# Feeding Cichlids



## Avatar~God (Oct 21, 2004)

As some of you may know I have a south american tank set up. Im trying to find new foods to add to their diet and might save me some cash as well if possible.

I currently feed them cichlid pellets, freeze dried krill, and beefheart. I also have cichlid flakes but they would rather have pellets and frozen foods. This "diet" is great, they get a nice variety and they are growing nicely. The con to this diet, it hits my wallet pretty hard. The pellets are 10 bucks for 8.8oz, krill 8.25 for 1oz of the freeze dried stuff, and 10.25 for 8oz of the frozen beefheart. They are getting big and require alot of food to keep them from eating eachother lol.

any tips?


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## CURIUM (Dec 6, 2010)

I also have a tank of South American Cichlids...
I pretty much have the same diet as yours,
Shrimp Pellets
Frozen Krill
Cichlid Flakes
My Green Severums will even eat guppies


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Bite sized pieces of white fish would be a great addition to their diet, just make sure the peices are small enough to swollow.
Not sure if will be any cheaper but mealworms and crickets would be good also.

No need for the beefheart other then an occasional treat.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

I breed convict fry and yield a group of 150-200 fry a month. Once the fry are free swimming, which is after 4-5 days I feed them to my jag cichlid and other carnivorous fish. I usually gut load the fry before I feed them to my fish, I crush massivore delite into powder and feed it to the fry til they are bloated and then feed them to my other fish. Saves me about $30-50 a month, Hope I helped in anyway.


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

i feed a staple diet of pellets and thawed pankton every few days or so

that diet alone has given me the best looking and acting cichlids ive ever had. beef heart is too much mess for me.


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## bob351 (Oct 23, 2005)

for my oscar

hikari gold, shrimp, berries that look funny to me... basically hes my lil garbage


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## Avatar~God (Oct 21, 2004)

Wow great ideas guys, Ive always thought that just pellets wouldnt be enough. I was looking around today and they sell red shrimp much cheaper than the krill. So I'm going to feed them pellets and shrimp each day and beef heart once a week.

Thanks for the help!


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

im telling you, every cichlid is a little different then the last. try all sorts of frozen foods. i had cichlids that would only eat dry food and others that wouldnt touch anything other then krill. 
from experience with cichlids, the more you experiment the better youll understand your fish you currently have. hard to have a blueprint for any one species on what they will or will not eat

just keep in mind, flakey stuff like beef heart makes a mess


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Bite sized pieces of white fish and shrimp, home raised insects... and i'd recommend to avoid beefheart, keep in mind they eat mostly whole fish and insects in the wild and beefheart could foul your water....


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## Avatar~God (Oct 21, 2004)

Im going to give the white fish a try today

Do you guys know if I can feed them night crawlers from out side? I use to feed my old pike night crawlers from the petstore but they want 4.50 for 12 now.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Avatar~God said:


> Im going to give the white fish a try today
> 
> Do you guys know if I can feed them night crawlers from out side? I use to feed my old pike night crawlers from the petstore but they want 4.50 for 12 now.


The nightcrawlers is a good "treat" as well-If your going to get themm from outside-
I highly recomend that you tavel to unpopulated area and make sure no chemicals gets sprayed or used in that area....Then yeah-Collect away for sure

You could even grab a cracked or used tank and start your own worm farm as well-They are easy and cheap.....


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

feed crawlers from outside only now and again. and obviously make sure you give them a quick rinse before plopping them in the tanks water. just make sure you collect them from an unfertilized yard. nothing with chemicals, etc


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## sadboy (Jan 6, 2005)

How big are they, sorry to lazy to read the whole thing.

Have you tried blood worms?


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## armac (Nov 28, 2002)

My big dovi gets Cichlid Gold and fresh shrimp.

He is about three and half years old and is about 20 inches long.


