Can You Feed Small Pellets to Large Cichlids

An important part of growing your own pet cichlids is maintaining their vibrance and health. While good tank conditions and equipment can help, providing them with the best cichlid food can help improve their overall life and look immensely.

To make this easier for you, we have tested various options and created a list of the best cichlid food options you can buy in 2022.

Contents

• Comparison Chart
• The Best Food For African Cichlids: Handpicked Reviews
  • – New Life Spectrum Naturox Cichlid Formula Supplement
  • – TetraCichlid Cichlid Crisps
  • – Ron's Cichlid Food Premium Pellets
  • – Omega One Super Color Sinking Cichlid Pellets
  • – Omega One Cichlid Flakes
  • – Aqueon Cichlid Slow Sinking Pellets
• FAQs
  • – Do Cichlids Need Special Food?
  • – Are Flakes Or Pellets Better For Cichlids?
  • – How Does the Form of The Food Matter?
  • – How Often Should You Feed Cichlids?
  • – How Do You Make My Cichlids Grow Faster?
  • – Is Water Pollution/Fogginess an Issue Caused by The Food?
  • – Is Garlic Good For Cichlids?
  • – Why Are My Cichlids Always Hungry?
  • – What Should The Constituents of Fish Food Be?
  • – How Long Can A Cichlid Go Without Eating?
• Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Name	Size (in ounces)	Form
New Life Spectrum Naturox Cichlid Formula Supplement	5.3	Pellets
TetraCichlid Cichlid Crisps	8.82	Pellets
Ron's Cichlid Food Premium Pellets	8	Pellets
Omega One Super Color Sinking Cichlid Pellets	16.25	Pellets
Omega One Cichlid Flakes	5.3	Flakes
Aqueon Cichlid Slow Sinking Pellets	25	Pellets

The Best Food For African Cichlids: Handpicked Reviews

Let's get straight into our list of the best African cichlids food

– New Life Spectrum Naturox Cichlid Formula Supplement

Pros	Cons
Added ginger	Too small for larger fish
Anti-parasitic
Minimal starch
Great for smaller Cichlids

Out of the wide array of tropical cichlids, if you are an owner of small-medium-sized fish, the New Life Spectrum Naturox Cichlid Formula Supplement is an option for you.

With a highly compact pellet form factor, this food is easy to ingest for younger and smaller cichlids making it a great option for them.

Along with this, it is also filled with various nutritional ingredients that can help your cichlids stay strong and healthy.

For example, an added amount of ginger and garlic are present in these pellets which improve the immunity of your fish with anti-parasitic effects. Along with this, primary ingredients such as squid make it a high-protein food perfect for most fish.

While most food pellets utilize starch to keep their ingredients bound together , New Life has found an alternative.

Using bentonite clay instead of starch, this food is held together very tightly and is able to fit in higher mineral content than many competitors. So, even a little bit of food will go a long way for your fish.

One thing we liked on top of all these ingredients is that New Life has used only natural preservatives throughout these food pellets. So, you won't have to worry about any harmful chemicals or substances harming your pet's health.

That being said, one thing you will have to keep in mind with these pellets is that they are not large enough for some adult cichlids.

Due to this, larger cichlids will often ignore the pellets which can lead to pollution in your tank and an increased expense as you'll have to buy additional food. So, you might want to look for larger alternatives in case you have older cichlids.

– Overview

The New Life Spectrum Naturox Cichlid Formula Supplement is a suitable food option for a small-medium-sized cichlid's diet. With various beneficial ingredients such as ginger, garlic, and bentonite clay, this food option is great for improving immune health as well as the nutrition of your pets.

– TetraCichlid Cichlid Crisps

Pros	Cons
Reduce waste from fish	Slightly expensive
Concentrated formula
Consistent food size
Easy to digest

The TetraCichlid Cichlid Crisps are a great high-quality food option for those of you looking for the best for your cichlids. This food option is designed with a premium and concentrated formula that packs the most nutrients and minerals into the smallest pellets.

With this unique concentrated formula, TetraCichlid has managed to create staple food that is great for the daily feeding of most cichlids. Along with this, the formula also incorporated algae extracts which are efficient at increasing the protein content and binding of the pellets making them easier to digest.

Thanks to the ease in digestion, this food is also great if your fish are having difficulties passing waste.

According to tests, feeding your cichlids this food should reduce waste production by nearly one-third which means your pets will get the most benefits without losing nutrients and minerals.

