African knife (Xenomystus nigri) diet?

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J

jschall

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 9, 2009
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Chico, California
Alright, just got my 4"ish Xenomystus nigri in, and it hasn't been eaten by bichirs yet, so its time to start thinking about feeding it.

I feed my bichirs nutrafin max sinking shrimp&krill pellets, which get gobbled up very quickly.
Congo tetras and african butterfly fish get tetra tropical flakes
There are lots and lots of tiny (2-5mm) snails in the tank.

Should I purchase a different food for the african knife or stick with what I have?
I don't want to feed live. Nothing against it, just too risky with parasites.
 
@jschall - hello again.. I think they eat just about anythin.. but i purely feed live blood worms every night and occasionally earth worms / night crawlers to both my X n and BGK.. My aquarist said X ns will jus bout eat anythin and the write ups also say so.. I guess the hungrier they get the snails might disappear and if any small fish are around.. prob try to put in a few of the sinking pellets right by his hiding spot.. happy feeding.. but if nothin works just get some live blood worms.. nothin will happen.. fingers crossed..
 
African Black Knifes are adapted for smaller prey, so you should probably start feeding some kind of worm. It may also take snails, but it's best to have a varied diet that's also not exhaustible.

(My knife also takes flakes, but that is in no way his sole diet.)
 
They'll eat whatever. In the wild, they feed on insects and small crustaceans. So Ghost Shrimp would be good. Any quality flakes and pellets are good. Sinking would be better. Frozen bloodworms are always great.
 
Cool, he went right for flakes and he'll eat them straight out of my hand. Pretty amazing considering this is his 3rd or 4th day in the tank. I'm going to get some 2mm new life spectrum for my congo tetras and butterfly fish and hikari sinking carnivore for my bichirs and reedfish. He'll probably go after both.
 
jschall;3913017; said:
Cool, he went right for flakes and he'll eat them straight out of my hand. Pretty amazing considering this is his 3rd or 4th day in the tank. I'm going to get some 2mm new life spectrum for my congo tetras and butterfly fish and hikari sinking carnivore for my bichirs and reedfish. He'll probably go after both.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have a friendly knife that's not scared to come out. Props!
 
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