What should i feed my Malawi Cichlids?
Ashmar
I have a Malawi Cichlid tank and don't know what to give them and how much. At the moment they're having tropical fish flakes and spirulina flakes. Do i need to give them anything else? And how much of each do i give them. I also heard that they can have peas or lettuce, is that true?
Sharon
I feed my Malawi cichlids Wardley Cichlid Flakes, Wardley floating cichlid pellets(mini size) , and freeze dried bloodworms. I did offer peas, spinach and lettuce but they didn't like these, and it was just contributing to waste in a cycling tank. I find it's very easy to overfeed cichlids as they always appear to be starving... be careful. Good luck with them.
Ashmar
Ok, so i could give them cichlid flakes and spirulina pellets and that would be ok? Should i do one , one day and the other the next day? I have yellow labs the yellow and black striped one and the bright orange ones. Sorry i cant remember how to spell the names.
Sharon
I feed mine twice a day, as smaller frequent feeds are best. I feed flakes in the morning and pellets at night. Cichlids require some green food... they do eat algae. Spirulina is a good option for green food. Flake food gives a combo of plant and animal protein. Avoid feeding high fat and high meat protein. I've read that blood worms can cause Malawi bloat so I only feed that occasionally.
Tim
Spirulina flakes should be a staple for Malawi Cichlids. I also found that they enjoyed lettuce very much. I would put a large strip of romaine lettuce in the tank (they didn't like iceberg lettuce). Romaine lettuce floats nicely at the top. During the day, they would nip at it when I wasn't watching, until only a skeleton of the hard portions remained. At that point I'd discard the remainder. This was a very clean process, as they only eat what they want and the rest is removed with minimal impact on water quality. Give it a try.
Sharon
I tried feeding the lettuce as you suggested... I had been chopping it into small pieces and they were totally ignoring it. Your way works much better!! Thanks!!!