fattening up

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
C

crazyduckhunt

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2006
56
1
0
california
hey guys,
I notice that all pictures I see of polypterus they are really chubby, and I love it, i just want to know how you guys get yours a little on the pudgy side, I feed him quit often with frozen brine shrimp and he will eat mostly anything that hits the gravel. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
How big are your bichirs?
 
Welcome to MFK!!!

You can fatten him up by adding to his diet. Mine enjoy B shrimp when small. But, I also feed them frozen bloodworms, blackworms, chopped market shrimp. bait minnows, ghost shrimp, juvie crayfish, earthworms, earthworm sticks with spirulina, and several other foods from time to time. The more varied the diet, the more overall good nutrition he'll receive.
 
You should start to feed them more than brine shrimps. They really should be eating more meaty foods like earth worms, shrimp, smelts, silversides, etc. Just cut them up so they'll fit the bichir's mouth. Or you could also try carnivore pellets.
 
Along with the above suggested items a good quality pellet sould be included in the diet for the sake of good nutrition.
As for fattening up bichirs under 7-8'' tend to to add length after 7-8'' they tend to add girth instead of length.
Just feed it a well balanced diet and keep the tank as clean as possible and it will grow to a fine adult specimen.-Anne
Something I forgot to mention :if possible several small feeding thru the day are better than 1 or 2 heavier feedings
 
any pics?
 
ok thanks ill try to widen his/her diet out a lil, sorry no pics at the moment when i do get my camera up and runnin again ill be more than happy to post some, thanks again
 
3 words... pump feeder goldfish...
 
DO NOT USE feeder goldfish they are oily not very nutritious and constant feed of them causes faty deposits on the liver they also contain very high levels of Thiaminase a destroying hormone.
another issue with goldfish is the presence of a 'spine' in the anterior of the dorsal fin, this can prove problematic if the fish swallows the feeder the wrong way or further issues in the digestive system. goldfish are just not a good feeder (not that feeders in general are that great). if you have to feed feeders, as mentioned above, go with guppies or rosies. i prefer rosies since they seem to be a little less susceptible to ich and the like...although its good to quarantine feeders if you can.
Feeder goldfish farms utilize copper meds in suspension form to combat diseases in the feeders associated with overcrowding. These copper meds are retained by the feeders for long periods after they leave the farms. Most lfs invariably retain all or part of the feeders shipping water when the feeders are loaded into their bins/tanks. And copper does not dissapate from a closed system. -Anne
 
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