so, what do we feed our cichlids?well, it all depends on what we have in hand or what we could afford and what will our fishes accept. normally cichlids will accept its food without fuss...since they are a greedy lot and its really up to us in deciding what they should eat and Not the other way round! there are of course aquarist who are afraid that their cichlids would die if they dont provide them with their favourite food....it just like giving in to their demands and seriously that shouldnt be the way. if the cichlids wants to live and dine under our roofs...then they have to follow our rules.
Ok before i go further,i list out my fishes,so u could decide if my methods works for u or not.
My Collections. Veija synspilus, fenestratus,melanurus,breidhori, maculicauda, zonatus, argentea, regani,hartwegi, tomocichla tuba,chuco godmani ( love this fish...GOT MONEY
) nicaraguense, amphilophus festae, robertsoni, hypselecara temporalis,apistogramma bitaeniata, geophagus steindachneri,neolam brichardi,cyrtocara dolphin , pseudoplatystoma fasciatum and tigrinum...and finally my all time and childhood fav...mesonauta festivus.
Here is a list of what i feed my fishes ....live fish(talapia,guppies and flowerhorns) live shrimp, live prawns, chopped shrimp meat, crab meat , squid meat, fish meat,chicken liver,live crikets, live white worms, snails, dog or cat pellets, dried bread, oats,boiled rice and my own beefheart mixed vegetable special.
I only feed these items when they are available while the staple daily food for my fishes are cat or dog pellets and live fish for the older ones, while the juveniles get chopped shrimps and boiled rice. well...u might want to question my selections, but it did worked out nicely for me anyway. u might notice i didnt include fish pellets in my menu ...simply because i cant afford them. cat or dog pellets are much much much more cheaper, and they do provide bulk which is important for cichlids. dont worry if u find cat or dog pellets are a bit hard, those strong cichlid jaws will chew them to pieces, and if u have the time u could even soak those pellets before feeding...just right for feeding juvenile fishes. i choose boiled rice coz they are rich in protein....i got this idea from an old man who feeds his blood parrot with rice since he couldnt afford anything else...and those parrots did get big and fat, of course their colouration is on the minus side.but then after we got those juveniles to a bigger stage , we could shiff to better food for their colouration.
I do include vegetable, but its diffcult to get cichlids to eat vegie, so i came up with beefheart vegetable special. its chopped beefheart, plenty of vegetable, oats, and wheatflour. mix them all in the blender to a fine mixture (the wheatflour will hold things together)....put the mixture in a thin plastic bag, flatten it , then put in the freezer.u just snap off any size u want when feeding. this is the only way i know that could get cichlids to eat vegetable.
i feed my big and older cichlids once a day with cat or dog pellets, after they finish the lot i add in live fish. of course they wont go after those live fish with a full stomach , but they will get hungry soon....live fish do make a good in between meal snack. the juveniles...i feed 3 times a day, chopped shrimps and boiled rice.
Now the thing is to get our fishes to accept what is given...and how many of us here had seen our cichlids take the food we offered, then spit it out when they didnt like whats been offered? so we gave in and restore their favourite. this only means we are letting our fishes dictate their terms...well , if u do that, u are only asking for trouble ...especially if their fav food are those expensive and hard to get ones. so the trick is easy....do not feed them for a few days...then try again ...if they still refused...they try again after a few days...i guarantee ...after the second period ...there will be no more spitting. dont worry your fish wont die if they go without food...in the wild they do have their off days where they cant find food. they could go abit without food...they are created that way.
i feed my fishes 5 days a week and the two day rest period is for the fishes to clean out their stomachs and intestines...and they will be eager for food after two days.
Have u seen cichlids lining up for food or accepting food from hands? yes cichlids are smart species...they could trained to do so...with food as a bribe. if u feed your fishes , lets say at 10am and only at the same and only spot, lets say the front corner of the tank.....soon u will find them lining up with their heads facing the front side of the tank at 10am....daily. If possible...do not allow anyone else to feed your fish...the point is to get your fishes to know u are the only person who offers food to them and in time , they will approach u whenever they sees u...but ignore anyone else. this is good trick to show off to your friends who visit your house
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Try not to approch your fishes from the sides...always from the front...so they could see u. i do not like my fishes to swim like a mad dog, trying to attack the front glass panel when ever they sees me in the manner of a flowerhorn...i hate fishes who show me their teeths! i prefer that they swim and approch the front with a calm and gracefully manner whenever they sees me. the calmness in your fishes just proves that they trusted their master and knows whos the boss
u too could achieve this if u train your fishes and reward them with food