I have a 55 gallon tank with 7 small (1.5" - 2") african cichlids. At the LFS they were fed cichlid flakes, but now they seem uninterested in them. Their mouths are far too small for the floating sticks. I've tried breaking them into smaller pieces, but they refuse to eat them. I've bought various granules and floating foods, but they're not thrilled. They do eat frozen bloodworms though. I have some for my african dwarf frogs, so I thought I'd give them a try. Any suggestions on what to feed these lil guys? Please help...
african cichlid food
- Thread starter mhpisces01
- Start date
Don't feed them bloodworms, Africans can't have a high protein diet (especially mbuna and other herbivores).
Try dipping their pellets in some garlic powder, garlic should excite their appetite.
I feed my fish new life spectrum sinking pellets and spirulina flakes.
What kind of african cichlids do you have and how long have you had them for? Also what are your water parameters?
Try dipping their pellets in some garlic powder, garlic should excite their appetite.
I feed my fish new life spectrum sinking pellets and spirulina flakes.
What kind of african cichlids do you have and how long have you had them for? Also what are your water parameters?
I honestly don't know what species of africans they are. The LFS had them labeled as "assorted african cichlids". I'll try to check on some sites to see if I can ID them. Is it a big deal if you have africans from all 3 sources? The water parameters are fine 0 nitrates, 0 nitrites, between 50 - 120ppm hardness which is moderate on my test strips, between 120 - 180ppm alkalinity/buffer, and pH of around 7.2
You mean 3 different lakes? You could get away with keeping a more timid species from 3 different lakes in 1 tank, but the tanks marked "assorted africans" in most lfs's usually contain mbuna, which are on a high to extremely aggressive side (with a few acceptions) and won't do all that great with a more "peaceful" lake tang or victoria species (or malawi peacocks).
Take a few pics of your fish and post them here.
johnlarson66
These Pandas Rock
Why not find out exactly what your LFS fed them and feed them the same stuff. Then if you want to change it up, you can add to it as needed.
johnlarson66
These Pandas Rock
How long has the tank been set up? Kind of curious as to the absence of nitrates.
Yes, they're the same brand of flakes. I made sure of that when we bought the fish. I didn't want to starve the lil guys.
The tank itself has been set up for 2+ years. It's always been a freshwater tank. Just recently (about a month ago) we switched it to a cichlid tank. Before the cichlids we had a kissing gourami, 2 danios, and 4 mickey mouse platys in it. I use Mardel 5 in 1 test strips for FW. The color indicator stays more of a cream than baby pink. Cream being 0 and baby pink being 20. So, it's possible that it's in the 0-20 range.
Yes, I meant from 3 different lakes. Sorry for the confusion. These guys don't seem to be really aggressive. Randomly someone will chase another partially across the tank, but not very often. Everyone's fins, scales and mouths look fine. So, there isn't evidence of someone being a bully in my absence. I'll work on getting pics posted. Thanks for everyone's help! I really appreciate it!!
Lupin
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- Sep 21, 2006
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When did you get these cichlids? Do you have pics of all your cichlids? Ibr3ak is correct in telling you that excessive proteins brought about by meaty foods particularly bloodworms can cause digestive problems to vegetarians particularly bloat. If you must find commercial foods for them, then pick brands with protein content no more than 32%. It matters if you are not prepared to deal with bloat and other digestive issues.
I see you relied on Mardel test strips to test your water. For accurate results, try the API liquid test kit and compare the differences. It has always been common knowledge that test strips are totally unreliable.
I see you relied on Mardel test strips to test your water. For accurate results, try the API liquid test kit and compare the differences. It has always been common knowledge that test strips are totally unreliable.