Can African Cichlids Eat Bloodworms?

Feeding your African cichlids bloodworms is not such a bad idea after all. You only need to be aware of the fact that feeding a lot of it to your fish can turn out to be bad in the long term.

Yes, most carnivorous African cichlids can eat bloodworms, but feeding them too much might cause some health problems. So please read this guide to find out how much and how often to feed bloodworms to your African cichlids.

Some of them are herbivorous, while others can eat a moderate amount of meat-based diet each day.

Herbivores and carnivores digest food in different ways and their intestinal tract has not evolved the same way either. For herbivores, too much meat-based food can cause various health problems.

The main issue here is the protein content of the food. Bloodworms are an ideal source of protein for American cichlids such as the Ram cichlid, for example, because most of them are carnivores.

In the rest of this article, we are going to share some tips about feeding your cichlids and how bat it actually is to feed bloodworms to them.

Can Malawi Cichlids Eat Bloodworms?

This is where the issue with the different intestinal tracts of carnivores and herbivores is the most significant.

Bloodworms are particularly bad for Malawi cichlids and it will cause them to bloat. This health problem can be fatal if not noticed and treated in time.

You can try to feed a lot of different foods for Malawi cichlids and they will eat it. The downside of this is that they are going to eat a lot of foods that are not good for them.

Bloodworms are pretty bad for them and this is only one meat-based food that can cause problems for them.

Can Peacock Cichlids Eat Bloodworms?

When it comes to Peacock cichlids, feeding them bloodworms is not an issue at all. Of course, you should definitely avoid keeping them on a strict bloodworm diet. It is best to feed them a balanced mix of meat-based and plant-based foods.

This way, they can get plenty of proteins and vitamins in the same time. For every fish species, there is a specific amount of proteins and vitamins they need per day. This is why it’s important to do the research and thus learn the exact ratio.

Peacock cichlids can get protein from various sources. This species can eat a wide range of foods so it almost doesn’t even matter what you give them as long as it’s fish food.

Therefore, bloodworms aren’t bad for them either. In general, bloodworms are pretty bad for African cichlids but Peacocks are a good example to prove it otherwise.

What is the Best Food for African Cichlids?

The best foods for African cichlids are those that are made of high-quality ingredients that are healthy for them.

For example, the Cichlid Formula made by New Life Spectrum is an outstanding pack of sinking pellets. All the ingredients that your cichlids need in order to thrive are there in each pellet.

The reason why it’s so nutritious is because it is made of spirulina, vegetables and fruits that are the most beneficial for your fish. It is not only healthy but also going to enhance their colors on the long run. Another great fish food we can recommend is the one made by Northfin.

This one is called Veggie Formula, which is quite a self-explanatory name. This one is also in a pellet form and it is full of nutrition that will make your African cichlids thrive.

Although it is made for herbivorous fish, it still contains a tad bit of animal proteins.

This is not a downside at all, as it’s exactly what your cichlids need. A perfect balance of meat-based and plant-based foods in a single bag.

It is made of top-quality ingredients such as krill and sardine. In addition, the types of algae it contains are natural color enhancers that will make your cichlids flourish.

There are some herbivorous African cichlid species that can’t eat this one because of the animal protein content.

However, most of them are omnivores that still need a little bit of those nutrients. If you own omnivorous cichlids, then don’t hesitate to buy it.

The last one we are going to recommend is the Cichlid Vegi Formula by Ocean Nutrition. The best thing about this one is that your cichlids are going to love it because of its flavoring.

Besides being delicious, it contains various vitamins that will maintain the well-being of your fish.

Feed them this nutritious fish food by Ocean Nutrition and your cichlids will become more energetic and colorful in a matter of days.

What to Feed African Cichlids when Out of Food?

African cichlids need only a low amount of animal proteins. The two things they prefer to eat the most are spirulina and aquarium plants. Of course, spirulina is a type of algae and they love to eat all types of algae.

Although you are still going to need to mix some meat-based foods in the mix, they only require a small amount.

Just give them some insects and invertebrates and they are going to be fine. Another animal protein resource can be adult whole prawns.

Other than that, you can prepare some spinach, shelled peas, garlic, spirulina powder and agar agar. Surprisingly, African cichlids like to eat orange pulp and juice as well.

Conclusion

Besides answering your question about bloodworms, we have provided plenty of other information about the diet of African cichlids.

As it turned out, bloodworms can hardly fit into the diet of most species from Lake Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria.

What they prefer is either a fully plant-based diet or one with a little amount of animal-based proteins.

For African cichlids, meat-based foods never were and never will be the main part of their diet. Their intestinal tracts are simply not developed that way.

Therefore, you are going to have to leave the bloodworms for the American cichlid keepers out there. What you should focus on is to feed them enough vegetables so that they can thrive.