Another benefit that makes this food easier for you and your pets is that all the pellets are quite consistent in size . This is beneficial as differentiated pellets can be quite difficult for your fish to eat properly as the change in size might make them too small or large to ingest. So, you can feed these pellets to all your cichlids without any issues.

The only thing that can be considered as a drawback when it comes to this option is the high price range of the food.

Coming in at the upper end of this list in terms of pricing, it is probably an option you should avoid on a tight budget. However, if you can afford it, this option is sure to keep you and your cichlids happy.

– Overview

If you want high quality and nutrient-rich food option for your pet Cichlids, the TetraCichlid Cichlid Crisps are an option to consider. These cichlid pellets are filled to the brim with protein and nutrients thanks to the concentrated formula used to make them.

Moreover, they are also easy to digest which will reduce the effort your fish have to put in during every feeding.

– Ron's Cichlid Food Premium Pellets

Pros	Cons
Available in different size options	Costlier than alternatives
100 percent natural
High protein content
Responsibly sourced

For those of you who want a natural and ethical food for your cichlids, Ron's Cichlid Food Premium Pellets are a suitable option. These food pellets are 100 percent  natural which means they contain no artificial chemicals or preservatives that can harm your fish. So, you can use them without having to worry about any adverse effects on your aquatic environment.

While they may be natural, the ingredient list is still full of protein-rich substances that are great for your cichlid's growth. Most prominently, using ingredients such as Antarctic Krill, Earthworms, and many more, these pellets will help promote the vibrance, growth, and health of your fish along with providing them with essential minerals.

While a common concern people have with such long ingredients lists is the sourcing of such products and where they come from, this is not the case with Ron's Premium Pellets. This is because these pellets are sourced responsibly from only American suppliers and can be traced back to their natural sources.

Even with all that, you might be wondering if the size of these pellets will be right for your cichlids. Well, Ron's has come up with the perfect solution and offers 4 different sizes that are each designed for different stages of growth in cichlids. Thanks to this, no matter how old or large your cichlids are, you can find perfectly sized pellets for them.

However, these advantages do come at a price which makes this one of the most expensive options available on the market. Due to this, it is better suited for people who don't mind spending extra money as long as they can find natural and ethically sourced products.

– Overview

The Ron's Cichlid Food Premium Pellets are a great choice if you want ethically sourced and natural food to feed your cichlids. This is thanks to Ron's 100 percent natural ingredient list that is sourced completely from local vendors in America.

In addition to this, these food pellets use high-quality and nutrient-rich ingredients such as Antarctic Krill and Earthworms to ensure cichlid health.

– Omega One Super Color Sinking Cichlid Pellets

Pros	Cons
High-quality ingredients	Not recommended for larger breeds
Designed for cichlids
Reduce water pollution
Natural color enhancement

If you want a fish food option that can improve the coloration of your cichlids, the Omega One Super Color Sinking Cichlid Pellets is one you can look into. This food is in the form of small pellets and is designed specifically to promote the color and vibrance of your tropical cichlids.

It does this using a complex formula of ingredients that contains various naturally occurring pigments known as beta-carotenes.

These pigments transfer highly to the skin of tropical fish such as Cichlids which improve the coloration of their coat. Over time, this food will help your fish attain the vibrance they might've had in natural conditions.

Apart from coloration, Omega One has jam-packed these pellets with high-quality materials that are nutrient-rich. In particular, there is an increased quantity of raw proteins, Omega 3, Omega 6 , and other essential substances that improve the immunity, growth rate, etc. of your pet cichlids.

With all these ingredients, you might think that these pellets would be hard for your fish to digest. Thankfully, this is not the case as they are actually very easy to digest and reduce the amount of waste your cichlid excrete. This helps in improving their digestive health and also keeping your tank clean and free from pollution.

The only issue we really had with these pellets is their size. While it is perfect for small-medium-sized cichlids , larger species tend to avoid the pellets as they are too small.

So, this can lead to a build-up of food near your aquarium floor which can lead to pollution in the water. So, make sure to try the pellets out in smaller quantities to see if they are right for your fish first.

– Overview

The Omega One Super Sinking Cichlid Pellets are a suitable option if you want to improve the coloration of your pet cichlid. These pellets are filled with beta-carotene which contains large amounts of pigment that promotes the color in cichlids. Moreover, with various nutrients filled into each pellet, they are perfect for improving cichlid health and growth as well.

