what kinds of frozen fish are good for CA/SA cichlids? i found tilapia filets for really cheap at a local market. mine love it but does that mean its good for them? should i try something else? my friend caught a bunch of crabs (hahahaha) and gave me a couple, along with some squid. i didnt want to give the fish any till i got some opinions. thanks everybody
frozen fish
- Thread starter badazz07sti
- Start date
Too much of something good is usually bad. Vary their diet. Bloodworms, Krill, silver sides, Mysis Shrimp, and Brine shrimp are all good choices.
Wait on somebody else for the crab and squid.
Wait on somebody else for the crab and squid.
Be careful with the crabs man! Being a Marylander (The biggest Crab eaters in America!) I can tell U for certain, that there are MANY problems that go along with Crab consumption!
1. Cholesterol: The Blue crab along with some shell fish contain higher levels of "bad" cholesterol then most other sea creatures. I am not certain that this will have a negative impact on Cichlids in the same way it does on Humans, but well it is out there!
2. Scavengers: The blue crab is a notorius scavanger that will eat horrendous garbage without so much as a millisecond hesitation. You hear fish keepers using the term "gut ... feeders" from feeding fish that are tp be used as feeders with high quality nutrition, so it can be passed onto the predator fish. This would put crabs at 180 degree other end of the spectrum in "gut stuffing"!
3. Dirty: Crabs lungs are considered poisionous to Humans. Most non Marylanders would not even consider "picking" the eadible meat from the shells to "eat" crabs. Even multitudes of Marylanders who love crab meat won't touch them with a ten foot poll and only do crab cakes etc...
4. Again as in my first point, there are along the lines of 1000+ times more Americans that have "allergic" reactions to crabs and shellfish, then there are who have allergic reactions to "finned fish". Again I do not know if the negative impact of allergies to humans are shared by fish at all.
5. Parasites: There is a huge challenge with parasites in shellfish and crabs that is easily greater then that of finned fish. If you have the "SMALLEST CHALLENGE" with feeding your fish live feeders due to possible parasites, then you would need to completely take leave of your senses to "NOT" worry about parasites from feeding them crabs.
And lastly, I don't know how you non-Marylanders eat your crabs, but in Maryland, we steam them in Beer and season them with Old Bay, Rock Salt and many other hot spices. The digestive systems of fish are not designed to take on "Spicy/ Hot" foods.
1. Cholesterol: The Blue crab along with some shell fish contain higher levels of "bad" cholesterol then most other sea creatures. I am not certain that this will have a negative impact on Cichlids in the same way it does on Humans, but well it is out there!
2. Scavengers: The blue crab is a notorius scavanger that will eat horrendous garbage without so much as a millisecond hesitation. You hear fish keepers using the term "gut ... feeders" from feeding fish that are tp be used as feeders with high quality nutrition, so it can be passed onto the predator fish. This would put crabs at 180 degree other end of the spectrum in "gut stuffing"!
3. Dirty: Crabs lungs are considered poisionous to Humans. Most non Marylanders would not even consider "picking" the eadible meat from the shells to "eat" crabs. Even multitudes of Marylanders who love crab meat won't touch them with a ten foot poll and only do crab cakes etc...
4. Again as in my first point, there are along the lines of 1000+ times more Americans that have "allergic" reactions to crabs and shellfish, then there are who have allergic reactions to "finned fish". Again I do not know if the negative impact of allergies to humans are shared by fish at all.
5. Parasites: There is a huge challenge with parasites in shellfish and crabs that is easily greater then that of finned fish. If you have the "SMALLEST CHALLENGE" with feeding your fish live feeders due to possible parasites, then you would need to completely take leave of your senses to "NOT" worry about parasites from feeding them crabs.
And lastly, I don't know how you non-Marylanders eat your crabs, but in Maryland, we steam them in Beer and season them with Old Bay, Rock Salt and many other hot spices. The digestive systems of fish are not designed to take on "Spicy/ Hot" foods.
well i didnt mean me personally eating the crab i meant if the fish could eat it. lolscreaminleeman;3949543; said:
Tilapia is fine to feed to your cichlids, they are at least omnivores, they love vegetation and meat.
The crab and the squid are most likely fine for them as well, there are risks though, but I have a feeling they will be slight. Cooking/freezing the meat will cure many of the risks like parasites as well.
Even if say your fish consumes an animal that has been tainted by a chemical or something like Mercury, one feeding will not kill your fish, nor harm it drastically, just don't give them a constant supply of it.
The crab and the squid are most likely fine for them as well, there are risks though, but I have a feeling they will be slight. Cooking/freezing the meat will cure many of the risks like parasites as well.
Even if say your fish consumes an animal that has been tainted by a chemical or something like Mercury, one feeding will not kill your fish, nor harm it drastically, just don't give them a constant supply of it.