Grazing

[dmk6]

Is it ok/recommended to have something like a big piece of lettuce or a cucumber strapped down for the Mbuna to graze on?
My Mbuna are always begging for food and i would just feel better if I could keep something like that in there. They do eat alge off the rocks like they are supposed to.

 

[jbree13]

That could cause bad chemicals. As long as there is good algae growth they should be fine. You can even get some sinking pellets from fish stores that you can drop into the tank and they'll eat it

 

[kay-bee19]

...My Mbuna are always begging for food...

Mbuna's (and other types of fish) are wired to behave like this.

Most (but not all) of mbuna's are algae-grazers. The algae they consume in the wild is of low nutritional value, so they eat lots of it to make up for the nutrionaly shortfall. To eat lots of it means spending a lot of time grazing. Being wired to be pertually hungry will gurantee they'll get their daily requirement.

(their diet and natural environment explains typical mbuna aggression and territorial behavior: algae covered rocks are prized possessions worth defending).

In captivity the foods we provide are typically more than enough to satisfy their daily dietary requirements but they're still wired to act hungry or take any food that is provided to them. Most likely you do not have to provide them with additional food.

My mbuna's will beg 10minutes after they've eaten with the same gusto that they exhibit when they're fed following a 2 or 3 day fast.