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Should I feed my africans/s. americans live feeder fish?

Discussion in 'Cichlids' started by stephaniebray, Sep 4, 2009.

  1. stephaniebray

    stephaniebray Thread Starter New Member

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    hello, I was wondering if I should feed my cichlids feeder fish?? My africans are 2 1/2 to 3 1/3 inches long, and in my s. american tank i have a green terror(4in), convict(2in), and severum(2in).

    If i should, what kind and how often, and how exactly do I do it??

    Right now they get cichlid pellets, seaweed and about twice a week they get frozen(thawed) bloodworms and brine shrimp which they love.

    Thanks for the help.
     
    stephaniebray, Sep 4, 2009
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  2. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    I would not! Keep them on the pellets...

    Using feeders can potentially contaminate your tank. Feeder fish are usually not taken care of well at the LFS and their tanks are not all that great they are in. Also due to numbers of them packed in the tank greatly increases the chance of 1 feeder spreading disease to all others. You then buy the fish and bring it home to introduce the disease into your tank.

    Feeders offer little nutritional value IMO compared to the risk you take adding them to your tank. You Cichlids will live a long happy life on pellet alone and dont need any live fish to survive. If you want to change out diets here and there, feed them Frozen Bloodworms or Live Blackworms as a treat from time to time.

    IF you want to feed live fish... Buy guppies, treat them for all illness and let them breed and raise your own feeders. It is MUCH cleaner and cheaper that way greatly decreasing the risk of contaminating your tank with a disease!
     
    LemonDiscus, Sep 4, 2009
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  3. stephaniebray

    stephaniebray Thread Starter New Member

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    can i breed the guppies in my community tank or will the bigger fish eat them?? i have 8 assorted barbs and a gourami.
     
    stephaniebray, Sep 4, 2009
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  4. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    You probably could raise them in there but you will have to get the fry and put them in a breeder net or put the mother in a breeder net to have them so the other fish wont eat the fry (babies)
     
    LemonDiscus, Sep 4, 2009
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  5. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    If your fish are larger and eat large feeders you could raise a colony of Mollies or Platys instead of the guppies.

    Use guppies instead of "Rosies"
    Use Mollies/Platys instead of "Feeder Goldfish"

    Livebearers are usually kept much cleaner in the stores and if you are raising your own you have control...

    ALWAYS if doing this medicate the fish (new ones from the store) for parasites before breeding. Also ALWAYS keep a few females and at least 1 male so you can have more. It may take a few months to get a colony large enough to start feeding them to your fish and dont feed too many either as its still not the healthiest of available foods.
     
    LemonDiscus, Sep 4, 2009
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  6. HBIC

    HBIC Need help??? That's what we're here for :)

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    Cichlids need high vegetable matter in there diet and feeding to much protein can lead to problems later down the road. Bloat as well as hole in the head come to mind.
     
    HBIC, Dec 5, 2009
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  7. CichlidStorm

    CichlidStorm Member

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    African cichlids do not get HITH. African cichlids require 60% minimum of Algae based foods, and you can supplement as needed. Keep the Protein below 20%, NLS is great foods to maintain this. American/South American cichlids can handle far higher doses of protein 50%+ as a daily diet, but 35-40% is best. I suggest staying away from Live feeders as a diet, and use as a treat, ONLY if the feeders are bred and reared in your own tanks. African can use this as a treat also every once in a while. (I do this 1-2 times a month as a treat using convict fry as feeders)
     
    CichlidStorm, May 8, 2012
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  8. BobV

    BobV Member

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    I agree with CichlidStorm, most africans , not all, are vegetarians, therefore, I feed mine home raised guppies only as a treat. Too much protein in their diet will cause malawi bloat as their digestive systems can't handle the "meaty foods". As in the wild, "big fish eat smaller fish", so it's my thinking that a few feeders once in a while, help, not hurt.
     
    BobV, Aug 5, 2012
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