This article may contain some affiliate links to products. The links provide me a small percentage of commission but do not cost you anything extra to use. (See full disclosure statement here
).
Firemouth Cichlids are an omnivorous fish that eat both meaty protein and plant/vegetable matter. This makes them easy to feed in an aquarium setting and adds variety to feeding times.
Although Firemouth Cichlids are omnivorous they prefer a mainly carnivorous diet. So while you can offer them blanched leafy greens, for example, the bulk of their diet needs to be meaty protein foods. Protein foods can include various worms, shrimp and crustaceans. And these can be live, frozen or dried. Firemouth Cichlids also do well on protein packed flake, granular and pellet foods.
Keep reading for some easy-care feeding tips and useful information.
What Should I Feed To My Firemouth Cichlids?
Firemouth Cichlids are not fussy when it comes to food. They are opportunistic feeders that will eat anything that comes their way. And just like most freshwater aquarium fish, flake foods are a good place to start until you have a little more experience, or you’re ready to expand their menu.
Let’s take a look at which foods you can offer to your Firemouth Cichlids at feeding time
Flake/Granular/Pellet Foods For Firemouth Cichlids
Flake, granular and/or pellet foods are the easiest way to provide the basis of your Firemouth Cichlids’ diet. Good quality foods in these forms contain both protein and vegetable matter and also added nutrients. It’s best to choose ones that have a high protein content if you don’t plan to feed them with another protein source. But, overall, these food types will provide a complete and nutrition filled diet for your Firemouth Cichlids. They are also the easiest and least messy way to feed your fish.
If you’re new to the fish keeping hobby these types of foods are a great way to start. And even when you become more experienced in the fish keeping hobby they are likely to still form the basic food source for your fish.
Firemouth Cichlids will feed at all levels of the tank. But flake, granular and pellet foods are usually slow sinking. Which gives your fish a chance to eat them as they gradually fall through the water column.
There are several reputable brands of dried foods that are formulated for Cichlids (Amazon link). It’s worth taking a look to see what’s available.
The Easy Way To Feed Insects/Protein Foods To Your Firemouth Cichlids
Fortunately, feeding your Firemouth Cichlids a protein packed diet is easy to do. Live, dried and frozen protein foods for your fish are available at Pet Stores, Aquatic Dealers and Online.
Here’s Some Of The Insect/Protein Foods That You Can Feed To Your Firemouth Cichlids
- Brine Shrimp (saltwater crustacean)
- Daphnia (tiny freshwater crustacean)
- Mosquito Larvae (worm-like baby mosquito)
- Blood Worms (larvae of the midge fly)
- Tubifex Worms (preferably dried ones to reduce risk of infection)
- Microworms (small roundworm)
- Blackworms (aka Mud Worms)
You can also offer Micro Worms and Banana Worms.
Feeding can be a bit trial and error to begin with depending on what your fish were used to eating before you bought them. But you’ll soon get to know what their favourites are.
Tip: If you go for dried insects/worms it helps to rehydrate them before adding them to the tank. Soak them in a little tank water for about 20 minutes or so before feeding them to your fish. When rehydrated they will be easier for your fish to eat. They also sink into the aquarium water more easily instead of floating around for ages.
Feeding Vegetables To Your Firemouth Cichlids
Even though Firemouth Cichlids love their protein foods they also enjoy eating vegetables. And giving them a vegetable treat is easy to do. Vegetables, particularly of the green variety, are good for your fish’s digestive system.
Some of the green vegetables you can offer to your Firemouth Cichlids include:
- Spinach
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Shelled Peas
- Savoy Cabbage
There are lots of other green vegetables that you can offer to your Firemouth Cichlids. So it’s worth experimenting a little to see which ones they prefer. Why not try Lettuce and Cucumber?
You need to bear in mind that fish don’t always eat what you offer them the first time round. So it’s worth trying again just to see what happens.
It’s surprising what you find your fish take a fancy to. And if your Firemouth Cichlids don’t like a particular thing you might find that their tankmates do.
Tip: You need to soften the vegetables before offering them to your fish. You can soften them by either steaming, simmering or microwaving them. Then leave the veggies to go cold before adding them to the tank.
Remove any uneaten vegetables from the tank once your fish have finished feeding to avoid contaminating the water with decaying vegetable matter.
How Much/How Often Should I Feed My Firemouth Cichlids?
You should feed your Firemouth Cichlids twice a day. The best way to feed them is to split the daily food between two smaller meals rather than one larger one. It’s better for their digestive system and also reduces the risk of overfeeding. Only feed them as much as they can eat in about 2 minutes without any leftovers. You don’t want any leftover food polluting the tank.
Tip: If you feed your Firemouth Cichlids a treat of vegetables to vary their diet it counts as part of the daily feed not as an extra meal. So you need to take this in to account when judging how much you need to feed them that day.
Do Firemouth Cichlids Eat Algae?
Firemouth Cichlids do eat some algae. But they’re not the type of fish that you add to a tank to sort out an algae problem. Their main preference when it comes to mealtimes is meaty protein. Although they will eat algae wafers alongside their meaty protein foods and green vegetables.
Choose Algae Wafers that contain Spirulina. Spirulina helps to prevent bloating and other digestive problems. And if your Firemouth Cichlids live in a community tank their tankmates will be more than happy to help them to finish off the algae wafer. Just remember to remove the remains of the wafer once everyone has finished feeding.
Do Firemouth Cichlids Eat Aquarium Plants?
In general Firemouth Cichlids are unlikely to eat your live aquarium plants. However, they are likely to dig them up. Firemouth Cichlids have a natural digging behaviour which can be bad news for any plants that need to stay securely in the substrate of the tank. So if you want live plants in your tank it’s best to choose ones that attach to wood or rocks rather than ones that need their roots planting.
What Do Firemouth Cichlid Babies (Fry) Eat?
Firemouth Cichlid fry eat pretty much the same foods as their parents do. However, the food needs to be made extremely small for them to manage. It’s important to provide them with a variety of foods rich in protein to promote optimal growth and good health.
Here’s Some Foods That Your Firemouth Cichlid Babies (Fry) Will Enjoy:
- Brine Shrimp (newly hatched)
- Infusoria (freshwater micro-organisms)
- Powdered Fry Foods (commercial brands)
- Liquid Fry Foods (commercial brands)
- Flakes (powdered down by you)
- Pellets (powdered down by you)
There are other options. Just remember that whatever you choose to feed them with the food needs to be tiny enough for the fry to manage to eat it.