The best first foods for cichlid fry are freshly hatched baby brine shrimp, microworms, and finely crushed high-quality flakes or powdered fry food. Wait until the fry are free swimming and the yolk sac is gone, then feed tiny amounts three to four times a day.
When to Start Feeding
Newly hatched cichlid fry live off their yolk sac for the first several days, and the timing varies by species and temperature. Fry that are still wriggling on the substrate or being held in a mother’s mouth do not need food yet. Once they swim freely and look for food, start feeding.
Best Foods for Cichlid Fry
- Baby brine shrimp: The classic first food. Freshly hatched nauplii are small, moving, and nutritious.
- Microworms: Easy to culture at home and a good alternative or addition.
- Crushed flakes or powdered fry food: Grind a good staple flake to a fine powder. Many fry foods include spirulina, which suits most cichlids.
- Daphnia and finely chopped frozen foods: Good as fry grow.
- Finely mashed vegetables: Blanched spinach or peas, mashed, help herbivorous and omnivorous species.
How Often and How Much
Feed three or four small meals a day. Offer only what the fry eat in a few minutes and remove leftovers, since fry are sensitive to ammonia and nitrite. A pinch of powdered food is plenty for a small brood.
Matching Food to the Species
Mbuna and other algae-eating cichlids lean toward plant-based foods like spirulina, while many Haplochromis and peacock fry take more meaty foods. See best food for Malawi cichlids and the best flake food for African cichlids for adult diets. For convict cichlids, which breed readily, see caring for convict cichlid fry.
Keep the Water Clean
Fry grow fast with frequent feeding, but that also means more waste. Do small, regular water changes with water matched in temperature, and use a gentle sponge filter that will not suck up the fry. Separate fry that grow at different rates, since larger ones may eat smaller ones.
Bottom Line
Start with baby brine shrimp, microworms, and crushed flakes, feed small portions several times a day, and keep the water clean. Adjust the mix for herbivorous or carnivorous species as the fry grow.