– Omega One Cichlid Flakes

Pros	Cons
Easier to eat	Too brittle
Keeps tank clean
Contains high amounts of protein
Reasonably priced

The Omega One Cichlid Flakes are perfect if you want to avoid the common pellet form of food available for cichlids. Instead, being packed into flakes instead of pellets, this food option provides a completely different feeding experience that can be beneficial for your pet cichlid in many ways.

One of the most prominent benefits of these flakes is that they are much easier to ingest for your fish . This is because, unlike large and compact pellets which are hard and heavy, these flakes can break apart easily and are much thinner. Hence, your fish will not have to open their mouth wide to fit this food into their mouth.

Once it is ingested, the flakes are also a lot lighter on the digestive tract of your pet cichlid. Thanks to this and minimal amounts of starch used in the flakes , it reduces waste production from your fish which helps keep your water clean.

In addition to this, throughout this complete process of easy eating and digestion, your pets will also be gaining an immense amount of nutritional benefits.

To name a few, these flakes contain fresh seafood, spirulina , and other ingredients which have the perfect constitution of nutrients for cichlids to grow.

While there are many advantages to these flakes, you might also face some issues with this food form.

For example, one problem that many users face is that the flakes end up breaking too easily which ends up leaving you with a fine powder that can be hard to feed your pets. when using this food, make sure to store it with care to avoid breaking up the flakes.

– Overview

If your fish don't like the solid and hard form of food pellets, the Omega One Cichlid Flakes is a great option you can try out. This fish food comes in thin flakes that are much lighter to consume and also easier for your fish to ingest.

In addition, they are filled with nutrition from various protein-rich ingredients making them great for younger or smaller cichlids.

– Aqueon Cichlid Slow Sinking Pellets

Pros	Cons
Slow sinking	Can end up floating
Does not cloud water
Contains shrimp and squid
Available in various sizes

The Aqueon Cichlid Slow Sinking Pellets are an interesting food option that provides the nutrition of pellets while being much easier to eat for your fish.

This is thanks to the slow sinking formula used by Aqueon which allows these pellets to float for longer periods of time. This is great for larger cichlids who might be too slow to find normal pellets and it also reduces the number of waste pellets that end up falling to your tank floor.

Thanks to this, an added benefit of this food option is that it won't cloud up your tank water . This is because your fish won't be running around your tank to catch food and less of it will sit around in your tank. Combined with the efficient formula of these pellets, they are sure to keep your tank clean and clear of any pollution.

Speaking of the formula, Aqueon has utilized a variety of high-quality ingredients that are both beneficial for and attract fish.

Hence, feeding these pellets to your fish is an easy task as they quickly turn and look for the pellets as soon as they are dropped in your tank. Along with this, the ingredients are designed to improve coloration and vitality making it great for all types of cichlids.

To make your job easier, Aqueon also sells these pellets in a variety of sizing options. Ranging from a mini 4.5-ounce pack to a mega 25-ounce one , you can easily get the right size according to your tank requirements. This will save you from having to order the food regularly and is also much more convenient in the long run.

The only trouble you might have with the Cichlid Slow Sinking Pellets is that they might actually be too slow in some cases. While it doesn't happen all the time, extra pellets can end up floating for many hours which is not an ideal situation for your tank's appeal or your pet fish. So, make sure you avoid overfeeding as excess pellets can be an issue.

– Overview

If your fish are having trouble eating fast sinking pellets and food, the Aqueon Cichlid Slow Sinking Pellets are a great alternative for you.

These pellets are much slower to sink which makes them easier for your fish to consume and less likely to reach the bottom of your tank. Moreover, with various size options, you can get the perfect amount for your aquarium ecosystem.

FAQs

– Do Cichlids Need Special Food?

While cichlids can eat normal fish foods as well, it is suggested to use special foods for them to promote health and coloration in them.

For example, most cichlid foods contain beta-carotenes which contain large amounts of pigment that is vital for improving the vibrance of your cichlids. Similarly, bentonite clay and other binders present in pellets ensure that your cichlids are able to absorb food efficiently.

Due to this, you should opt for a special diet for your cichlids to obtain the most benefits when it comes to their health and growth.

– Are Flakes Or Pellets Better For Cichlids?

When deciding between fish flakes and pellets for your pet cichlids, there are various things you should take into consideration. This is because both flakes and pellets are vastly different food forms and will cause different reactions from your fish.

Moreover, flakes also tend to contain less nutrition density as compared to pellets but are still much easier to eat for cichlids.

Due to this, before making a choice, you should check the speed your fish eat at and the growth rate of your cichlids. If your fish are eating quickly and their growth is fine you should be fine with using pellets. That being said, if they aren't able to eat pellets, flakes are the better option as long as your fish can maintain enough nutrition.

