Diet for young bichirs?

[Seedy J]

Last week I got 2 delhezis and one senegalus, all about 3.5" long. So far they've been eating:

-Hikari Vibra Bites
-frozen bloodworms (they seem to like the Vibra Bites more)
-Hikari Sinking Cichlid Gold pellets

Should I be feeding them anything else? I'm planning to get some Hikari sinking carnivore pellets and feed those instead of the cichlid pellets. I've got some Jumbo Carnisticks on hand for when they get bigger, and I'll get some Massivore too once they're big enough.

They eat at the top of the tank as well as the bottom - is that normal? I guess the most important thing is that they're eating .

 

[jaws7777]

You could chop up tilapia very small and substitute that for the blood worms.

Id say you are fine with the pellets. You can try mixing in some NLS theraA mine go nuts for it. The garlic drives em crazy but its not a must

 

[kno4te]

Cut up fish/earthworms and crushed pellets.

 

[Polyaddict86]

Like mentioned above, small cut tilapia and pellet. Stop feeding bloodworm.

 

[Seedy J]

What's wrong with the bloodworms - empty calories? Just curious, not opposed to removing them from the diet, they're kind of a pain in the butt. The bichirs seem to like the Vibra Bites more anyway.

 

[Polyaddict86]

What's wrong with the bloodworms - empty calories? Just curious, not opposed to removing them from the diet, they're kind of a pain in the butt. The bichirs seem to like the Vibra Bites more anyway.

No nutrition.

 

[kno4te]

No nutrition.

+1 it’s a good starter to get fish to eat but should be transitioned to something a little better.

 

[Hendre]

View attachment 1357588
Like mentioned above, small cut tilapia and pellet. Stop feeding bloodworm.

Another santoku user? A man of culture!

Bloodworm is good roughage but not much good otherwise.

 

[Seedy J]

Thanks for all the advice. Another question while I've got your attention - is a 40 breeder a good size tank for these guys when they're this small? I've seen two of them eating, but there's a lot of uneaten food in the tank. I'm wondering if they'd have an easier time finding their food in a smaller tank (maybe a 20 tall) for now. They'll be going into a 75g long-term.

 

[jaws7777]

The tank is fine. Give them time to adjust. Some fish just have different appetites