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

20'' dovii....nice
wish i had the room for one of these guys

i was at a lfs a few weeks ago during a feeding round. they were feeding all the cichlids this pink paste looking stuff. guy told me they mix up pellets and a few frozen foods in a blender (to max color) and they go nuts over it. 
wouldnt try it, but its an example on how you can try just about anything.


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## ibcd (Jan 8, 2011)

I have couple cichlid tanks also. I live outside of town so its easier for me but I dig em up worms, catch grasshoppers& crickets. I buy pellets in bulk. Also trade lfs juvies for food. I get the big flats of blood worms&silversides its a lot cheaper than the small cubes.


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## Avatar~God (Oct 21, 2004)

Yeah I buy flats as well, save alot of cash that way. Thanks again for the tips and armac I saw some pictures of your dovii, very nice man!


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## armac (Nov 28, 2002)

Avatar~God said:


> Yeah I buy flats as well, save alot of cash that way. Thanks again for the tips and armac I saw some pictures of your dovii, very nice man!


The pictures I posted were about a year old, I may get some new ones........he has grown!


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

armac said:


> Yeah I buy flats as well, save alot of cash that way. Thanks again for the tips and armac I saw some pictures of your dovii, very nice man!


The pictures I posted were about a year old, *I may get some new ones*........he has grown!
[/quote]

Please do man...Nothing nicer than a big Dovii...I tend to raise one myself again here soon in either a 270 or my 500


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## armac (Nov 28, 2002)

Not a new picture but one to give you an idea of the width of this fish, once again an old photo. My wife has the camera in her truck.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

armac said:


> Not a new picture but one to give you an idea of the width of this fish, once again an old photo. My wife has the camera in her truck.


Not bad for the time you have had it....Has gotten more girth as well Armac? You can tell it's a beast-You can even see it has some nice coloration.....Certainly look forward to an update.

Care to say size tank it has been raised in and currently housed?


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## armac (Nov 28, 2002)

AKSkirmish said:


> Not a new picture but one to give you an idea of the width of this fish, once again an old photo. My wife has the camera in her truck.


Not bad for the time you have had it....Has gotten more girth as well Armac? You can tell it's a beast-You can even see it has some nice coloration.....Certainly look forward to an update.

Care to say size tank it has been raised in and currently housed?
[/quote]

He has been in a 260 gallon tank since the day I got him on 04/01/2008.

He was one of 5 dovis I bought as babies from a guy called fishfarm down in Georgia. I ended up with 3 males and 2 females. Once the male and female paired up I got rid of the other 3 to a local pet store. My male and female spawned about 4 or 5 times, then he killed her.

He has always lived with a group of clown loaches, theya re between 8 and 10 inches long, and a royal pleco, a common pleco, and an albino pleco.

The dovi is a neat fish, I have considered getting rid of him and starting a local caught Texas cichlid tank, it would be more active, more fish. But I cannot get rid of my big guy. I have a local pond, right off of the Rio Grande where I can catch texas cichlids on occasion, I love these guys, but at this point I cannot keep them, no room.


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

I suggest the same thing I suggest for any pred's. Vit infused shrimp. You can feed them the rest of the stuff you do as snacks. but if you need a healthy staple food that isn't going to drain your wallet too hard this is really the best solution.

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/160076-prepping-food-for-storage-shrimp/


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## Avatar~God (Oct 21, 2004)

Wow thats a big dovii man, looks really nice. I've always wanted a dovii as well but I dont have a big enough tank right now for one, one day though. Also I bet a wild texas tank would be cool









blacksunshine thats a great post bro, very good idea for feeding fish. I think this weekend I'm going to try that out


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## Spilo26 (Apr 27, 2005)

Yeah I second shrimp. I can get like 5 lbs of uncooked frozen shrimp for like 14.99 at my grocery. Imagine the same price in pellets $$$$$$ lol. Plus you can soak them in vitamins or load them with pellets fairly easily.


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## [email protected]° (Jun 16, 2004)

Hikari pellets
Blood Worms
Krill
Brine Shrimp
and right now fry food for da babies!!


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