Feeding my cichlids

C

chefj

Registered Member
Dec 28, 2005
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Hey there, I have a question or 2 about what kind of food is safe for cichlids to consume. For example what else could I feed my south/central americans besides feeder fish, beefheart, bloodworms, etc? I was wondering if anyone had used any other glandular meats such as liver, kidney, pork heart etc?

And what about my africans? same question applys
Anyone got any ideas?
 
I find that if you keep to a normal diet of bloodworm, normal flake and Spirulina flake it is fine.

But...

Try brine shimp flakes, shrimp pellets, and krill. Or the live options.

Even if you can find a type of food that contains the right
proportions of all needed vitamins, proteins, fats and fibre for
your cichlids it is adviceable to vary their diet. Cichlids
that have gotten used to eating a variation of foods are often more
resistant to various diseases than those who have been given the
same food for a long period of time.

However. Find out if they are carnivores, omnivores or herbivores. Cichlids can be 1 of the three. Each need meat but in different quantities (herbivores ned very little, carnivores need more). A good idea though is to keep spirulina as a basic staple large part of the diet.
 
i've never understood the thinking that "meat is magic". the commercial cichlid foods by such as Hikari, OSI, Marineland, Omega One and some others are in fact, more nutritious and healthy for your fish than those 'glandular' meats you're looking for info on. moreover, 'feeder' fish if you've been purchasing them at your LFS, are very often full of pathogens and parasites and depleted of any significant nutritional value. these feeders are almost always maintained in overstocked/crowded conditions where disease is rampant and food is cheap low quality stuff.

a great many cichlid species will succumb to 'fatty liver' disease if maintained on a diet which is too high in protein.

African cichlids, particularly those from Lake Malawi, are nearly strict vegetarians. a diet high in animal proteins will kill them as their digestive systems are not equipped to handle the load. think spirulina as the staple diet of African cichlids.
 
I feed mine twice MAYBE three times a week. On feeding day I give them a couple pinches of NLSpectrum cichlid pellets in the morning, around lunch I drop in a few flakes, and around 10 or 11 I will put a few more pinches of pellets before defrosting and adding a frozen cube, I think its called Cichlid treat or something. I also drop in shrimp pellets and algae wafers for my gold nugget which mostly get eaten by the peacocks.
 
i strongly oppose the use of any live food except when absolutely necessary. if they will take prepared foods thats all they should get. live foods can introduce parasites and disease, are not nutritionally complete, and make the animal itself more aggressive. i feed a mix of high quality pellets, and that is how i have gotten the best health and growth out of all my fish. (that and 50% weekly water changes.) new life spectrum will never ge tmy money again. their cichlid food claims to feed all herbivorous, omnivorous, and carnivorous cichlids (impossible). and if you compare the cichlid food to their goldfish food, you will see the ingredients are exactly the same and in the exact same order, and has the same nutritional facts. so not only does their magical cichlid food feed all cichlids, but goldfish as well. nto to mention the stuff is outrageously overpriced. i know many people swear by the stuff, but my hard earned money isnt going to a company that not only cant come up with different foods for their cichlids, but cant even come up with different foods for cichlids and goldfish. just for the record i think hikari is by far the best brand out there in my experience.
 
I get Hikari sometimes, it depends on what they have, my LFS only had jumbo pellets last time and I didnt feel like crumbling them. Like you said though if you look at the ingredients Spectrum isnt anything special but their claim is hormone free and high quality ingredients. They have a money back guarantee if you're not satisfied, just go to their website.

http://www.nlpublish.com/fishfood/
 
most LFSs should be happy to special order things for you. if you go through an 8.8oz pouch every two weeks or something, let them know to order one of whatever size pellet you want every two weeks. based on the results ive seen with hikari and the research i have read about them doing, i will gladly give them my hard earned money. if i could only buy fish food from one company it would gladly be hikari.
 
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