Cichlid food

[Drumachine09]

I just got 4 cichlids, and i am needing a quality food to keep their bodies healthy, and their colors vibrant. Any suggestions?

[Nautilus29]

Hikari biogold + is supposed to be good for your fish but my fish are too small to eat them. I have to soak them and then when they sink they will nibble on them.

[cocoa_pleco]

hikari biogold and bloodworm is a good mix.

I often feed cichlids live crickets too

[Drumachine09]

My fish are about 1.5 inches. Are they too small?

Oh yea, i saw 20,000 leagues under the sea today, and thought of you.

[cocoa_pleco]

my baby puffer which is the size of like half a pea can eat a whole cricket. Also, all my other small fish like cricket. They just shred the cricket up and eat all the pieces.
My auratus is a PIG and stuffs the whole thing in and 1 hour later you can see him still chewin on it

[Drumachine09]

HALF A PEA!!! holy cow. That small and still eats a cricket that is bigger then him? what a hog, eh?

[cocoa_pleco]

he'll eat a fully adult cricket, and the lil thing is just a tiny baby

[Nautilus29]

My fish are about 1.5 inches. Are they too small?

Oh yea, i saw 20,000 leagues under the sea today, and thought of you.

Mine are around the same size as yours. All you have to do is hold the pellets under the water untill they sink and they should nibble on them. You can also crush them after they can sink. If you crush them right away they will still float awhile and its a pain in the butt.

[f1oored]

If the cichlids you are talking about are your new mbunas then you don't want to feed them blood worms (at least not often). Those guys like the veggies and aren't made for high protein diets. If you are looking for just one thing to feed them I would have to go with New Life Spectrum cichlid formula. I give my mbunas a good variety of different foods. I try to feed them raw romaine lettuce or other green veggies at least once a week. I also feed my guys spirulina algae flakes, Hikari cichlid excel, and HBL spirulina soft pellets. The raw veggies will help prevent bloat too which can be caused by too much protein.

[jweintraub]

I feed my malawi's flakes in the morning and cichlid pellets in the evenings. Saturday nights they get live food, usually artemia, about once a month I buy red blood worms which they devour. Colors are amazing!

[f1oored]

That sounds like a pretty good diet. Do you hatch your own brine shrimp or do you buy them as adults? They seem like they would be a pain to keep alive and raise to a good size. I feed my fry brine shrimp and they grow very quickly.

[Fishguy2727]

Absolute best is New Life Spectrum, superb colors, great growth, amazing health. That is why it is the only thing all my cichlids including the discus get it, and it will be the only thing that I ever feed my saltwater fish once that tank is up.

[jweintraub]

I have a brine shrimp hatchery and can honestly say i've never used it, I always buy the adult ones from the LFS.

[Drumachine09]

Absolute best is New Life Spectrum, superb colors, great growth, amazing health. That is why it is the only thing all my cichlids including the discus get it, and it will be the only thing that I ever feed my saltwater fish once that tank is up.

Iv hear alot of good things about the NLS stuff, so i think i will go out today and get some. Thanks!

[Drumachine09]

I found some hikari pellets cheap. Everyone says dont feed mbunas bloodworms, but can you feed them tubifex worms? or would that be a no no?

[cocoa_pleco]

not sure...

[Fishguy2727]

All the worms and other dried and frozen things that are animal based will have too much protien for mbunas. NLS is the best thing to go with and the best results with it are when it is the only thing being fed, so no need for ANY other food.

[Drumachine09]

Not even the ocasionaly vege to clear out the pipes?

[Fishguy2727]

No need to dilute the nutrition of the NLS, it really is THAT good.