Guppies or ghost shrimp

[cichlid lover]

I am looking for live food that is easy to breed and inexpensive. I can't decide which to use guppies or ghost shrimp. If anybody has info on them or a different live food to use for 8" cichlids I would be very happy.

 

[freshmike]

How about brine shrimp???

 

[Never2Bknown]

Feeder guppies. Definitely. Nothing is easier to breed than guppies. And feeder guppies (I've had them before) don't usually seem to eat their fry as much as the bigger fancy guppies do, which makes it even easier yet.

Just be careful that you don't feed your fish too many guppies, because live foods tend to be high in fat and could cause fatty degeneration of the organs--which is fatal to fish--if fed too often to the cichlids.

 

[DanL]

...earthworms...

very easy to culture and if done right you will have an endless supply of live food and you wont have to wait for them to grow out to the proper size like you would if you were raising guppies.

I have a link to a good article on worm cultures but I have it bookmarked at home.

 

[semper fi]

convicts

 

[JeremyD]

convicts

I'll second that.


3 pairs of convicts pump out enough fry to keep all my sizeable fish fed and then some.

Guppies work well too. But I think a pair of cons is more productive overall; although it takes longer for the fry to grow.

 

[hihi100202]

shrimp cuz thay r really cheap ... a round 50 cents ea. hear