Feeding umbees live? Anyone do it?

[anzo1993]

Hello, I have a 7 inch umbee alone in a 100 gallon tank with many hiding spots because she is kind of shy, I'm trying to make her more aggressive, I was thinking of trying to give her live to give her abit more confidence, just wanted some other opinions ?

 

[Ogertron3000]

I'd say add some dither fish but for an umbee they are most likely going to end up as live food anyway.

 

[A201]

I agree with the dither fish suggestion. Might stock some larger Buenos Aires Tetras or something similar. Might also add a smaller aggressive cichlid like a Salvini, on a temporary basis, to toughen her up.

 

[duanes]

Since a 7" Umbi is still a baby, hiding is normal, at that size, its perfect prey for the birds that hunt it in Colombian rivers, like the one below.
The problem with feeding live fish, is many feeders (unless you breed them yourself) can carry diseases, that can kill your cichlid.

The photos below were taken in tributaries of the Rio Magdalena system in Colombia.

 

[Audaxcity]

If you do go with feeders, don't use goldfish, rosy minnows, or other coldwater fish. Its super unhealthy if you accidentally get her addicted due to the high fat and thiaminase content.
Livebearers are a good choice for live food

 

[smitty03281964]

My friend Tommy fed his Umbees live quite often

 

[dan518]

Give it a good quality diet and time. Agree with duanes, a 7 inch umbee is still a baby, most of the ones i have seen don't come into there own till about 10 to 12 inch,

 

[anzo1993]

thank you for the advice, I guess ill just have to be patient lol hopefully by summer my umbee will be pushing 10 inches

 

[joegriggs]

Maybe you could try getting her a partner? I think it will be hard to find dithers that wouldn't end up being a meal for your Umbee. Although live foods are fine, one drawback is that they can carry parasites/infections. So just be careful what you feed her. Not sure it will make her any more confident though and it can be expensive.

 

[Brandonclark88]

Like Duanes said, unfortunately that's the nature of the beast. Many cichlids are that way. But one day when the trigger flips and she goes nuts it'll be completely different lol. As someone else stated if you get her a mate she'll be less shy and much more agressive when spawning. My female trys to kill me anytime she's guarding eggs or fry. But then again to get her a comparable mate you'll need a male probably 9-12" long