Malawian Cichlids Favorite Foods?

Mr.Todd

What do your Malawians like to eat? Any live foods by chance? Just curious...

Lupin

What species are you talking about?

Mbuna cichlids(except labidochromis and melanochromis) eat predominantly veggies, algae and other greens.

Haps are piscivores and therefore will eat small fish and will not hesitate to eat even their fellow small cichlids. It is not advisable to mix both as their diet differs. If the mbunas eat the meaty foods, they suffer from digestive upsets. Their digestive system is different from the piscivores and is not designed to take meaty foods. Meaty foods take a long time to be digested I believe.

Mr.Todd

Speak of the devil, do you know any good resources to learn more about Malawi classification?

Also what if I have a mixture of cichlids? Do I need to be concerned about their individual diets?

Lupin

You really shouldn't mix the mbunas and haps. For all you know, the mbunas will be the ones likely to suffer if you feed them meaty foods. Melanochromis and Labidochromis are the exception but provide them vegetable matters if necessary.