Hepper is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more.

5 Best Foods For Peacock Cichlids in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

Lindsey Stanton Profile Picture

By Lindsey Stanton

yellow peacock cichlids in aquarium

In our opinion, peacock cichlids are some of the most beautiful-looking fish you can get. In fact, we think that it is the most beautiful kind of cichlid out there. Just like with all other fish and pets, you need to feed your peacock cichlids a good diet for a variety of reasons.

Growing fast and big, maintaining a healthy immune system, and having a bright coat are just some of the reasons why a good diet is needed. Well, today we are here to look at what we believe are the top contenders as the best food for peacock cichlids (this one is our top pick), so let’s get to it right now!

divider fish plants 2A Quick Look at Our Favorites in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Winner
New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula
  • Designed for color enhancement
  • High quality ingredients
  • Nutritionally complete
  • Second place
    Hikari Sinking Cichlid Gold Pellet Hikari Sinking Cichlid Gold Pellet
  • Designed to prevent water clouding
  • Full of healthy nutrients
  • Works for larger and smaller tropical fish
  • Third place
    Omega One Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp Omega One Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp
  • Safe freeze-dried food
  • Great as a meal supplement
  • Helps maintain immune system
  • Tetra Blood Worms Freeze Dried Treat Tetra Blood Worms Freeze Dried Treat
  • High in calories to maintain healthy weight
  • Freeze-dried process eliminates viruses and bacteria
  • Full of minerals
  • nutrients
  • and proteins
  • Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia
  • Safe freeze-drying process
  • Helps bring out bright colors
  • Convenient ratcheting lid
  • The 5 Best Foods for Peacock Cichlids

    1. New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula

    New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula

    Check Price on Chewy

    One of the things that we can all appreciate about New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula is that it is made in the USA. Things made in the USA are usually made of high quality materials, so this is something that we hold in fairly high regards.

    This particular cichlid food is specially designed for color enhancement. Peacock cichlids are already very bright and colorful, so color enhancement food like this one certainly helps.

    This particular food is made with high quality ingredients in order to ensure the optimal health and growth of your fish. It comes with tons of vitamins and nutrients that will help your fish grow, be healthy, and increase its immunity to disease as well.

    All in all, this is some of the most nutritionally complete fish food around, making it our top pick for peacock cichlids. On a side note this sinking food, something which also makes it ideal for cichlids.


    2. Hikari Sinking Cichlid Gold Pellet

    Hikari Sinking Cichlid Gold Pellet

    As the name of the food implies, these are sinking pellets, making them ideal for cichlids and many other bottom feeding or mid column feeding fish. One of the cool aspects of Hikari Pellets is that they are specially designed to prevent the clouding of the water, a problem which many other fish foods tend to suffer from. This particular food is very high in Astaxanthin, proteins, vitamins, and many other nutrients too.

    The bottom line is that these pellets are some of the most nutritionally complete foods you could feed your peacock cichlid. It has more than enough nutrients to support a healthy immune systems as well as natural growth.

    This stuff is great for both smaller and larger tropical fish thanks to the plethora of nutrients it contains. The fact that Hikari Cichlid Pellets help to bring out the brightest colors in your cichlids is another big bonus that we absolutely love which is why they made our list.


    3. Omega One Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp

    Omega One Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp

    We always like freeze dried foods because they tend to be the safest food option for any fish. Yes, they were once real live brine shrimp, so they do taste awesome as far as fish are concerned. They still contain all of the nutrients which they contained when live, with the added bonus of being super safe.

    Freeze dried foods like these brine shrimp are treated to ensure that all kinds of viral agents and parasites are dead, thus being much safer for your fish than the live alternative.

    Omega One Brine Shrimp contain a whole lot of nutrients including various vitamins, minerals, and proteins too. You might not want to feed this stuff to your fish every meal, but it defintiely makes for a good snack or meal supplement, one that is very healthy and beneficial. The large amount of nutrients here is great for helping your fish grow big and strong, plus for maintaining a healthy immune system too.


    4. Tetra Blood Worms Freeze Dried Treat

    Tetra Blood Worms Freeze Dried Treat

    One of the things that we like about this particular fish food is that it is fairly high in calories, thus helping your peacock cichlids maintain a healthy weight, plus it gives them lots of energy for swimming laps on the daily.

    There is of course also the fact that these blood worms are freeze dried. In other words, they are much safer than the live alternative because the freeze drying process helps to kill of all kinds of viruses and bacteria which could otherwise make your fish very sick.

    These blood worms are filled to the brim with various minerals, nutrients, and proteins too. They are an excellent for helping your fish create and maintain a healthy immune system, not to mention that they do help complete a nutritionally balanced diet for your peacock cichlids.

    You can use Tetra Blood Worms Freeze for both saltwater and freshwater fish too. There is also the fact that the container which they come in is specially designed to help the food stay fresh for as long as possible.


    5. Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia

    Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia

    This is our final pick but by no means the worst. First off, just like the previous two foods we looked at, these daphnia have been freeze-dried, and are thus free of parasites and viral agents that could otherwise put your cichlid’s life in jeopardy. The ratcheting lid included here makes dispensing the freeze-dried daphnia about as easy as can be.

    At the same time, Hikari Daphnia have been specially designed to ensure that they do not make the water cloudy. Moreover, this food is chock full of vitamins, minerals, and proteins which are shown to help your cichlids grow fast, maintain a healthy immune system, and they really bring out the bright colors too (you can also grow your own Daphnia which we have covered in detail here).

    divider1-goldfish-new

    Feeding Your Peacock Cichlids

    There are a couple of things to be aware of when it comes to feeding your peacock cichlids, so let’s talk about those real quick.

    • These fish need a really well-balanced diet in order to be happy and healthy. However, they do best with a really meaty and protein rich diet, so make sure to feed them lots of protein rich foods.
    • Cichlids need a lot of vitamins and minerals in order to maintain a strong immune system and in order to be as bright and colorful as possible.
    • Cichlids like to feed from the middle of the tank or even from the bottom, so slow sinking fish food is best for peacock cichlids as opposed to floating foods.
    • Feed your cichlids twice per day and only give them as much as they can eat in around 2 minutes. Do not let them eat any more than that or else you will over feed your peacock cichlid.

    divider fish plants 2Conclusion

    When it comes down to it, all of the above options are definite top contenders for the title of the best food for peacock cichlids (New Life Spectrum is our top pick). Just remember to provide them a well-balanced diet that is rich in protein and don’t over feed them either!


    Featured Image Credit: Arunee Rodloy, Shutterstock

    Related Articles

    Further Reading

    Vet Articles

    Latest Vet Answers

    The latest veterinarians' answers to questions from our database