Starving???

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Benito

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 18, 2008
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Rotterdam
man i read too many threads and posts about cichla being starved too long, man for **** sake, if you dont like a fish that needs to be fed fish like that eric guy in the other thread DONT BUY ONE
my opinion is that you just feed them fish until the point we all know they ll get greedy and eat anything does any one share this opinion??
 
I do share your thought's. I don't know what is this new way of thinking. You can't raise cichla on pellet's. Pellet's should not be feed until this cichla is 8'' PERIOD! You should be feeding exclusivly LIVE FEEDERS until this time. These cichlids are True Preditors not little cichlid and needs major nurishment. I feel like when keeping cichla. You need to ignore all of the myht's. Far to many people who dont keep cichla trying to tell you what else you can feed beside's live food. These fish want need and must have lot's of live food period. It's getting bad around here for the cichla lovers. If your a yuppie cichla keeper and don't believe in live feedings then no problem but I think some of the new keepers are being mislead and really need to know that FEEDERS are there main staple the other foods are just treat's until after the cichla reaches 8''.

I know some won't agree with what I have said or only agree with part's of my opinion but I will put my cichla up against anybody's as far as size,color, and there general healthy happy apperance I have to say I am doing a good job but I don't falter form the script. FEEDERS and lot's of them Cichlids are even better to feed to your Cichla or even Africans. But forget about the cheap choice of foods or just forget about keeping CICHLA.
 
i totally agree with you, ive fed mine live for the first 8 months they were 25 cm when they started to eat silversides,anchovies,mussel,shrimp, no pellets though but i never feed pellets, they are 15 months now and are 55cm they get live once a week usally some cichlids but i feed small carp also
 
My little 2-3" guys eat bloodworms and I dont really have anywhere to qt feeders... they can still stuff themselves silly on bloodworms though... do I have to give them feeders or are bloodworms ok since they take them?
 
benito-if those cichla in your avatar are yours they really look healthy and beautiful! and fat-its nice to see some plumped up ones who get fed what they need. they really do need more than a few large shrimp thrown in the tank..

yours are beautiful! i never knew you feed them so many feeders when they are young then graduate to other foods.. learned something new today (sorry, i keep africans lol)
 
I dont starve my cichla either. I give them what they will eat. I have a few that wont eat anything but live so far. I have some that will eat anything. I actually believe in teacher fish. Cichla are competative feeders to say the least. Put in some fish that eat pellets or whatever and the pbass will get the point. My biggest orino would spit pellets out when I first got him. I put him in with the others after a brief QT period and now he eats anything that touches the water just like the rest. Once they get the idea they will eat and then you can offer a more varied diet.

Now about feeders. Cichla are predators. IMO denying them the opportunity to be predators takes away from their quality of life. My goal as a fishkeeper is to provide the best quality of life I can for my fishes. That means giving them live foods and providing them the opportunity to hunt and eat.

As far as the cost. If you can't afford to feed your fish whatever it takes to keep them healthy don't buy them or get rid of them. Better yet send them and your tanks to me.
 
You don't really have to QT your feeders if you keep your tanks at 87+ degree's I never QT unless I buy unusal amount's of feeder. As I often do. But true to the myth you should QT all feeders but most people would never keep there tanks at 87 degrees hince the need for QT. Most of all the problems your going to get form feeders will die at that temprature. I feed a lot of diffrent items on the menu but every weekend my cichla get feeder's and everyday my cichla under 8'' get feeders with other itmes as treat's.

Now this doesn't mean don't QT feeders because it's better to be safe then sorry. But by keeping the temp high you should aliviate most of the issues with feeders that others have had. A good rule of thumb is safe foods so a good LFS that takes good care of there feeders is a must. And as a substitute Raw shrimp should be your only other main staple as an alternitive to feeders.
 
Good to know, tomorrow looks like I am gonna get some feeders along with bloodworms, the tank is always between 86.5-87.5 is that close enough? Would you recommend rosy reds or a ton of white clouds?
 
so if you all go through so many feeders wouldnt it be cheaper to just set up a small tank and breed guppies or something as feeders? if i kept cichla thats probably what i would do..

just asking questions-i love the pbass and am starting to read on how to keep them, right now i have africans and will be doing a sa/ca tank again.

cichlid savage-your fish are stunning also.. its nice to see cichla that are healthy..
 
CichlidDan;2456194; said:
Good to know, tomorrow looks like I am gonna get some feeders along with bloodworms, the tank is always between 86.5-87.5 is that close enough? Would you recommend rosy reds or a ton of white clouds?
Click to expand...

Your temp is right on, I would get rosies depending on the size of your cichla. Gut load the rosies with pellet's. That is usually what I do. How big are your cichla?
 
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