Fruit For Cichlids?

[star4]

I know they can eat veg, I havnt been shopping and am looking for a treat to give my fish, was just wondering if they can have apple?

 

[VaegaVic]

My main worry about adding any fruit, including apples, is the acidity they'll leach into the water.
That being said, I've never researched it, so let's see what other people say.

 

[minxfishy]

You can try things like banana, but dont leave it in for long, melon is another, peach etc, in their natural environment obviously some fruit does get into the streams/rivers and I know for herbivourous fish, they do graze on quite a bit of fruit, but as I say dont leave it in for long and only put small mouth size pieces in to float.

 

[star4]

Jethro & banana what a mess that would make. I may try apple Sunday as its wc day. Found 1/4 cucumber in the bottom of the fridge, that wont last long lol. I have just been reading on the net that they recommend peeling cucumber? I dont, the whole lot gets eaten by mine, skin too, The texas go for the skin first? although usually Jethro is attatched to the inside.

 

[minxfishy]

I never take the skin off either. No maybe not banana with Jethro, but try with seymour 1st, sev's would be your most likely fish to eat any fruit Those I suggested were just a few of the ones that Vieja species will eat because they are primarily hervivourous.

 

[meguro]

ive tried apple with bristlenoses, they eat it but seem to prefer cucumber. not sure about cichlids though

 

[nmonks]

You should visit the Bolton Aquarium some time. There's mountains of fruit in the big catfish tanks! Grapes, orange segments, bananas, all kinds of stuff.

The bottom line is try out a little of what you have in the fridge and see what happens. Nothing we eat is likely to cause them much harm. The acidity in citrus fruit will be diluted so much in the aquarium that it'll have no real impact on water chemistry. If the fish wants to eat the fruit, it will; and if it doesn't, it'll ignore it. There's so little protein [i.e., nitrogen] in most fruits that the impact on water quality will be trivial.

For what it's worth, cooked peas and spinach are usually better choices for cichlids, especially the plant-eating species like tilapiines and Severums. Sushi nori [dried seaweed for sushi rolls] is another excellent treat, and from Asian supermarkets you can pick up ten sheets for about £1-2, so it's very economical as well as easy to store.

Cheers, Neale

I know they can eat veg, I havnt been shopping and am looking for a treat to give my fish, was just wondering if they can have apple?