Cichlid full belly advice

[bsoyer]

Hi, my strawberry cichlid female has a full belly as you can see in the picture.
İs this eggs and means she is getting ready to spawn ?
Or
Am i feeding them too much ?
İ am feeding 3 times a day with small portions where they completely finish in 10 secs .
İ am asking as i am new to Cichlids.


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[ralfieboy]

If the Cichlid is eating then you are feeding too much. My main tank I feed every other day and my spawning or grow tanks, I feed once daily. If the fish is not eating then you have bloat, which is hard to cure.


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[TMRC Exotics]

Definitely overfeeding for a Malawi cichlid.

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[KingKyoga]

The full belly is definitely not an indication of spawning activity....If you didn't know your fish is a mouthbrooder, which means they hold the eggs in their mouths.
Just looks like you have a slightly plump fish there. Be careful not to feed foods high in fat content. You don't want anything higher than 8% fat.

....btw I don't think your feeding too much, based on the small portions you've reported & he's not really that fat.


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[Slade]

You can add a small amount of Epsom salt during water change to avoid constipation which can lead to bloat. But judging from your picture, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Tpalmer]

I feed my Malawi cichlids peas once a week or so. They love it and peas are great to clean out the digestive system.


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[bsoyer]

Hi thanks for information.
How do you give the peas?
Do you boil or just wash?
Do you use frozen or fresh peas?


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[Tpalmer]

I thaw frozen peas in a cup of water and then de-shell them. You just need to break the skin off of the peas. I don't cook them or anything special, just thaw and peel.

 

[bsoyer]

Ok thanks, i will do that


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