Beef Heart?

[NCStateFisher]

I've had my pair of senegals for a little over a week, they're already fat and happy and probably at least a quarter of an inch longer than they were when I got them. I've been feeding them raw shrimp, and they readily eat it - however, it is causing me to have to do a 5-10 gallon water change almost daily because of the amount of waste it causes, and even a single piece going un eaten and getting stuck under some gravel can cause the tank to stink up. That being said, the local petco has beef heart in the freezer but i forgot to see how much it cost, that being said how fast can I expect my bichirs to grow while eating beef heart, will it produce less waste than the shrimp, and what is the typical price range for it so i'll know whether to buy it at petco or find it somewhere else? Also would my brown knife eat the beef heart as well?Thanks I appreciate it

(I'm not too lazy to do the WCs, i just feel like having to do 10 gallons every 2 days is a bit excessive in a 45 gal tank)

 

[Jayzao]

A small crustacean like a cray or rcc would work all day cleaning up the small scraps left behind. I have two red crays in my bicher tank and they do a decent job cleaning.

 

[NCStateFisher]

not puttin crays in there, sens are small at this point and they'd tear up my gourami and ABK... anybody got some input on beef heart?

 

[ar0wan]

I suspect the beef heart would go over well with the knife
check the Asian market for fresh 'food' as they may beat petco prices
I just got about (300) fresh frozen mysis shrimp labeled as prawns for $3.

 

[NCStateFisher]

oh wow.. i'll definitely have to see if we have an asian market around here and check that out, thanks for the tip

 

[NCStateFisher]

well.. i got the beef heart, didn't realize how ridiculously messy it was when the bichirs tore it up, they're still looking around the gravel for more so im guessing they're getting most of the waste but i'll keep an eye on it, i got a pack with 30 good sized cubes so it'll probably last a couple weeks, may go with silversides after this and cut them in to small chunks, any input on those?

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

wish i had gotten to you sooner, i was going to suggest that the beefheart cubes from pet stores are actually messy as they break apart. looks like you learned the hard way

don't you cut up the shrimp into bite size pieces though? i don't see how that would be any different then silverside unless you're just tossing in whole shrimp

 

[NCStateFisher]

yeah i've been cutting up the shrimp in to small peices, but if they dont find it within about 10-15 seconds they won't touch it because it starts hardening up from the 78 degree water, the cubes definitely are messy but ill stick with em since they were like 8 bucks, wouldn't the silversides be easier to cut and take longer for the water to make them less desirable? i might be looking in to it too much. both bichirs are between 3 and 4" and my ABK is around 5"

 

[pi-eyed]

yeah i've been cutting up the shrimp in to small peices, but if they dont find it within about 10-15 seconds they won't touch it because it starts hardening up from the 78 degree water, the cubes definitely are messy but ill stick with em since they were like 8 bucks, wouldn't the silversides be easier to cut and take longer for the water to make them less desirable? i might be looking in to it too much. both bichirs are between 3 and 4" and my ABK is around 5"

I go to the butcher and buy whole beefheart. Cut into strips and freeze--thaw and feed.. Nowhere as messy as the cubed stuff from the lfs..

---Chris

 

[kevinfleming21]

I go to the butcher and buy whole beefheart. Cut into strips and freeze--thaw and feed.. Nowhere as messy as the cubed stuff from the lfs..

---Chris

I tried this and got the ol "" look from them haha. how does a meat market not have beef heart? Oh well.