# What do you feed your Mbuna



## Dilettante (Oct 3, 2008)

Just wondering which foods you guys use and the results you have been getting in colour, size and overall health.

Are the Premium brands worth the money?
Is home made just as good?
do you supplement with anything: live food, freeze dried or forzen?

I usually use the Hikari Gold Cichlid formula suplemented with some frozen brine shrimp now and then. works very well for growth and colour.

Your thoughts...


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## MalawiMadness (Nov 5, 2008)

*Feeding Mbunas*

You should be using a well balanced staple, flake or pellet food, such as Aqueon Cichlid, or New Life Spectrum. You can also supplement their diet with blanched veggies or seaweed. Avoid food such as brine shrimp, krill, blood worms, since MOST mbunas are herbivores. Although there are also omnivorous species such as yellow labs. But a good staple pellet or flake will take care of ALL of their needs. Hope this helps.


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## Dilettante (Oct 3, 2008)

MalawiMadness said:


> You should be using a well balanced staple, flake or pellet food, such as Aqueon Cichlid, or New Life Spectrum. You can also supplement their diet with blanched veggies or seaweed. Avoid food such as brine shrimp, krill, blood worms, since MOST mbunas are herbivores. Although there are also omnivorous species such as yellow labs. But a good staple pellet or flake will take care of ALL of their needs. Hope this helps.


My johani's and kenyi love the occasional brine shrimp.
I wouldnt feed that to the demasonai or yellow top mbambas i plan on getting.

I was thinking or trying the NLS growth formula for some fry i will be aquiring.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

This is what I feed mine nls pellets frozen silver sides, defrosted of course, zucinni, sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots. My fish have great color and I keep alot that people said to never mix. lol. Anyway if you would like to see pics let me know. Hope this helps Pat. Ps dont feed too much blood worms they get constipated.


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## Dilettante (Oct 3, 2008)

pat3612 said:


> This is what I feed mine nls pellets frozen silver sides, defrosted of course, zucinni, sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots. My fish have great color and I keep alot that people said to never mix. lol. Anyway if you would like to see pics let me know. Hope this helps Pat. Ps dont feed too much blood worms they get constipated.


Pics would be great, Thanks Pat


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## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

Curious how you feed the veggies... I have some of these fish and would love to hookem up with some fresh Veg! But I get my food from http://www.johnsfishfood.com
He is a great guy and has good quality food for every type of fish you may have. The prices are cheaper than any you will find,and he ships cheap. Its worth the try. If your near North york I could give you a sample to try as the prices are so cheap I am considering keeping some for local people to pick up more readily.
I am patiently waiting my order today actually.
His sponge filters are half the price of big als!
Finally start my 20gal rack!


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Sorry I have been so busy that I sometimes forget to but info up. I microwave the zucchinni for 2 minutes. This way it sinks to the bottom make sure its cooled. Lately Ive been feeding the odd piece of banana. At dinner I sometimes give them wahtever Iam eating the odd piece of speggetti no sauce,carrots, small pieces of chicken. These are just treats except for the vegs which they get every 2 days. I will try to put up some pics tommorrow.I also have 2 crays in my 90 gal and a big pleco who clean up whatever is leftover.


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## Marius (Nov 28, 2008)

You can juggle with the foods or just stick to one whole formula staple like NLS. I had great success with that. 

Some Mbunas are omnivorous as well, so they're not going to be as succeptible to high protein foods ...but in the end, it's better to stick to something simple and proved good.


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

I just stick with flakes (NLS right now and Omega1 veggie flakes). That what both breeders I bought off said to do and their fish were awesome.

I've thrown a zuchini in there and the Yellow Labs were all over it the Cyno's not so much (of course if you have a pleco in there they love it too.) I stuck a big plastic chop stick through a thickly cut slice and that held it down no worries.


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## Marius (Nov 28, 2008)

Problem with raw vegetables is that they ruin the water quality too much. I've given up feeding raw veggies unless it's a dedicated plecostomus breeding tank, or pleco grow out tank for that matter.


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## KevD (Mar 2, 2008)

One of the best foods you can feed any fish is one with a high percentage of Spirulina. I personally use OSI Spirulina and Argent Cyclop-eeze flakes as the staple diet and add a few other types once in awhile for variety.


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

I do weekly WC's in all my tanks so if I drop in a zuch every now and then it doesn't make much of an impact. But yea I've seen a neglected piece kick up quite a bit of mush if it doesn't get eaten.


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