PDA

View Full Version : Best food for mbuna's?


MbunaFishKeeper
05-30-2007, 2:39 PM
I was just wondering if anyone could recommend a good food for Mbunas.
Nolapete
05-30-2007, 3:17 PM
They are mostly herbivores, so a vegetable based diet is best. Flakes or pellet food enriched with spirulina is a good staple. Fully defrosted frozen peas, carrots, zucchini, spinach, and romaine lettuce are good as well.

DON'T feed them protein based foods...no live food or frozen brine shrimp, worms, beefheart, etc.
GirlieGirl8521
05-30-2007, 4:24 PM
Alot of people feed NLS Cichlid pellets, which I don't think have much protein. I use them more as a supplement though and feed mostly Veggie flakes.
rosita
05-30-2007, 4:38 PM
They are mostly herbivores, so a vegetable based diet is best. Flakes or pellet food enriched with spirulina is a good staple. Fully defrosted frozen peas, carrots, zucchini, spinach, and romaine lettuce are good as well.

DON'T feed them protein based foods...no live food or frozen brine shrimp, worms, beefheart, etc.

This is great advice. You can also get the Hikari frozen veggie mix. Mbuna are very susceptible to "Malawi Bloat," which can be deadly, and is from too much protein. My mbuna thrived on this kind of diet, growing very healthy.
African Dick
05-30-2007, 4:56 PM
Isn't Spirulina like 70 percent protein??
mee-mee
05-30-2007, 5:42 PM
This is what spirulina is...

http://www.naturalways.com/spirul1.htm

It is more healthy for fish, because it has more amino acids than real beef does.....:) that is why it is highly recommended for herbivore fish....:)

NolaPete is correct about the spirulina...All foods made for cichlids that have this in it are the best for cichlids that are herbivores...He is one smart cookie...
Coler
05-30-2007, 6:18 PM
New Life Spectrum all the way
mee-mee
05-30-2007, 6:32 PM
We are waiting for all of our cichlid food to run out and then we switch to Omega and New Life Spectrum.....:)
legendaryfrog
05-30-2007, 7:09 PM
I've seen on youtube mbuna's go crazy over seaweed.
mee-mee
05-30-2007, 7:13 PM
Yeah, they give the cichlids at our LFS seaweed salad..:)
Nolapete
05-30-2007, 11:29 PM
That's why you don't give them pure spirulina. The problem isn't protein though. It's the ANIMAL protein and fat. Their systems are not designed to break down those. In the wild, they mostly scrape algae off of rocks all day.
MbunaFishKeeper
05-31-2007, 4:45 AM
Thanks for all your help.
mostlycichlids
05-31-2007, 1:05 PM
algae and spirilla I use HBH mostly! www.hbhpet.com
mostlycichlids
05-31-2007, 1:08 PM
Heres what I use for my Mbuma along with some live now and then!
African Dick
05-31-2007, 4:21 PM
That's why you don't give them pure spirulina. The problem isn't protein though. It's the ANIMAL protein and fat. Their systems are not designed to break down those. In the wild, they mostly scrape algae off of rocks all day.


Now this makes sense because Spirulina is very high in protein.
DeRo316
06-01-2007, 10:06 AM
I feed mine NLS/Hikari pellets, SuperSoft spirulina, chopped zucchini, spinach & lettuce shreds(microwaved in water for a few secs). I'll toss in 5 or so danios every now and then, they gradually disappear.
MbunaFishKeeper
06-01-2007, 10:47 AM
thanks!
fgump
06-01-2007, 5:38 PM
My little mbuna's like the seaweed salad. One of my bumblee cichlids has recently stopped eating. So I've been trying different foods, and the seaweed salad is the only thing it'll eat. And since I've introduced that, my other fish have stopped eating the other foods also!

None of pet stores around here sell New Life Spectrum, so I haven't been able to try that yet. Anybody know of a good place to order it online?

Also, why is the first ingredient in most of the 'veggie' foods fish meal? I've only found one food, Omega One, at my local pet stores where the first ingredient isn't an animal product. And half of my fish are strictly herbivores!
pnchowdary
06-02-2007, 9:40 AM
There are a lot of online places that you can get NLs from. Here are some of them

http://stores.ebay.com/GoFish-Aquarium-Supplies_Fish-Food_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ1QQtZkm


http://www.amazon.com/NEW-LIFE-INTERNATIONAL-10-6-CICHLID/dp/B0002E7IRW

Hope that this helps you get started.



My little mbuna's like the seaweed salad. One of my bumblee cichlids has recently stopped eating. So I've been trying different foods, and the seaweed salad is the only thing it'll eat. And since I've introduced that, my other fish have stopped eating the other foods also!

None of pet stores around here sell New Life Spectrum, so I haven't been able to try that yet. Anybody know of a good place to order it online?

Also, why is the first ingredient in most of the 'veggie' foods fish meal? I've only found one food, Omega One, at my local pet stores where the first ingredient isn't an animal product. And half of my fish are strictly herbivores!
African Dick
06-02-2007, 1:10 PM
I feed mine chopped beef heart as a staple. Sometimes I purchase a full cow liver soaked in blood and dump it in my malawi tanks. They love it.
steve p
06-02-2007, 2:47 PM
I feed mine chopped beef heart as a staple. Sometimes I purchase a full cow liver soaked in blood and dump it in my malawi tanks. They love it.

LOL sounds like a recipe for bloat if ever i heard one:eek3:
African Dick
06-02-2007, 4:08 PM
LOL sounds like a recipe for bloat if ever i heard one:eek3:

Yea I'm just messing around. Right now I feed mine Nutrafin Max. They seem to like it a lot.
MbunaFishKeeper
06-11-2007, 9:56 AM
there is this new food from tetra these crisp like circles with concentrate of spirulina my mbunas seem to love it!
jtpage
06-11-2007, 11:55 AM
My little mbuna's like the seaweed salad. One of my bumblee cichlids has recently stopped eating. So I've been trying different foods, and the seaweed salad is the only thing it'll eat. And since I've introduced that, my other fish have stopped eating the other foods also!

None of pet stores around here sell New Life Spectrum, so I haven't been able to try that yet. Anybody know of a good place to order it online?

Also, why is the first ingredient in most of the 'veggie' foods fish meal? I've only found one food, Omega One, at my local pet stores where the first ingredient isn't an animal product. And half of my fish are strictly herbivores!

i feed mine exclusively NLS Cichlid Formula and Dainichi Veggie FX. THE BEST.

you can get some here for cheap. 500grams of nls for $11

http://www.freewebs.com/thefishroom/foods.htm
MbunaFishKeeper
06-11-2007, 12:48 PM
i feed mine exclusively NLS Cichlid Formula and Dainichi Veggie FX. THE BEST.

you can get some here for cheap. 500grams of nls for $11

http://www.freewebs.com/thefishroom/foods.htm

hey thanks for tht info i will probably purchase some of that (depending of postage to uk lol)
nevets
06-18-2007, 10:23 PM
I just checked my foods, and the first ingredient is fish meal on all of them. So, since my mbuna are herbivores, this is incorrect and I should get a spirulina based food, but I have a mixed tank with haps, which are primarily carnivores/piscivores, so fish meal based food should be perfect for them? I guess i could try a sinking spirulina pellet, and a floating fish meal pellet, but the mbuna still like fish meal, it's just not good for them. Any advice??????