Let's start with the sad moment. It is better for a beginner to refrain from an aquarium with cichlids. Why? Because these fish require large volumes of the aquarium, they are quite aggressive, difficult to care for. And most importantly - food for cichlids. Buying it is easy, but due to the whimsicality of these fish still need to pick it up. Just about the feed and talk in the article.
It all starts with the kind of fish
Everyone wants to eat, it’s understandable. Only food for cichlids is different. And its purpose depends on the type of fish. If you have herbivorous pets, then they obviously will not appreciate the food for their predatory counterparts. We make a reservation right away that most cichlids are among the latter. But herbivores are not so easy to buy.
In turn, predator fish will not want to eat algae food. And those aquarium inhabitants who eat both protein and vegetable feed will be very happy with its mixed appearance. Comrades from Malawi belong to the herbivorous cichlids.
Omnivorous cichlids are mainly from Africa. And predators can not be confused with anyone. They have a special head structure.
Types of feed
What food for cichlids exists? In the form of granules, sticks, flakes and, of course, frozen daphnia, coronet, tubule, bloodworm. What is the difference between one type of feed from another? About it below.
Sticks
Chopstick food is used for large cichlids. It is a brown, long and thin sticks. Length about 2 centimeters. The smell coming from the feed is very saturated. It smells like fish. Suitable for all types of fish data. It consists of fish and fish products, vegetable proteins, algae and minerals.
Granules
There are two types of pellet feed for cichlids. For herbivorous fish and for predators. They differ primarily in composition. We will not focus on this, because we have already said above.
Pellets (they are also called balls), whose color is green-brown, are created for herbivorous cichlids. One half of such a granule is green, the second is light brown. Red-brown granules, respectively, are suitable for omnivorous and predatory pets.
Cereals
They are available for herbivorous cichlids. There are commercially available feeds for all types of cichlids. Cereals are also called chips. They really look like multi-colored large chips. The composition of green flakes is spirulina, red ones are protein, they contain meat, and yellow ones are mixed. Here, and fish, and carrots, and beets.
What foods are better to buy?
Take Tetra food - you will not lose. Germany produces it, the quality is excellent. Perhaps someone will find it expensive. For large fish, you can immediately take a large bucket. For small ones, a liter jar will be enough.
And one more secret: there are feed from Tetra, which are sold by weight. They can hardly be ordered online. And in pet stores, where there is an aquarium department, they will always be. Packed in bags of ten, twenty and fifty grams, as a rule. And such packaged feed is much cheaper than packed in a jar. Money is taken for the brand, do not forget about it.
Sera also releases good feed. This is also a German company. Among amateur aquarists, she has established herself well.
Live and frozen feed
This is for predators. For example, for cichlids, turquoise Akara. This beauty loves to feast on such feeds. What applies to them? Bloodworm in the first place. For your aquarium pets, you can take a large bloodworm, if large, or medium. The fishman respects the tubular and coronet, but it is advisable to buy them only in frozen form. Bloodworms, in turn, can be given live. Nothing wrong with that. Bloodworms look like red worms. Unpleasant, but not up to a swoon.
How to feed the fish?
A cichlid is fed once a day. The serving should be what aquarium pets can handle in a few minutes. It is very important not to overfeed your favorites. For them, this is the worst thing. It seems that the fish is hungry, and the owner is trying to give the poor thing more food. After a while, the aquarium inhabitants float upside down, and the owner wonders what he did wrong. He cleaned the aquarium, carefully defended the water, and fed well.
Did you know that 80% of fish die from overfeeding. Let your cyclic ones not be included in these sad statistics. What to do if you really feel sorry for the pets? Break the daily rate into two parts. And feed your aquarium inhabitants morning and evening.
What other feeds can I give?
Large fish, such as turquoise Akara (cichlid), astronotus, and other giants, will appreciate boiled beef, heart, and liver. Products must be chilled and sliced. Try treating your squid or shrimp to your pets.
And herbivores will be happy with slices of carrots, cabbage, green lettuce and other vegetables. Previously, these treats are boiled with boiling water.
If the fish do not eat food
If the food for cichlids safely sinks to the bottom of the aquarium, it must be urgently removed from there. How to do it? Using a siphon. Henceforth, reduce the portion and do not allow the food to be eaten by the aquarium inhabitants. Remaining at the bottom, it begins to decompose and pollutes the aquarium. And this is not at all beneficial for the health of its inhabitants.
Who is cichlid recommended to?
An aquarium with cichlids is worth getting an experienced fish lover. A novice will ruin them. Some cyclic ones are not particularly whimsical, but they require certain parameters of water, for example. Therefore, at first it is advisable to "fill your hand" on ordinary fish such as guppies, and then take up the maintenance of beautiful predators.
Conclusion
In the article we talked about feeds for cichlids. What it happens, how to properly feed these fish, how to eliminate overeating.
And finally, a little advice: give the frozen food in the form it is: cut a small piece and throw it into the aquarium.