Feeding My Cichlids

[davelowis]

Hi all,

I seem to hear contridictory information if I should feed blood worms to my tank of cichlids (17).

I have started feeding them daily on Cichlid pelits, and once a week with packet of blood worms.

Am I ok to do this?

Thanks

Dave

 

[Ferris]

What fish do you have, if its Mbuna drop the bloodworm immediately as this will almost certainly give them the dreaded 'bloat'. Most Mbuna are herbivores/omnivores and are best fed on a spirinula based diet, meaty foods are a definate no-no.

 

[davelowis]

What fish do you have, if its Mbuna drop the bloodworm immediately as this will almost certainly give them the dreaded 'bloat'. Most Mbuna are herbivores/omnivores and are best fed on a spirinula based diet, meaty foods are a definate no-no.

I have Albinos, Zebraa, Blue Dolphins, Electric Blues; and I think some labs

 

[Ferris]

Yep, definately stop feeding them blood worm. Get a good vegetable flake and some spirinula sticks/pellets, this will keep them happy and healthy. Their digestive system cannot properly process meaty foods and feeding them bloodworm etc will prove fatal.

 

[davelowis]

Yep, definately stop feeding them blood worm. Get a good vegetable flake and some spirinula sticks/pellets, this will keep them happy and healthy. Their digestive system cannot properly process meaty foods and feeding them bloodworm etc will prove fatal.

Ah, could that be why one of my Albino's is looking a bit 'pale'?
Its a bit motionless, separated its self from the group and breathing quite deeply?

I do have 2 other Albino's and they do seem ok.

D

 

[Marshall]

A little research never did any harm!

 

[G_Sharky]

Never feed bloodworms to african cichlids no matter what anyone says....If you want to feed them some protein, feed them some brineshrimp or krill instead this will fatten them up and is healthy for them....

 

[davelowis]

A couple of shops told me they fed blood worms to their Cichlids once a week!

However one shop told me I should feed them shrimp and a floating pelet type feed. (A5 Aquatics in Leicstershire)

Right. Off to take back the blood worms to Pets at Home... wish me luck.... (and hopefully not the Albino )

D.

ps feeding them Cichlid Deluxe Mini floating pellets (Ocean Nutrition) twice a day.

 

[Ferris]

Bloodworm is fine for many New World Cichlids and some African's but certainly not Mbuna. Your LFS should have clarified this.

 

[mamafish68]

Your LFS should have clarified this.

yea, in a perfect world Ferris
too bad a huge percentage of lfs employees SUCK @ helping newbies get
going in the right direction

 

[Ferris]

 

[davelowis]

Your LFS should have clarified this.

yea, in a perfect world Ferris
too bad a huge percentage of lfs employees SUCK @ helping newbies get
going in the right direction

Lets hope its not too late for the Albino...
Thanks for the help though

 

[africantigerfish7]

If there's one fish I've kept a lot of it's african cichlids. I actually fed them bloodworms once a year, and this helped stimulate breeding, and yes, these were of the mbuna variety. I've also read in many books and sites that live foods will stimulate breeding, but I'm not an expert.

 

[davelowis]

Right, before we finish this thread!

Can we confirm that my Albino is suffering from eating blood worms, not from being harrassed by other fish.

To be honest I havent seen the other fish go for her (I thnk), but I have 1 male and 2 females.

D

 

[Ferris]

I've also read in many books and sites that live foods will stimulate breeding, but I'm not an expert.

Quite correct but most Mbuna eat algae in the wild so that is their live food. This is supplemented by the occasional insect but their digestive systems are notcapable of processing meaty foods.

dnl2006 - Your Albino could be suffering from either or both. Try not feeding them for a couple of days, it won't do them any harm and if she is constipated, this may well help. Keep a close eye on the tank activity for any signs of persistent aggression towards her.