What kind of food for Malawi Cichlids?

[Sye]

I'm not sure what kind of food I should be feeding my Malawi Cichlids as I have heard if they have to much protein they get bloated so I havent feed them any kind of live foods, instead I give them peas/broccoli as treats.

I was using a normal Tropical Fish food but have today changed to an increased vegetable based one designed for plant eating fish.

Any advice on what I should be feeding them would be appreciated.

 

[gixer]

your on the right track with the vegie flakes.

i feed mine mostly with veg.. peas, lettuce, brocoli, etc.. some veggie flake from time to time and the occasional brine shrimp.

mbuna are algae grazing cichlids meaning the majority of what they naturally eat is algae.

most tropical flake is far to rich for mbuna so its a good idea to leave it out of their diet alltogether.
also...dont follow the usual patterns for feeding like stated on most foods (like the ones that say feed for 2/3 mins etc)

best bet ( for a few reasons) is to feed a little and more often. say 20 seconds of feeding 3 or 4 times a day.

hope that helps.

what malawi cichlids have you got?

 

[Sye]

To be honest, I'm not to sure of the names... Do you know any sites with pictures on so that I can identify them.

I have 2 albinos, 2 yellow ones with a back strip on, 1 purple and black striped one, 3 cream and black striped ones if that helps.

 

[gixer]

sounds like the yellow ones are labidochromis caerulus (yellow labs)

do they look like this?

also...the purple and black stripped, are they vertical stripes or horizontal?

the albinos could be anything got any pics?

 

[Sye]

Yep they are the yellow ones

The stripes on the purple and cream ones are vertical.

 

[gixer]

try searching for pics using google. there are a few that match that description really. try looking at pseudotropheus demasoni , pseudothropheus lombardoi and pseudotropheus elongatus for now and see if they look like what you have

 

[Sye]

This is the purple stripped one....

Any ideas?

 

[freddyk]

Most mbuna are omnivores - Spirulina flake should be the staple, but supplementing other fish foods is fine, and they'll enjoy frozen invertibrate treats as well - brine shrimp, mysis... but no worms.

The Yellow Lab is actually an insectivore, so for this one it is important to supplement non-vegi foods.

 

[Sye]

The guy at my local LFS said that to much protein could lead to Malawi Bloat?!

Any ideas what my fish is that is pictured above?

 

[sylvia]

It's actualy the fat not the protein and shrimp-type foods are ok - it's worms that are bad.

edit: the yellow lab, as mentioned, being an insectivore NEEDS protein so do supplement with shrimp and the like... worms would be ok for a lab too I think but don't feed it those in case the other fish get some accidentaly each time.

 

[Rivermud76]

I would suggest trying something like this:

ESM

There is a great article on this as well here:

ESM Experiences and Tips

Hope that helps.

 

[Sye]

Just to clarify a few points in the recipes;

Would frozen shrimp be ok to use?
The liquid multi vitiamins, can they be the ones they are designed for children in chemists?

 

[vantgE]

-Ensure that you feed them some sort of food with spirulina in it,
-Do not feed any worms or anything with worms,
-A variety of food is best
-Vegatables can also be a good suplement
-Best idea is one cheaper staple food and one spirulina enhanced food, and if you have it some frozen food 2 or so times a month

I feed my mbuna
Nutrafin chichlid Spirulina sticks, Wardley Total Tropical flakes, Tetra spirulina-enhanced flakes, Wardley algae tablets, Krill, and brineshrimp,

These are mostly things i've tried and still feed, The Total tropical is my staple it's the cheapest and fed, probally 9-10 times a week, the Sticks about 8 times, The tetra flakes, about 4 times a week, and krill or brineshrimp once a month, Vegetables are fed whenever we have zucchini in the house, and the algae tablet very rarely, because the my cichlids don't like to eat it once it hits the bottom only as it falls(I suggest not buying these)

 

[freddyk]

Would frozen shrimp be ok to use?

Yup, as a supplement it's good.

 

[Rivermud76]

Yeah, if you read the whole thread on the ESM you'll find many people have tried variations and had them work well. The basic principal is to have a frozen diet full of all of the nutrients your fish need. i is an easy way of adding veggies to their diet and helps to promote the colors you want in your fish because you are adding multiple layers of color building material with those ingredients. Whole Shrimp, Peas, and the vitamins all have color enhancers for different colors of fish