Feeding Cichlids

One big problem with feeding africans is that people think "cichlid pellets" are good for all cichlids. Not so, cichlid pellets are usually high in protein and fats and are supposed to be used for the CA/SA cichlids.

THis is why you really need to research what diet your fish needs before buying foods. The people at the LFS aren't always the most accurate with their info :D
 
O.K. just checked what they sold me. I have "Omega One Natural Protein Formula African Cichlid Flakes" (has 44% crude protein), and "New Life Spectrum Cichild Forumla" pellets (has 34% crude protein).......both have pictures of African Cichlids on the label.

I will pick up some vegi food as this weekend.....

I know I should have done more research (and I thought I did a lot), but the guy we talked to seemed very knowledgable and knew most of the species names off the top of his head. You would think he would have sold us something that wouldn't kill the fish we were buying though, or at least warned us when we started mixing species. I don't mind paying the extra $2-$3 per fish to the LFS (over Petsmart).......but I guess I've come to expect them to know what they were talking about for that extra money. Oh well....."if you want it done right....." My bad.
 
Here's the breakdown for Cichlid Excel pellets from Hikari, which set the standard for me...

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 35% Min.
Crude Fat 4% Min.
Crude Fiber 3% Max.
Moisture 10% Max.
Ash 10% Max.

I've fed the New Life Spectrum pellets and my cichlids tolerated them well, although you have to be very careful not to overfeed. I haven't used the Omega One flakes, but I'm a bit concerned about that much protein. I also stopped feeding flakes to my africans. I don't know what the problem was... overeating, maybe... but I had many more digestive-tract related problems (e.g., bloat) when feeding flakes. I have many fewer problems when feeding pellets.

HTH,
Jim
 
both have pictures of African Cichlids on the label.
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Just because a food has pics of africans and says its made for africans doens't mean its good for africans :) Omega one is a pretty good food.Its a bit high in fats(can cause liver problems) but its still better then a lot of other foods out there. If you are going to use omega one i would suggest the veggie or super veggie formula. I used to use these before i switched to the nutrifin spirulina.

Reading food labels is tricky. Having a high protein % isn't necessarily bad. Pure spirulina flakes are very high in protien but its a "safe" protein for herbivores. Animal proteins are the ones that can cause probelms. Also look for foods low in fat.

If you want to do more research into choosing foods for africans(mbuna) then check out www.cichlid-forum.com's illness,health and nutrition forum. There has been long discussions about which formulas and brands are best. Their product review section shoudl also help out.
 
~*LuvMyKribs*~ said:
Really! I prefer flakes myself, i find it a pain to have to soak the pellets. Did you switch brand when you switched from flake to pellet? Do you think that had something to do with it? How much pellet food do you feed... ie- 1 per fish? 2?
Click to expand...

Actually, I started with flakes (spirulina) and had problems with the bigger, more aggressive fish eating most of the food. They seem to not eat the pellets as fast, and with sinking pellets, the smaller/slower fish get some, too.

I figure they each get 1-3 pellets, depending on the size I'm feeding.

Jim
 
I bought some Nutrafin max spirulina algae flake food tonight and will give it a shot. I threw in a piece of romaine lettuce this morning before I left for work (and it was a complete leaf with NO holes...), and this is what's left tonight. I guess they were starving for some green stuff.......keep in mind all my fish are less than 1.5 inches, most less than 1 inch. :eek:

IMG_0316.jpg


The Nutrafin has 44% Crude Protein (but you already said it's the good kind), and 5% fat. Its ingredients listed in the order they appear on the container are Spriulina pacifica, fish meal, oat flour, P.D.P (predigested plankton) and a bunch of other stuff. The Omega One "Veggi Flakes" seemed to have more non-veggie stuff than veggi (basing the fact that they usually list the ingredients in order from most to least included in the mix).
scratch.gif
It didn't even list spirulina until the 5th or 6th ingredient (following salmon, krill, shrimp, crustaceans, and other meaty items). Oh well......we went with the Nutrafin because of that.
huh.gif
 
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