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23 16:47:58

Question
i have two fish a socolofi fully aggressive cichlid and yellow lab somthing fish fully aggressive and i was wondering what could i feed them i heard they could get bloat from high protein foods is this true or false ive got alot of different foods from previous fish keeping so could u give me a list of things they could have

Answer
Hi Dillon!
Your email went through three times! That's alright, computers get messed up all the time. I'm just letting you know that I'll respond to the two other identical letters with saying that they are duplicate questions.

You have two very nice African cichlids, the socolofi as I assume is the Pseudotropheus socolofi also known by the common name "Powder blue cichlid" is a Herbivore, a species which in it's natural habitat picks almost exclusively among strands of algae as it's food source. The Yellow Labs (scientific name- Labidochromis caeruleus) Are omnivorous and can accept high quality flake food and high quality cichlid pellets (preferably pre-soaked before feeding) but they should also get very frequent feedings of a vegetable-based food as well. You can try offering your cichlids algae wafers also and green peas which have been thawed and peeled. Spinach and Romain lettuce may also be taken as well as zuchinni slices. Just remember moderation and variety and don't forget the importance of vegetable matter. Many of the african cichlids like you have in nature feed almost entirely by scraping little bits of what's called "Biofilm" off rocks. This includes tiny aquatic microorganisms and large amounts of algae. Variety is most important in almost all aquarium fish. Don't feed your cichlids worms of any type, worms may be too much for their systems and can cause what's commonly known as "Malawi Bloat". Just stick to high quality flakes and pellets, vegetables, and vegetable-based foods ect... But you could always offer a little brine shrimp every once in a while just for some interesting things in their diet. With such a wide variety of prepared foods available now, it's very easy to give fish a varied and balanced diet without ever touching frozen foods.

The Socolofi must be given vegetable based foods. "Spirulina-flakes" are commonly available and are an ideal food for your socolofi, this can be supplemented with cichlid pellets and algae wafers.

I really hope this helps!
Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~