Feeding Pipi's to cichlids

[cichlid_fan]

I am considering feeding pipi to my cichlids once a week ,how do other people do it? -boil it,mash it,slice it... whats the usual method?

[David R]

I'd say raw is best, fish don't usually cook their food...

[cichlid_fan]

yeh,good point

[ryanjury]

Yeah it should be fine. It is quite tough though so might pay to have it in the right sized pieces for the fish, you could probably freeze and grate it or cut it up if need be. Or if you have big fish they should rip it to pieces. As with all meaty foods don't overfeed or it will foul your tank up really fast..

[reef13]

had never really thought about it but while were slightly on topic what other seafood is good for fish i can get a hold of it all very easily but never really thought of feeding it to my fish

[ryanjury]

I think any fish or shellfish meat is good for fish.. I tend to stick to saltwater stuff as it is less likely to contain nasties that can live in freshwater and harm your fish but freshwater stuff is probably ok if you can verify it is clean.. I would also feed in moderation for a while because like everything I am sure moderation is the best..

[livingart]

kina is messy,

fish meat, mussels, squid all good, i cut the tougher stuff into earthworm sized bits and wash before feeding out

prawns and shrimp, you can take the point on their heads off if your worried about it, i leave shell on for the bigger fish

white bait is good too

[cichlid_fan]

I just took a few pipi's out of their shells ,ripped them up with my fingers and dropped them in ,dont think ive ever seen my fish get so excited , i think next time i'll dice it finely with a knife -one bit was a bit large,and as usual my greediest fish ,an ice blue decided he'd scoff it -looked like he was going to choke to death for a few seconds!

[xxdarnixx]

do you feed seafood to just marine fish or freshwater too? (ie guppies,kribensis ect)

[livingart]

you can feed to both but probably hard to cut it small enough for guppies, kribs etc without fouling the water a bit

[marto]

I use mussles for years. I cook them, then freeze. I cut thin slivers, mix it with finely cut frozen peas. Put it in water,stirr and discard the very fine 'dust' and then feed it a bit at a time so it doesn't sink to the bottom. The fine stuff is good for the smaller fish and young ones, the bigger pieces are snapped up by the bigger fish. When they get less keen, I stop.

I have malawi tank!