Zebra diet/picky-ness

[MarisaB]

Another question about my Zebra cichlid Gary.

He is SUPER picky. Before I got Gary he was eating nothing but flake food for three years. I am not on the up and up with cichlid diet but I'd assume some variety is better than just one food??

Anyways he will eat ONLY Wardleys Cichlid Flakes (its the purple can) If I mix food in, he picks th flakes out. I tried to add some tropical flake, no go. Although I assume its almost the same ingredients.

He will also eat freeze dried shrimp. But nothing else. Does this matter? Should I try to add more variety or is he alright eating the cichlid flakes? My biggest problem with them is he is large enough that he ignores any of the flakes from the bottom of the can, or that are tiny. So once I've used up the bigger unbroken pieces, he eats nothing and looks at th food then swims off into his cave again.

 

[hamburgler]

Is your "zebra" cichlid a red zebra? As in african or something else that has 'zebra' stripes?
Does it look like this? http://homepage.mac.com/jabaro/Images/Zebra.jpg

If so the best thing to feed would be a quality pellet or flake made of spirulina. Be careful with the flakes, it sounds as though a lot is going uneaten. Thats not good for the water quality. And i suggest feeding frozen brine shrimp over freeze dried.

 

[MarisaB]

Well I was basically told he was a "Zebra Cichlid" but here is a pic, and I'd welcome a for sure ID is someone has it.

He refuses pellets at all costs. And by that I mean I have fed him nothing else and he will simply starve for a week if I am only offering pellets. I'll try the frozen shrimp over freeze dried for sure though for starters.

 

[MarisaB]

Any replies if this guy is for sure a zebra cichlid or something else? I'd like to know if I have been told right all these years lmao

 

[JustOneMore20]

Gary certainly looks like a Metriaclima sp. "Zebra Chilumba" (Luwino Reef) which is one of the Mbuna labelled as a "Zebra cichlid". Now you have a full name for him though.

Mbuna are mostly plant and algae eaters, so don't worry about the shrimp. Frozen brine shrimp is a good treat for him every now and then, but I would not include it into the feeding routine. Mbuna can get Malawi Bloat from too much animal protein.

I'm not sure what is in the Wardley Cichlid food, but obviously its pretty good for him, as he looks really healthy. I'd definitely find a spirulina based food or veggie flakes to incorporate into his diet. I'd go for something that has spirulina listed as the first ingredient. Also, you could try zucchini, cucumber, and spinach and see if he'll eat them. He may not though, since he's used to the flakes, but its worth a try.

 

[MarisaB]

Yes I went out to Big Al's yesterday and I got him spirulina flakes....the first bite last night he spit out but then he ate them last night, and had no problems eating them again today. So thats good! thanks for the full name!!! appreciate it.