# blood worm and african cichlids



## WHITE KNIGHT

Why do so many people not like to feed blood worm to african cichlids? i have a good collection of african cichlids which i have had for more than 3 years and they love the stuff.


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## DJRansome

Some of them are herbivores and too much protein has been suspected of causing intestinal problems.


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## Matts_Cichlids

All fish love the bloodworms whether its good or bad for them but I have also heard to be careful when feeding them to Africans because the worms have small spines which can cause the fish problems.

Anyone know if that is true?


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## cichlidaholic

Bloodworms are safe for some cichlids, but not most Malawi cichlids. As DJR stated, they are believed to be a contributing factor to bloat.

Judging from the stock list of your tanks in your other post, I'm willing to bet these tanks haven't been set up very long. The problems from feeding them improperly will develop over time.

I would suggest researching a bit on the species you have, this will help you to determine their dietary needs AND the potential for problems as these fish mature in tanks that are most likely going to be too small for them. :thumb:

And MC is right...These fish will eat anything, they don't know (or care) whether it is good for them or not. I dare say mine would eat a piece of fried chicken, but I would never try it! :wink:


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## becadavies

cichlidaholic said:


> I dare say mine would eat a piece of fried chicken, but I would never try it! :wink:


made me chuckle :lol:


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## WHITE KNIGHT

all my tanks bar one have been set up for 3 years now the only fish i have trouble with is electric yellows they seem to die after dropping there fry which leaves me with a tank full of males. I even set up a tank only for them but same thing happens.


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## cichlidaholic

Your stock lists for the various tanks you have are pretty high stress stocklists. A stressed tank often has health issues once the fish begin to mature.

If you aren't leaving the holding moms in the main tank, then there is no reason for them to be dying after releasing the fry, unless they are ill.


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## smidey

i feed bloodworms twice on the weekend only, i have done this for two years & have not had any bloat. I give them a varied diet from seaweed, pellets, peas to sera foods. I have also had success with a bucket of water with wood in it to farm mozquito larvae. net it out & throw into the tank, its quite entertaining watching them compete for the food.


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## DISCIPLE

I give mine bws regularly but in moderation like everything else. i give pellets, wafers in morning bws, brine shrimp, worms in the evenings. *** done this without a problem. however i read that in some cichlids it was thought to be a cause of bloat. :thumb:


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## Dave

It isn't the amount of protein. Spirulina has a high protein content and is recommended for many fish. It is the levels of fats and the lack of roughage that make this a problem food.


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## WHITE KNIGHT

i feed them twice to three times a week for about 3 years and never had a problem, exept with electric yellows so they have there own bloodworm free tank.I 'm starting to think its not the bloodworm its the amount given, would this be correct?


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## smidey

WHITE KNIGHT said:


> .I 'm starting to think its not the bloodworm its the amount given, would this be correct?


I would say so, i have fed my yellows bloodworms for rwo years with out an issue. Variety is the key i think.


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## Dewdrop

Yellow labs are omnivore so they should be the ones that *should* be able to handle the occasional blood worm (I think). I would just cut out feeding blood worms to mbuna entirely, to be on the safe side. If you really like feeding blood worms maybe start up another tank with fish you *know* would benefit from having them in their diet :wink:


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## CichlidLover2

Why are people so set on feeding blood worms? Its not what you want to feed your fish, its what is good for them.

Its just like feeding a dog chocolate, he will eat it but most dogs are poisoned by it.

Or its like babies that eat anything they find on the floor. Just because they want to put it in their mouths doesn't make it a good idea.

Just like dewdrop stated, if you want to feed blood worms so badly start an oscar tank!


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## kbuntu

Most of the commercial food available for Mbuna's have all the ingredients they need in their diet.

Since most of them are Herbivores they need vegetable based food and this means lettuce, peas etc.... NOT bloodworms. A lot of people are very concerned about the protein content in fish food but yet they feed them bloodworms. Don't understand.


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## khaki

Bloodworms has a very high percent in PROTEIN which is bad for most MALAWI. it can cause bloat. like most people have say you can feed them anything...but then again they can EAT ANYTHING. if you have been feeding bloodworms and nothing have happen yet...remember the problems produces overtime.

i have found out a buddy of mine has been feeding bloodworms to his mbuna such as the yellow labs...their life span got shorter than mine labs and we got it at the exact time (i dont feed bloodworms). i dont know this is true or not though.

MOST Mbuna food ingredients does not say "bloodworm" on there...why feed then?
like *CichlidLover2* say...it is like feeding your dog candy!


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## cichlidaholic

I just posted this in another thread about a fish who seems to be having some bloating, and thought I would post it here, as well.

Here is a direct quote by Ad Konings, from his "Back to Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlids" 2nd edition, page 34-35:



> Many kinds of deep frozen fish food are available in pet shops. Not all of them are recommended for cichilds (or any other kind of fishes). Red mosquito larvae, one of the most popular frozen foods, are very bad and should not be fed to fishes. These larvae are found in the mud of stagnant pools and feed from the mud, including when this contains chemicals which are toxic to some fishes, especially to Malawi and Tanganyikan cichlids. Red mosquito larvae often occur in very acid water and since the larvae consist mostly of water such acid water is ingested by the fish. Malawi cichlids live in alkaline water and the feeding of red mosquito larvae may easily lead to so-called Malawi Bloat. The same problem exists when you feed your Malawians glass worms from acid water. Moreover red mosquito larvae induce allergic reactions in about 30% of persons coming in contact with them!


This information alone is enough reason for me to not feed my fish bloodworms. :thumb:


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## why_spyder

I think that tidbit should be stickied some where so that everytime this conversation comes back up - we can just say "read the sticky on it". :thumb:


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## cichlidaholic

why_spyder said:


> I think that tidbit should be stickied some where so that everytime this conversation comes back up - we can just say "read the sticky on it". :thumb:


You and I think alike... :wink:


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