feeding cichlids peas?

[Kostic]

i have two tinfoil barbs in my with my convict and my oscar. i recently read that it was good for barbs to eat frozen peas occasionally as part of their diet. my oscar tends to gulp them then spit them out.

my convict on the other hand eats them and seems to like them. are peas good or bad for cichlids? any ideas?

[Northernblades]

peas are good for cichlids.
I am guessing your oscar either likes something meatier.... or is using the "chew and spew" and doesn;t get back to it.

[J-Aqua]

its good for digestion. I feed peas to my Electric Blue Jack Dempseys twice a month.

However I skin mine

J

[Kostic]

I am fairly new to the forums and for the last year and half (that's about how long i have been keeping fish) all I fed my fish was fish food.

What other kind of household items are good to feed cichlids? (besides beefheart. Did that once but my wife hates having it in our freezer)

[cichgirl]

They love raw shrimp. Depending on your location, it can be cheaper than buying krill in a can.

What I like to do is put spinach, peas, carrots, garlic and shrimp in a blender and a small amount of water, grind it to a paste & put it in a ziplock bag, smooth it out flat and lay it in the freezer. I break off pieces for them after it's frozen. Some people use unflavored gelatin to bind it but I find a bit of water to be fine because my fish hit it quickly.

[Axeman]

thats a cool recipe, what proportions do you use. do you think africans would like it?

[J-Aqua]

Cich girl have you ever tried putting some spirluna in with your mix?

[fishyfactoids]

About once a week I give my convict a little bit of blanched spinach. My dad said they wouldn't eat it when I first tried, but lo and behold the next morning it was almost all eaten! (By the way, you don't have to boil water to blanch the spinach - microwaving water for about a minute then putting the spinach in achieves the same affect.)