why is it bad to feed african chiclids worms?

Question
can i feed them redworms? how bout wax worms? they do love them

Answer
Dear Don,
One of the biggest dangers of feeding African cichlids worms is the terrible disease called "Malawi Bloat" this often happens especially since many species are herbivorous in nature and feeding worms and meaty type foods can iritate their digestive tract and cause these problems. Tropheus species from lake tanganyika are even more prone to having problems from being fed worms. So it's best to leave worms off the foods list. Black worms are well-known for causing Malawi bloat in africans but many other types of worms are known to as well, such as tubifex.

This is why it is so incredibly important to know the exact diet and preferences of the individual species you keep. Of course there are other causes to bloat but basically it relates back to some sort of stress. Whether it's a overly ruling male or too few hiding places, poor water quality or little space in general. Malawi bloat is a serious and usually uncurable disease that many african fish suffer from terribly.

Variety is the best for all fish and African cichlids as well. I know many aquarists still feed a few worms but do so sparingly (once a week) with Redworms.

I certainly hope you never have to go through Malawi bloat in any of your african cichlids. For the most part as long as every fish gets the proper diet and water quality is maintained pristine, you will rarely have any problems and you can enjoy your fish for years to come!

I hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Karen~