Feeding cichlids
by Kjell Fohrman

In nature all cichlids have adapted to a certain type of food. Some
eat a large verity but others are highly specialized.
One can roughly divide the cichlid species into three main groups.

The Carnivore: meat eaters.
The Omnivore: Species who feed on meat, plants and algae.
The Herbivore: Species who feed on plants or/and algae.

Tropheus duboisi "Maswa" a herbivore cichlid

The difference in length of intestines

The fishes in these three groups have often completely different
body structures and teeth that have adapted to their feeding
techniques. Even more important the stomach and intestines have
adapted to a certain diet. The species from the carnivore group
often have a very short intestine and a large stomach with room
for larger prey. This type of food is easily digested and thus
the cichlid does not need a longer intestine. Among the omnivore
species the intestines are longer. Among the herbivore
it's extremely long and adapted to break down the fibre from
algae and plants.

Cold-blooded

Fish are cold-blooded animals and this raises the demands of
their needed nutrition, this especially concerns fats.
The fat consumed must be of a liquid consistence with a capability
of keeping its liquid form under a large variation in temperature
thus consisting of saturated fats. It is advisable not to
feed flake foods or pellets that contains meats from mammals.
Especially the fats but also some proteins from these animals can
be harmful to cichlids. If not, they pass straight through the
fish and pollute the tank water. In tests made on salmon that
have been given a rather high concentration of fats from mammals
it has clearly shown that they suffer great damage to the liver.
Regretfully there has been no research made on this subject
using tropical fish.

Today it is very rare that you encounter ingrediants that derive
from mammals in fish foods although it was quite common just a
few years back.

How to store

Today there is a wide range of high quality flake and frozen
fish foods on the market that contain practically all the nutrition
and vitamin needed for cichlids. There are even plenty of foods
especially adapted to the needs of many different cichlids. To
say that a certain type of food is healthy for all cichlids
is a grave error since the difference in what an herbivore
or carnivore cichlid needs to survive is completely different.

What ever type of food you choose for your cichlids it is very
important how it is kept.. If a dry food such as flakes or
pellets is too old it looses all of the active vitamins. If
you for instance place an open can of flake food on top of your
aquarium light, we are talking only a few hours until it is
totally useless. Instead store it in a dry and cool place and it
will be fresh for quite a long time. You can keep a small can
with a lid by your tank and refill it from a larger bag kept in
your refrigerator.

The Malawi eye biter, a carnivore

Cichlids do not know what type of foods that are good for them.

It is a common missunderstanding to believe that only because
the fish seems to like the food it is a good for them. To believe in
this is to assume that cichlids posses a greater intelligence
than humans and that they for some reason are aware of
their nutritional needs.

Because of this it is important that you as a keeper of cichlids
are aware of what your species are adapted to consume. It is you
who choose the correct foods for your cichlids. They will eat
what you serve them.

It is advisable to give them food twice a day (fry more often)
but never more than they can consume within two minutes.

It is very rare that cichlids starve to death in an aquarium but
at least 100 times as common that they die from being overfed.

Variation

Even if you can find a type of food that contains the right
proportions of all needed vitamins, proteins, fats and fibre for
your cichlids it is adviceable to vary their diet. Cichlids
that have gotten used to eating a variation of foods are often more
resistant to various diseases than those who have been given the
same food for a long period of time.

Feeding in the same place

You should have a certain place in your tank where you
repeatedly feed your cichlids. But it is a good idea to use that as a
"main" and also feed a little on one other spot. The tank is generally
dominated by a couple of fishes while others act a bit more
careful and are not given a chance to reach the food. In
this way you make sure that all are fed.

Different levels

You have probably also noted that different species feed on
different levels in your tank. If you use only foods that
float, very little food will reach the cichlids that live
close to the bottom. There are however lots of foods on the market
today that divides it self into all levels of the water.