Feeding jag ?

[beerad555]

Since he was about 2 inches i had been feeding him a mix of pellets,flakes, and bloodworms and recently have been giving him live food, crickets and nightcrawlers and was wondering how many crickets or worms a day is too much? as he will eat and eat and eat. Now that i have transferred him from a 25 gal to a 125 gal i would like to see him grow larger faster but i also dont want too overfeed. Any suggestions are appreciated.

he is about 6 inches now.

 

[BIG_ONE]

I feed all my carnivore cichlid Hikari Bio-Gold+. Result looks pretty good to me. NLS is my top list for producing the best coloring though.

 

[tooth517]

Feed him till you just start to see his stomach bulge. Mine isn't a huge pellet fan but would eat the entire can of omega one freeze dried shrimp ($13) if I let him. He loves the crickets, grasshoppers, and frogs my kids catch for him also.

 

[Maduro]

Don't feed him anymore than you would in that 25 and you'll be alright. Many on this board would disagree with me on the following, but here ya go...

Jaguars are predatory fish yet many folks feed them like they're grazers. In their natural enviornment they easilly go a day or two without finding anything to eat yet most people feed them 2+ times a day with the goal of fatting them up.

Combine this feeding pattern with the fact that this fish is getting nowhere near the swimming space they get in nature (less calories burned) and you end up with a fat fish that's overfed and can't go a few days without being stressed from a lack of food. Think of how much more constitution your fish would have if his digestive sytem got a break after every feeding...and think of the benefit to your filtration sytem if you went to even just feeding every other day that would be a 50% reduction right off the top!

So try giving him a substantial meal where his belly gets full then let him sit a day or two and do it again. You'll find he'll feed with more gusto and will be extra happy to see you.

 

[beerad555]

thanks

 

[tooth517]

Maduro has a point. I have done this feeding method in the past and still do when I have quarantined feeders. He will gorge himself then I let him go a day or two before feeding again. Makes sense if you think about it!