Bloodworms why as a treat only?

[kashif314]

Hi Guys, I see everywhere that bloodworms are fed like once or twice a week. Why is it like that? I have cichlids and barbs. Can I feed them bloodworms only? I feed my fish twice. They love bloodworms more than any other food so is it OK to continue feeding them that twice a day daily? Please reply. Thanks.

 

[Brookster123]

Need to offer other foods, mix in some Spirulina Brine shrimp and quality pellet or flake. To.much bw can cause digestive issues.

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[SherLar]

I agree with Brookster. Bloodworm is great as a quick protein boost or as a treat, but like humans, fish need a varied diet. Depending on what type of cichlids you have, they could even need more vegetable matter than protein. Malawi cichlids typically need at least 50% veggie. Too much protein can cause bloat and dropsy. Read up a bit on your fish to learn what kind of diets are necessary for optimum nutrition. If you think your fish love bloodworms now, wait til you see how they act when they only get them once or twice a week.

 

[kashif314]

I have malwai cichlids but they don't like veggies. Shall I give them staple food with bloodworms? I think they will eat company made staple food.

Please suggest.

 

[Brookster123]

Not sure that's best for those malawis???

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[SherLar]

Most Malawi cichlids shouldn't be given high-protein food very often. If that's all you have, get a good quality cichlid staple as your main food (I use Hikari Cichlid Gold), and supplement it with foods higher in vegetable matter. I use Ocean Nutrition Cichlid Vegi Pellets, and also put small pieces of seaweed sheets in the tank twice weekly, as well as frozen vegi treats. They're used to eating algae in the wild, so you have to give them foods closer to nature. You can maybe do bloodworms once per week, or less. My Malawis never get them, but I do feed frozen mysis shrimp occasionally. My apologies; I should have read your initial post more thoroughly, so my first answer would have been more concise.

 

[mambee]

You have to make a distinction between types of Malawi cichlids. Mbuna need a mostly vegetarian diet to avoid bloat. Haps and Peacocks need a higher protein diet.

 

[SherLar]

You have to make a distinction between types of Malawi cichlids. Mbuna need a mostly vegetarian diet to avoid bloat. Haps and Peacocks need a higher protein diet.

That is true, mambee, but to my knowledge, no Malawi cichlids should have a strictly protein diet. Also, the vegi pellets will have fish meal as part of the ingredients, as the cichlid pellets will have some amount of vegetable ingredients.

 

[kashif314]

Thanks guys for the replies. I decided to give them staple and protein diet but staple mainly.