First Polypterus: need advice!

[Polyaddict86]

Giant danios might be ok, no no to cardinal since they are to small, even a 4” senegal can eat them.

 

[elbereth]

The pieces of tilapia I give him are about a third or half the size of a tetra but he still struggles to swallow them whole. In fact I worry he'll choke every time I feed him but I can't cut the tilapia any smaller without it turning into mush. He's barely 3 inches long.

 

[jaws7777]

The pieces of tilapia I give him are about a third or half the size of a tetra but he still struggles to swallow them whole. In fact I worry he'll choke every time I feed him but I can't cut the tilapia any smaller without it turning into mush. He's barely 3 inches long.

It won't be 3 inches forever. Those tetras will be snacks

 

[thefredpit]

I have the Aquaclear running on another tank I'm cycling right now and its filled to the brim. Its still loud enough to be annoying at night. Probably because the tank is right behind my bed, lol!

What about dither fish? I'm thinking of getting some cardinal tetras or danios for now. I'll move them to another tank once the bichir gets large enough to eat them, but if he does happen to eat one before I do so, what are the chances he might get parasites? I know feeder fish are notorious for them. What about tetras and danios?

the big problem with feeders is most of the time people don't quarantine them and that is when disease can be passed along. That is why I breed my own for my butis butis. Another problem with feeders is if you just throw them in they are usually aren't very nutritious since they have been fed the cheapest of cheap food, but if you are feeding them a good food those nutrients are transferred to the predator and this is called gut loading. So long story short it should be fine if you are feeding properly

 

[thefredpit]

The pieces of tilapia I give him are about a third or half the size of a tetra but he still struggles to swallow them whole. In fact I worry he'll choke every time I feed him but I can't cut the tilapia any smaller without it turning into mush. He's barely 3 inches long.

what I do with the tilapia is run it through a food processor it clumps together and even the smallest bichir can tear a piece off

 

[elbereth]

I didn't think of that. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Polyaddict86]

The pieces of tilapia I give him are about a third or half the size of a tetra but he still struggles to swallow them whole. In fact I worry he'll choke every time I feed him but I can't cut the tilapia any smaller without it turning into mush. He's barely 3 inches long.

Thats is normal, most small polys will do that, the tilapia will soften after a few min in the water, poly wont have problem swallowing it.

 

[elbereth]

Lol, he doesn't have the patience to wait a few minutes. He stuffs the whole piece in his mouth and tries to force it down like a boa constrictor! He's gotten better at it too. Either that or maybe I'm mushing it enough with my fingers to make it a bit softer.

He has such a healthy appetite that I haven't had the heart to make him fast periodically. Especially since he can't eat very much in a single feeding. Besides the "feed as much as the fish can eat in 5 mins" rule, are there any other guidelines for how much food to give polypterus at this stage?

 

[thefredpit]

I usually give them enough that most is gone in 10-15 minutes and at that size I do daily feeding until they start slowing down on growth then I move to everyb2-3 days

 

[elbereth]

Sounds like I could feed him a bit more. But his belly gets so round I worry about overfeeding. Or is that fine?