Feeding Lima Shovelnose

[Padiwan cichlidiot]

I baught a lima shovelnose a few weeks ago, and have some questions on feeding. I baught a bag of carnivore pellets (for bottom-dwelling carnivors), and for some time just dropped a few every evening. He does not eat them. The only thing he has eaten so far is feeder fish and frozen blood worms.

I have a practically unlimeted supply of free feeder fish (guppies, mollies, swordtails, and occasionally tilapia fry), and I was wondering if I could feed only those to the catfish.

I know that I must let them clean themselves out for at least a week, and I can feed them with just about any food. I have used feeders from the same souce for many other forms of aquatic life, including other catfish, and I never experienced any problems.

Can the catfish live well on gut-loaded feeders only?

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

I have 5 Lima catfishes. They eat a lot of things. I am feeding mine pellets. Sometimes, they go after the flakes too.

 

[Padiwan cichlidiot]

The thing is, mine won't touch flakes or pellets. Even when he is floating right above them, wisters touching, he ignores them.

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

Don't give it any live food. The fish will react after a while and when it is hungry enough. The fish will see that other fishes are eating pellets, flakes. Pellets should be the choice since it is big. Flakes are hard since the mouth is not structered in a way to take flake food.

 

[Padiwan cichlidiot]

so I just starve it for a wile and then put in pellets?

 

[~ocean]

you can starve it.

 

[SpeshulEd]

If you don't want to feed live, I would feed bloodworms, or chopped up earthworms. What I did to get my TSN off live, was use earthworms. They would wiggle and that'd get his attention. When he was getting used to those, I threw in a small piece of shrimp or krill, he'd scoop it up along with the earthworm and eat everything. Now he's on raw shrimp and tilapia. Still can't get him on pellets though, but I haven't been trying very hard. A 2.2lb bag of massivore is $50, a 2lb bag of raw shrimp is $5.

 

[SFury]

Limas are easy to wean onto prepared foods.

Just stop putting in feeders and the super hungry cat will break down and follow the rest of the tank in no time. They are not exactly particular eaters, and like to eat when the opportunity presents itself. They just get finicky with food if you allow them to.

 

[steelshade]

Lima shovelnose are one of those species that once they have been living on feeders alone, are reluctant to try other things. For some reason it seems that every time a store gets one, the jacka$$es that work there insist on raising them on feeders. Eventually it will get hungry enough and get tired of waiting for live food.

 

[joe the fish man]

Sorry as I had a lima for over a year and never saw it eat once, it must eat at night, cause it was growing the hole time