[Anafranil]

Obviously this is not the place to discuss these fish but since I have found valuable information in this forum in the past,here it goes..Are the majority of pseudotropheus carnivore,omnivore or herbivore?Also how about the rest of the cichlids from those lakes?excluding the few herbivores.Should you provide enough vegetable matter through commercially available 'veggie' staple food?I am not interested in these fish as a hobbyist but they are somehow involved in my job.This is why I did not get envolve in cichlid forums and just want your brief comments,thanks in advance..

 

[JanS]

Even though they vary widely, most of my African's are omnivors, so I give them a variety of foods from meaty to the veggie type.

Here is a summary from Badman's Tropical Fish on them.

General Requirements:

Due to their aggressive behavior, the tank for African cichlids should be as large as possible, with its length being more critical than its height; meaning the longer the better.

The substrate should be of a material that will aid in the pH buffering capabilities of the water. Good substrate choices could be Dolomite or crushed coral.

Decorations for the aquaria should include rock structures with caves and platforms, but leave an open area for swimming. Try to avoid driftwood as it tends to lower pH over time.

The use of live plants is a hit or miss situation (usually miss) due to the African's vegetarian nature. Lighting is not critical and can be of any spectrum or color you like.

The water chemistry for the African lakes differs greatly from all other biotopes and more closely resembles marine than tropical fresh water. Due to their high pH and hardness levels it is necessary to treat the water with some sort of African cichlid lake salts. Two products I use and find excellent are Kent AF Cichlid Buffer and Kent AF Cichlid Chemistry.

In nature, feeding is by scraping the algae covered (Aufwuchs) rock surfaces, and in the aquarium it is not a problem as all flake food is accepted, but it should be supplemented with a plant based formula containing something like spirulina.

Almost all of the species from Lake Malawi are known as mouth-brooders. They incubate the eggs and protect their fry in special sacs in the mouth. They are excellent and protective parents and have been known to raise young in crowded community setups.

Tanganyikan cichlids are more varied in their spawning techniques and consist of open spawning mouthbrooders and even some that use empty snail shells. They too are great parents.

This is a general overview of these fish. There is much more in-depth information available on them. Suffice to say that if you are willing to meet their needs, the African cichlids will provide you with many years of enjoyment.

 

[trackhazard]

Most mbunas (which Pseudotropheus are part of) are mainly herbivores and require heavily algal based diets as they feed on "aufwuchs" in the wild. Too much protein and they can suffer the dreaded "Malawi bloat." Spirulina flakes and the like should be fine for them.

Charlie

 

[Anafranil]

Thanks a lot both of you,in my opinion most food brands generalize a lot when it comes to these fishes..I guess an Oscar's diet must be different from some herbivores yet they seem to appear both on the pictures of food packages sold as'cichlid gran' or 'cichlid sticks' etc..