Cichlids are astonishingly diverse when it comes to diet. Many are primarily herbivores feeding on algae and plants with small animals, particularly invertebrates, being only a small part of their diet. Some cichlids are detritivores and eat all types of organic material; among these species are the tilapiines of the genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Tilapia.

Other cichlids are predatory and eat little if any plant matter. These include generalists that catch a variety of small animals including other fishes and insect larvae, as well as a variety of specialists.  A number of cichlids feed on other fish, either whole or in part. Crenicichla are stealth-predators that lunge at small fish that pass by their hiding places, while Rhamphochromis are open water predators that chase down their prey. Paedophagous cichlids such as the Caprichromis species eat other species’ eggs or young (in some cases ramming the heads of mouthbrooding species to force them to disgorge their young).  Some species feed on the scales and fins of other fishes, which is a behaviour known as lepidophagy, along with the death mimicking behaviour of Nimbochromis and Parachromis species, which lay motionless, luring small fish to their side prior to ambush.