Armatus - Live Food Choices (Need advice)

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xander;4887002; said:
how about large catfish or snakeheads?
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Yeah, so that's why I should probably get one of each at the fish farm tomorrow. See which works best.
Hmmm not too sure about snakeheads though. Considering they've still got pretty sharp teeth even when young, and still able to nip and cause a gash.

krichardson;4887004; said:
I asked about them because Vamptrev mentioned them,and also,I've noticed that my armatus really goes after the bigger goldfish that I drop in and he seems to almost ignore the smaller fish.
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Yeah, mine does that too. The fish has to be of a certain specific size for them to eat. All my Columbian Tetras and Buenos Aires Tetras are left completely untouched. Thankfully I got a baby GATF too recently, so transferred the small fishes to his tank instead.
 
silver sharks for a meal? u must be rich!
 
Just got back from the fish farms (nipped out really quick during lunch time.. and now am at the forums - surely a productive employee).

I've bought 6 x Golden Sharks, 5 x Silver Sharks and 2 x Tin Foil Barbs.
Couldn't find anything else in the same size/prize range. There are some that costs $10 each though! Now that'd be insane for me.

Let's see how he takes to the Tin Foil Barbs. I had my doubts, cos they are pretty "wide" fishes. But then again, Piranhas are a natural food source for them, and they are flat and wide too.
 
Can't help you in the live department but get him on frozen. I had all three of my armatus on krill and then switched to smelts,clams,shrimp etc. Waaay cheaper then live! I used dither fish that ate krill and then the Armatus caught on from there and started eating krill etc...
 
Blkpiranha;4889247; said:
Can't help you in the live department but get him on frozen. I had all three of my armatus on krill and then switched to smelts,clams,shrimp etc. Waaay cheaper then live! I used dither fish that ate krill and then the Armatus caught on from there and started eating krill etc...
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I've read some stories on how people weened their Armatus off live, and it's always been that they learnt from other fishes? So how do you train them, if they are the ONLY fish in the tank? Mine wouldn't even eat an injured fish. If they don't swim away when he approaches, he doesn't attack them. So I'm guessing that a dead fish, is not gonna make him strike.

I'm not too keen on getting him on dead fish. At least for now.
 
daimion;4891751; said:
I've read some stories on how people weened their Armatus off live, and it's always been that they learnt from other fishes? So how do you train them, if they are the ONLY fish in the tank? Mine wouldn't even eat an injured fish. If they don't swim away when he approaches, he doesn't attack them. So I'm guessing that a dead fish, is not gonna make him strike.

I'm not too keen on getting him on dead fish. At least for now.
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I got mine when they were 3". I used silver dollars and gold tin foil barbs for dithers. The dithers ate the krill and eventually the Armatus started to eat the krill. Now it eats everything but dry food!
 
i tied a dead smelt on a string and made it move around the tank as it were alive.. that started the whole training.. i have 3 armatus right now all 15+"... the 4th died cuz it jump out.. had them since 3-4"...
 
rnbanjao;4897459; said:
i tied a dead smelt on a string and made it move around the tank as it were alive.. that started the whole training.. i have 3 armatus right now all 15+"... the 4th died cuz it jump out.. had them since 3-4"...
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For me.. the only problem is the timing. I'm guessing to be successful, you need to not feed your fish for a few days -which I'm not comfortable with.

Also, he seems to only eat when I'm at the office during the day (and the room's dark), or when I head to bed, and the light's are turned off.

Still think I'd much rather search for a wholesaler who can offer good sized fishes at a low rate, than to get him off live.
 
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