Special Haitiensis diet questions/requirements?

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capefeartarheel

capefeartarheel

Candiru
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2007
355
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LMU Lab
I have a small pair of Haitians and it has been brought to my attention that they might have some special dietary needs. I was told that particularly meat based food could cause issues (earthworms, crickets etc) Does anyone have experience with special issues concerning them?

TIA!

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i was just reading in another thread that you shouldn't feed anything too meaty like beefheart. They needs lots of vegetable matter.
 
I've been told they're prone to bloat and other stuff if you feed them high protein foods but I feed my single 1-2" odo anything and everything. I feed a ton of variety though. My fish probably get 10 different things a week but my odo does fine eating krill and other meats. Maybe they're just sensitive to crappy food. My staple foods are omega one, nls, hikari, and kenfish.
 
dogofwar;2562987; said:
I feed mine NLS, Ken's Fish flake, and super worms. They're 9-10" male and 8-9" female... I think that smaller ones might be more sensitive / prone to bloat but mine eat like horses.
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Have they had that same diet since they were babies? Are you able to keep anything with them at that size?...If so, what size tank and what other inhabitants? Do you have pics of them?

Thanks!
 
Along with a heavy veggie diet, warm temps are advisable for young ones. I also believe they need to be isolated, unless you have a compatible pair, the less dominant one seems to bloat due to stress.
It's a little hard to be sure from your pic, but if the dorsal is dark on both fish, they are both females. A male below
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female
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pair
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I think juvies need high water temperature of around 88F. I was told it's because when young, they hang out in the shallows near the bank where the water stays very warm. I've never kept them but was doing research and asking questions at one point.
 
BEAUTIFUL PAIR duanes!

Thanks for all the info guys! They were sold to me as a pair via Don Conkel, so Im going with that until I can tell any differently. They are about 4 inches and for a while in a 30 gal, one beat the hell out of the other, but they could occasionally be found together in their favorite cave. Ive since moved them into a 125 with an RTM, Trimac , Dovii and 2 Fredrichstalii, all about the same size (yes, I know this tank is too small for ALL of these species together when full grown). Temp is around 80 and the haitiensis do the damndest thing. One stays at one end of the tank, the other at the other side (6ft away) and they will sit that far apart and taunt each other, fins flared, vibrating...and slowly make their way to the middle of the tank, lock lips then go all the way back to their respective sides of the tank. Funny stuff.
 
If Don says they're a pair, I believe him.
I had trouble trying to keep haits in a community setting. I went through 15 deaths before getting my female to adulthood.
There is an old article in TFH mag from the 80s called "A Spawning of Herichthys haitiensus" by Joseph Ferdenzi, that I found invaluable.
I had @ 50 fry die when a heater crapped out and the temp went from 84-78.
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duanes;2563417; said:
There is an old article in TFH mag from the 80s called "A Spawning of Herichthys haitiensus" by Joseph Ferdenzi, that I found invaluable.
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Thanks for the info. I found "A Spawning of Herichthys haitiensus" in the July 1995 issue as well. Must have reprinted it.
 
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