# Feeding Cichlids



## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

I tried looking this up for a while before posting, but came up with contradicting answers, so now I'm here. When I was originally looking into and researching Peacock Cichlids, I was under the impression that they're Omnivores and shouldn't eat anything with a Protein content of over 40%. If you look, you'll see that most foods sold in chain stores are over 40%, even the Cichlid foods. I got some New Life Spectrum: Cichlid Formula which has a Protein content lower than 40% and they seem to enjoy it. 

Just recently I got bored and decided to read up about Peacocks some more. I came upon an article that said they are omnivores and enjoy frozen foods like Bloodworms and Brine shrimp, along with other veggie matter. Now, the freeze-dried Bloodworms that I bought a while ago have a pretty high protein content, which is expected, but I'm not sure if it's safe to feed them to my fish. I've heard of the dreaded Malawi bloat, and I'd really hate it if that happened to my fish.

What are your thoughts?


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2009)

I've had Malawi Bloat and lost ~$200 in fish from it. When dealing with Malawi Cichlids I would always look for something with a max crude protein of %30. The brine shrimp are okay every once in a while, but over feeding them and feeding the brine shrimp too often can cause Malawi Bloat. They blame over feeding, too much protein, and stress, although there is no definitive reason for bloat. Malawi Cichlids generally are omnivorous. I'm no nutritionist, but I would say stay away from high protein when dealing with malawi's. And remember, not all cichlids are the same. Even Africans can't be lumped together because they come from different isolated lakes. THat is the problem with cichlid formula food: SA cichlids and african cichlids are very different.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

There are a lot of fish in Malawi that shouldn't have worms and should have a low-protein diet. Maylandia and labeotropheus that eat algae from rocks have really long, convoluted digestive tracts that are easily blocked and twisted. The latest definition of bloat I've heard is that its a bacteria infection in the digestive tract. Blockages of air, food, pockets of gas from decaying food could all cause bloat. Be careful feeding a tank that has Mbuna in it. Although they do eat animals that live in the algae, too, a lot of cichlid food may be too high in protein.

But peacocks feed in the sandy areas between rocks. Mine eat both crushed snails and zucchini (I put it in for a pleco, and yes I know plecos don't live in L. Malawi) as well as cichlid pellet and spirulina flake. They don't need as much protein as a S. American cichlid, but they don't need as much plant matter as the mbuna do. Yellow labs are omnivores, too. I think you could try the worms, but in very small quantities. You don't want any large balls of worms going into their gut.


----------



## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

Out of curiousity, emc7, what kind of Peacocks do you have?


----------



## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

i feed my cichlids bloodworms on occasions but i mainly feed spirulina algue flakes.


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2009)

emc, the last time I did any real research on bloat was a few years ago when I lost a lot of fish from it.
I read that the higher protein causes bacteria and what are usually positive microbial thingers to multiply out of control, and in those high number actually basically eat through the intestinal wall, causing a thousand more problems. Not sure how accurate this is to today's standard.

I didn't know anything on Peacock's in general, so just commented on the bloat part.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

bloat is real and its nasty. Worse in tropheus, you can read about on tropheus boards. You can treat bloat with lots of anti-biotics, but whether they get it depends on what they eat. Tropheus apparently need mostly green stuff. I don't feed worms to my malawi tanks because I feared bloat. But I fed blackworms to a tank with a P. Saulosi and M. lombardoi and they lived. Right now I have two A. stuartgranti variants (Cobue, Maleri island). I've have A. jacobfribergi (butterfly peacock) in the past. Excess pond snails, lightly mashed to break the shell make a nice treat.

I've heard the new life spectrum is good. I've fed Xtreme and Ken's cichlid flake and pellet. Really haven't had any bloat issues for years. I think I lost a red zebra or Labeotropheus once upon a time. But I've never fed frozen bloodworms to a Malawi tank. I remember being told not to. I do feed them brine shrimp occasionally.

I've lost an occasionally lost an angelfish that pigged out on frozen worms. It will stop eating, swell up, swim funny and die. 

Really the best reason to come to the AAAA meetings is to get live blackworms @ $5 for a quarter pound.


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2009)

Ya, my demasoni were most susceptible to bloat it seemed. Near every one of the 15 or so I had died.


----------

