How to Feed African Cichlids

Getting new tropical fish is always exciting, but you need to learn proper feeding techniques and the healthiest foods for each variety of fish. Learning how to feed African cichlids is not difficult or terribly expensive. Use a nutritious flake food to begin, and supplement with some fresh or frozen foods for the eating habits of your specific variety.

• Learn to judge proper feeding quantities. Cichlids are voracious eaters, and consume food rather quickly because of their normally aggressive behavior. Fierce competition for food only encourages them to consume more food and faster. If you have many fish in a tank, you should keep up a schedule of feeding an average of three to four times daily.


• Use care when feeding cichlids and do not over feed them. For each feeding sprinkle in a high quality, flaked food such as Spirulina Flakes. Sprinkle in just enough food that they can eat in about 30 seconds. Too much food at one feeding can cause bloating in cichlids and make them ill. Feeding African cichlids smaller, nutritious meals throughout the day also tends to help calm them and lessen their aggressive behavior.


• Feeding a balance diet is important to the health of the fish. Adjust the diet of cichlids based on dietary needs. Cichlid varieties come in omnivorous, herbivorous, carnivorous and micro-predators. For all species avoid foods high in fats. A good diet for herbivorous fish are basic meals of Spirulina Flakes supplemented with frozen spinach and peas and lettuce. Piscivorous fish do well on basic flake food with the addition of krill, shrimp pellets and brine shrimp flakes.


• Study the appearance and activity levels of your cichlids to determine if you are feeding too little or over feeding. If your fish normally seem excited when you begin feeding take this as a good sign. They should be energetic and very hungry. When cichlids do not appear excited about food and act sluggish, you can assume they are overfed or ill. It is healthier to slightly under feed than over feeding.