Feeding Question

[Jts_Fish]

Hi. I am new to African Cichlids. So far, the ones I have are doing fine. They were sold as "assorted African cichlids" so I am not even sure what I have! I am keeping these with 3 Angel Fish (I was told at the fish store they would be okay with Angels) Now from what I have read, I understand it's best to keep them with their own kind? But my question is, when I feed them, I feed the Angels the tropical flakes and feed the African cichlids pellets but they all eat the flakes and pellets. Will the flakes be bad for the cichlids? Would the cichlid pellets be bad for the angels?

Thanks for any advice,
Jonathan

PS: One more question: Do African Cichlids need salt in their tank? On the sale sign at the fish store it showed salt and cucumbers? So I was wondering if they needed salt and should be fed cucumbers? I never can get a straight answer from anyone at the fish store!

 

[freddyk]

Unfortunately we can't tell the diet if we don't know the fish. Some 'Africans' are herbivorous, many are omnivorous, many are preditors of one type or another.

As your new fish mature they'll get more aggressive, and the angels will become more in danger of getting in the middle of it. Again, it depends what you have, but more often then not 'mixed africans' are aggressive.

The flakes you give the angels are fine for any cichlid, but most mbuna should get a primary diet of spirulina. Post some pics if you can, maybe you can get more relevent info. And it's really best not to ever buy cichlids if you don't know what they are - fish even from the same biotope can have very different needs! It's a recipe for disaster. Cichlids are awsome fish to own, but many a beginner has been turned off them after disaster due to ignorance.

No, they don't need salt - they are not by any stretch brackish fish, they are 100% freshwater. Sometimes certain types of salt can be added to help raise the ph in a softer water tank, but this is absolutely not for salinity purposes.

The herbivorous varieties of cichlids enjoy veggies like cucumber, zucchini, peas, and spinach. They don't need it.

 

[Jts_Fish]

Here are two pictures so far. My digital camera doesn't take good pictures, but you can still see the fish. The batteries died as I was taking them ...so I will take more later today when I get some new batteries.

Jonathan

 

[freddyk]

Definately mbuna, though I can't say what type - I'll bet the striped one is Lombardoi though, a seriously aggressive fish. For the tank to work out long term you're going to need much more decoration (hiding spots) and many more fish, or the dominent adults will kill the others. How many do you have total?

 

[Jts_Fish]

I have 6 african cichlids along with the 3 angels. This is also a 55g tank. Another question, if I may....what temp should the tank be? Right now it stays at around 79-80 degrees.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Ferris]

Your temp is fine and as freddyk says, you could do with adding some more fish to reduce the agression. Hiding spots are paramount in a Mbuna tank, ideally you need a cave/hiding spot for each fish in the tank.

 

[freddyk]

Your temp is good, anything 75-80 is fine.

 

[Jts_Fish]

I went and bought NutraFin Max Spirulina Algae Flake Food. Is this what I should feed African Cichlids? I also saw Spirulina Pellets made for African Ciclids but I got the flakes instead. Is this okay or should I get something else?

Thanks,
Jonathan