Learn What African Cichlids Eat

African cichlids are fish that come from the Cichlidae family. It’s not easy to classify African cichlids based on what they eat because they can be carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. This is because African cichlids can eat a little bit of everything. In fact, African cichlids will eat fish, insects, plants, fruits, and vegetables. So, they do have a diverse eating habits; you’ll learn more as you continue reading this article.

Plants, Fruits, Vegetables

African cichlids love to eat algae; they won’t hesitate to eat algae at all. There are different kinds of algae that African cichlids will easily eat. Yes, African cichlids do eat plants; there are known to eat various plants in their natural habits. Also, African cichlids to have a herbivorous side to them, which is why they will eat plants as well.

African cichlids can eat fruits, vegetables, watermelon, spinach, zucchini, grapes,  algae wafers, duckweed, brown algae, broccoli, cucumber, carrots, lettuce, and more.

Animals, Insects, Amphibians

African cichlids can eat snails, other fish, beef heart, feeder fish, bloodworms, brine shrimp, black worms, crabs, crayfish, crickets, catfish, goldfish, guppies, ghost shrimp, goldfish flakes, fish, mealworms, neon tetras, shrimp, and insects. African cichlids don’t eat their babies; that’s not something that they are known for doing. If anything, they are more protective of their babies. In terms of how often cichlids eat, you can feed them 2-3 times per day.

In The Wild

When African cichlids are in the wild, they will eat plants, algae, organic material, other fish, and insect larvae. They are capable of eating a little bit of everything.

However, what African cichlids eat just depends on whether they are in captivity or in the wild. Yes, African cichlids do insects; they are able to eat various small insects. However, insects don’t make up a large part of their diet. No, when African cichlids are holding eggs they won’t eat.