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ksiaquatics
07-18-2005, 10:47 AM
I was feeding earthworms to the larger of my bowfin yesterday, which is kept outside in a 40 gallon livestock tank (temporarily). I got this little fella when he was about 4" long and he is now about 7 to 9" in length. I dropped the earthworm in and peered down into the water to see if he ate it. A few seconds elapsed then I saw him easing up to within about 3" of the worm then suddenly nailed it! He shook that worm like a dog shaking a ragdoll, bit it into several pieces then leisurely picked each piece up and ate it. Really cool, viscous stuff! Then he did two more the same way. Have to make a mental note to myself to NOT put my fingers in the water.

I've also got about 25 young bowfin, about 1" to 1.5" in length, in a 300 gallon stocktank. These will devour 6 frozen bloodworm cubes in under 2 minutes, twice a day! Even at this young age, they're very aggressive. Also quite curious as they will come up to the surface and hang there looking at me when I sit down next to the tank to watch them.

Chip in SC

sabotage
07-18-2005, 10:59 AM
I have a 5 incher and he wasnt very aggressive, but now that he is getting older he's becoming nasty.. I feed mine krill, feeders and black worms..Good luck wit urs.....

The TRUST
07-18-2005, 12:30 PM
Careful. They are aggressive to each other and CANNIBALISTIC! I had a bunch of baby bowfins once anout 3". Started off with 15. in a week I was left with 3. they tore each other to shreds and ate each other as well.

ksiaquatics
07-18-2005, 2:57 PM
Careful. They are aggressive to each other and CANNIBALISTIC! I had a bunch of baby bowfins once anout 3". Started off with 15. in a week I was left with 3. they tore each other to shreds and ate each other as well.

That's why I'm keeping them well fed for now. I'm feeding them twice a day and keeping a close eye on them. Within the next week or two, I'll have to remove the smaller ones to a separate tank.

Chip

guppy
07-18-2005, 7:00 PM
They will also eat canned catfood and damn near everthing else. Hmmm, wish I could try large bowfin in tank with same size snakehead.

GTS
07-18-2005, 8:16 PM
Yes bowfin are get very nasty as they age. However they are always nasty towards each other no matter how big they are.

Hum maybe I need to go collect some. I have never kept one over 15" before. The florida record was a 40" one.