# Feeding african cichlids shrimp?



## bb03 (Mar 23, 2009)

This is kind of a strange question but I was recently told by someone at a pet store that it is safe to feed cichlids chopped frozen shrimp bought at the grocery store. Im just curious if this is true or not


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## ddaquaria (Jan 3, 2004)

I've heard of people doing it in their shrimp mixes.

I have not tried it myself though.

D


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## troyino777 (Dec 10, 2008)

i did and it killed 2 of my red zebras


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## mgrantham21 (Jan 10, 2009)

good to know! I will make sure that I never try that.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

I do it all the time.
I feed my fish the scraps of many of my seafood meals.
I do shrimp and lobster regularly.
I just make sure spices aren't added to any of the food.


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

Very much will depend as well on the type of cichlid. There are a lot of herbivorous cichlids, and feeding them a high protein meal can easily give them bloat. Not to mention any uneaten food would quickly spoil in the tank. There are so many quality fish foods available, why chance it?


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## b show (Apr 7, 2009)

Red zebras eat plants not meat. They probaly got bloat. That why they died you can feed it to carnivores


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

actually the red zebras are omnivores...i feed all my mbuna shrimp but only once a week as to not give them bloat...they appreciate a nice treat now and then


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## ZeroSystem (Sep 4, 2005)

I too have fed my african cichlids various shrimp, though usually kinds that are designed to be fed to fish already. My cichlids occationally recieve brine shrimp, small bits of krill and the ever so rare cube of mysis shrimp. It's diffinetly not something I feed on a regular basis, but as was mentioned earlier is somewhat of a treat for 'em. As far as feeding grocery store bought shrimp, I'd probably save stuff like that for more carnivorous fish. My red devil loves that sort of thing, but I don't feed it to my african cichlids.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You need to be very careful with your food choices. It all depends on the species we are talking about, and this is a question that can't be answered in generalizations.

IMO, one good quality staple fish food is all you need.

The more of a variety you introduce, the harder it is to pinpoint problems when you have them.

There are far too many quality foods on the market these days to even consider doing otherwise.


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