# brine shrimp



## onepiece (Sep 12, 2008)

*brine shrimp or bloodworms which is better for your cichlids malawi mix?*​
brine shrimp840.00%bloodworms00.00%other......flakes, pellets of all sizes1260.00%or all of the above00.00%


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## onepiece (Sep 12, 2008)

How good are brine shrimp for your african cichlids? And how aften can you feed it to them? :fish:


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## marsbennett (Nov 11, 2008)

I look forward to learning something here. I do know which mine like most.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

This is a question that cannot be answered without knowing the specific species we are talking about.

I don't feed any of my Malawi cichlids either bloodworms OR brineshrimp.

Bloodworms are believed to be a major contributor to bloat. Brine shrimp isn't appropriate for strict herbivores, so as you see, it's impossible to give an accurate answer without knowing what species you have.

_NO_ to bloodworms with Malawi cichlids, period...


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Like cichlidaholic, I don't feed my cichlids bloodworms or brine shrimp.


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## CichlidLover2 (Jul 31, 2005)

cichlidaholic basically said it all...

You dont want to feed Malawi cichlids any meaty protein frozen foods.

Usually a nice mix of spirulina, NLS, and veggies is good enough. And with the veggies I use lettuce, cucumber/zucchini, carrots. Usually you can feed certain veggies that have the colors your fish have and that can help bring out their color. My dems,afra,and labs dont like the carrots too much but I know other people that feed them.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

CichlidLover2 said:


> You dont want to feed Malawi cichlids any meaty protein frozen foods.


 isn't this a bit of an overgeneralization in the other direction?

Don't we want to match food to fish? e.g. NLS is a lovely meaty protein rish food but since it's from a suitable source, then no problems!


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## kj23502 (Jul 29, 2008)

I feed mine brineshrimp on occassion. My fish are omnivores now. I used to have carnivores too, but sold them. They are fine as a treat as long as you don't have strict herbivores in the tank, such as Tropheus.(I believe they are REALLY suceptible to bloat). Remember unless the brine shrimp was enriched they don't have much nutritional value anyway. It's kinda like candy, I guess. Moderation :thumb:


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Number6 said:


> Don't we want to match food to fish?


I agree. Species like Labidochromis and Cynotilapia can definitely handle diets with brine shrimp - as they are large plankton and insect larvae feeders, respectively.

However, a good pellet and/or flake will make feeding brine shrimp unnecessary.

As for feeding bloodworms - I'd just recommend avoiding them altogether.


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## Willy W0nka (Jun 2, 2008)

I feed my fish brine shrimp as if it is a Thanksgiving dinner. In other words, hardly ever and only as a treat/special occassion. I think it is a lot of fun to watch them eat the shrimp and pick up the rocks to dig them out, not to mention it's protein. I just don't do it often because it is live food and I don't want to run the risk of me getting a bad batch and making my fish sick and eventually dying. Flake and pellet food is what I will continue to feed my fish regularly but again, I'll treat them from time to time too.


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## kkbward (Jan 1, 2007)

my breeder has been importing african cichlids for 40 years and swears by feeding brine shrimp every day as a natural laxitive. no real nutition per se, but it keeps the pipes clean. i figure he has a whole lot to lose feeding thousands of dollars worth of wild fish - if it works for him.... i have been doing it for two years for my mix of haps and mbuna and it has worked well for me. i use the kind that have spirulina in with the shrimp.


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## marsbennett (Nov 11, 2008)

Thanks for the thread. I just rid the freezer of blood worms. They were hitting them 2 or 3 times a week for a month. Newbies.


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## Shaikh Fareed (10 mo ago)

I feed my african chichilds tank containing peacocks and haps only pellets bought from different manufacturers that varies in protein content from 28 % to 40 %. 
Most of the days i feed them with 28 % protein diet and some days like say in 15 days, i use to feed them with 40% protein pellets.


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