Bocourti diet

[laurad83]

I’m having some problems researching the Bocourti’s diet. I’ve found pages saying they’re herbivorous, some others that they should be fed both veggies and meaty products.
What would be a good, balanced diet for them?
Thank you very much!

 

[duanes]

As in your other post, these primarily vegetarian cichlids, beside consuming lots of leafy greens like romaine, and dandelions, and thawed peas, I fed a pellet like Algaemax, it is high in Spirulina. but also contains everything else, nutritionally needed
I also grew hair algae in sumps that I would feed in large clumps


I tried growing papyrus (umbrella palm) in their tanks when young, but as the bocourti grew, they whittled a 4 ft plant (basically paper) into nothing but nubs.
I like putting these type plants in my sumps these days to help control nitrate.

The papyrus growing in the sump below is over 5 ft tall..

 

[The Mule]

I love bocourti! As mentioned, they are primarily herbivorous. They have a very long digestive tract, which is typical of herbivores. If they are well fed, you'll see their bellies bulge up to ridiculous size and then they will poop enormous amounts of green poop! They'll eat pretty much anything you throw at them in my experience, but make sure they get a healthy dose of veggies - peas, zuke, lettuce all good, as are pellets that contain a good amount of spirulina.

 

[duanes]

As stated above Cincilichthys (the genus with both pearsei and bocourti) have large digestive tracts, compared to most non vegetarian cichlids, where protein is processed quickly. To get the nutrition most out of plant based foods it takes more processing.

above is an X-ray of C. pearsei from a veteranary text book. Both species are prime examples of cichlids that can get intestinal blockages from a too high in protein and meaty a diet.