– How Does the Form of The Food Matter?

One of the most important parts of buying a new fish food is deciding which food form is right for your tank. This is because each type of food such as flakes, pellets, etc. is very different when it comes to its nutritional value, sinking speed, and other factors. For example, while pellets are often more nutrient-rich, flakes tend to be easier for smaller fish to ingest.

To find out which one is right for you, the best thing to do is test out small quantities before deciding on one option . This could be trying out a food option for a week or even a few days to identify if your fish seem comfortable and how much they are actually eating. If they are getting enough nutrition and can eat the food, it is probably the right choice.

– How Often Should You Feed Cichlids?

An average feeding frequency for adult cichlids is 3-4 times per day. This is enough to keep them full and healthy while still avoiding the risks of overfeeding.

That being said, a great way to confirm that you are feeding your cichlids enough is to only feed them what they can eat in 30 seconds. So, there is no wastage and they can eat a healthy amount without having too much at a time.

– How Do You Make My Cichlids Grow Faster?

Making sure your young cichlids grow faster and stronger is a complex process that involves lots of attention and various steps. It starts off with their diet which means feeding them the right amount and the right type of food.

You should always look for foods that contain high amounts of natural protein as well as additional boosters such as vitamins and beta-carotenes to enhance growth overall.

Apart from feeding, your aquarium ecosystem and environment also play a pivotal role in ensuring proper fish development. This means using a proper filtration and lighting system combined with regular maintenance and cleaning of your tank to keep it safe for all fish.

– Is Water Pollution/Fogginess an Issue Caused by The Food?

A common problem that many people face when using a new type of food for their fish is an increase in water fogginess. This is caused due to a variety of reasons such as a lack of digestion by your fish which increases waste, the food being too brittle and thin, or many others.

If you are facing such problems or want a clear tank, it is important to find a food option that can reduce water pollution .

Thankfully, many products available in the market are designed with smart formulas that are easier for your fish to consume and digest. Thanks to this, the amount of waste produced is reduced making your tank much clearer in the long run. So, make sure to look for these food options if you want a clear tank.

– Is Garlic Good For Cichlids?

Yes, garlic is a great addition to your Cichlid's diet and can help them a lot. Primarily, garlic is known to have anti-parasitic properties which can reduce bloating and other issues in African cichlids. Along with this, it improves immune strength which is essential for the vitality and health of your pet cichlids.

– Why Are My Cichlids Always Hungry?

Even if they are not actually hungry, cichlids are able to understand when they are about to be fed and begin to act hungry to get more food. This is something they learn due to visual and audio cues such as you coming near your tank or moving the hood of your tank to drop in food.

While it may seem tempting to start feeding your cichlids whenever they rush to the surface , you should avoid doing so. This is because even when full, cichlids will act hungry in hopes of getting tasty food items. So, sticking to your regular feeding schedule will ensure that you are not overfeeding your African Cichlids.

– What Should The Constituents of Fish Food Be?

Whether you are feeding your fish flakes, pellets, or any other sort of food, it is the ingredients and constituents that make it right for them.

This means the materials and substances used to provide ample amounts of nutrition to your cichlids in the form of proteins, minerals, vitamins, and more. Without these, your fish food can end up weakening your fish and becoming fatal in the long run.

When looking for a new food option for your cichlids, make sure you read through the ingredients list to verify that it has safe and ample nutrition for your pets .

For example, ingredients such as krill and squid tend to be great boosts of both taste and protein in foods. Apart from this, many vegetarian ingredients are also known to provide essential benefits.

– How Long Can A Cichlid Go Without Eating?

While it depends on the size and age of the cichlids you are keeping, a round figure is approximately 10 days without food. This lowers for younger fish such as baby cichlids which will need food nearly every day or they will begin to face prominent issues.

That being said, in some cases, leftover food can last for a few days if you have fewer fish in your tank.

Conclusion

After thorough testing of all the food options on this list, our winner for the best cichlid food is the New Life Spectrum Naturox Cichlid Formula Supplement.

It has everything you'll need ranging from ginger to garlic and even bentonite clay making it a great food for cichlid growth, health, and coloration. Moreover, as the pellets are consistent and on the smaller end, they are perfect to feed growing African cichlids.

Badman's tropical fish is the largest and most comprehensive aquarium related resource on the web. We focus on making the lives of aquarists and fish keepers easier.

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Source: https://badmanstropicalfish.com/best-cichlid-food/

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