Food

[deliverance]

i just got 3 electric yellow cichlids. i have hikari bio gold and staple for them but its to big right now. i have some krill for my red devil can i feed them that if i cut it into pieces? any other foods that you can suggest? i read that u can not feed them bloodworms becuase they cause bloat

 

[Ferris]

A simple spirinula based veggie flake, pellet or stick is ideal for their main diet. Bloodworm is a definate no-no as they cannot digest it properly, krill is fine in small amounts.

 

[dthoffsett]

If you can get it, I'd suggest trying NLS (New Life Spectrum), I use the cichlid formula w/my labs and you should see the feeding frenzy. The pellets are small enough for their mouths and I even have a juvie that "carries" his pellets around and munches on them as he goes. You can also feed them brine shimp on occasion. Unlike other mbuna, in the wild much of their diet consists of small crustaceans and insects, so while they do well on a mostly vegetable diet, they really enjoy meaty treats (brine shimp, krill, daphnia) on occasion. I usually give them a treat once a week or every other week.

 

[denis coghlan]

dthoffsett got it on that one. Labs do have different dietary requirements than most mbuna. It is recommended that you introduce more protein (i.e. invertebrates) into their diets. I recommend that you give this article on the C-F.com forum a read, I found it a help Feeding African cichlids by Marc Elieson