Thera A+ rather than the standard ones? They are the same price so happy to get either, just not sure which is best for regular use.

IndigoTJo I use HikarI Sinking Wafers as they seemed to be the most widely recommended cory wafers. They dissolve slowly so the cories have plenty of time to eat them, and they seem to love them

 

Thanks el337, that's very helpful. Can I ask why Thera A+ rather than the standard ones? They are the same price so happy to get either, just not sure which is best for regular use.

IndigoTJo I use HikarI Sinking Wafers as they seemed to be the most widely recommended cory wafers. They dissolve slowly so the cories have plenty of time to eat them, and they seem to love them

Thanks! I'll look for them. I would look at the back and check ingredients, but hopefully el337 knows for you ;p

 

Can I ask why Thera A+ rather than the standard ones?

I guess I like the Thera A+ as it contains garlic which is supposed to boost their immune system.

HikarI sinking wafers are ok though I wouldn't feed them as a staple. The first ingredient listed is fish meal which is just fillers. If you're going to feed a stable, I'd consider Omega One shrimp pellets as well as frozen shrimp and bloodworms 1-2x a week. Cories are mostly carnivorous.

 

The HikarI sinking wafers are definitely available on your side of the pond One of the few things we have on both sides!

I've looked up the info on the NLS website and it seems to indicate that the Thera A is for times when an additional immunity boost might be needed, e.g. moving to a new tank. The "standard" one seems to be intended for everyday use. I don't know if the Thera A is fine for everyday use as surely a bit of a boost in immunity is never a bad thing. But then why not just have that one? So confusing...

Edit: sorry crossed posts with you el337! Thanks, that helps me work things out. I will probably get the Thera-A. I didn't know that about the HikarI wafers, I'll look into the alternatives. I do give frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp once a week each.

 

I should clarify that a varied diet of quality food is always best. So you could do NLS pellets twice a week for everyone, flakes/wafers or shrimp pellets 2-3x a week and frozen food twice a week.

 

I also mix up my foods, different pellets, occasional flakes, live, fresh veggies. I would do the .5mm as well, the 1 is a bit larger then you would think....