feeding-africans

[mariners]

Spirulina flake, i was told that my cichlids need it ( i just bought them today) , so my questions are....
do they need it?
why?
are african cichlids allergic to blood worms?
can i try brine shrimp?
i was also told when they are fully grown i could feed them small feeder fish, do you recommend this?

THANKYOU ( im loving these fish they are the coolest ever! oh and btw i bought 1 kenyi, 1 johani and 1 auloncara (i think, i'm still trying to figure out what is it since i can't remeber its scientific name)

 

[blueturq]

i've read that you can give them frozen stuff like bloodworms, brine shrimp and whatever else occasionaly. And they need to have mostly plant matter

 

[Lotus]

There's a lot of info in this article http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/feeding_african_cichlids.php maybe some of the other members can tell you what they feed theirs.

 

[JWright]

It really depends on the fish...

For instance... a lot of malawians can't deal with a lot of protein in their diet, but there are lways exceptions, such as the dwarf mbunas, which need a relatively high amount of protein.

So, look up the eating habits of your particular fish, then decide.

 

[Flex26]

I've read that africans mostly eat algae....with a few exceptions. But I think a balanced diet that is slightly skewed toward algae would certainly benefit africans.

When can we see some pics....

 

[TaffyFish]

Got to depend on the fish and what they feed on in the wild. Malawian mbuna species and Tanganyikan Tropheus species feed by grazing on the algae (aufwuchs) covered rocks so a spirulina diet makes sense. Some protein would be in order but you have to avoid soft meat-based, high-protein foods like beefheart and bloodworms because they get stuck in the very long digestive tracts (typical of vegetarians) and will cause bloat.

Whilst a vegetarian element is good for other Africans they do have much more varied diets - lamprologines feed on small crustaceans so brine shrimp is an ideal component of their diet.

When you research your fish, research their diet and pay close attention to compatibility of diet when you have more than one species in a tank.

I keep Tanganyikan cichlids and synodontis species, I don't keep Tropheus with them. I see you're keeping Malawis so I'll leave advice on their specific diet to others......but take care when using general terms like "Africans", you nearly always need to be more specific.