got my first dat! a few questions guys..

[ceejaye23]

so i finally got a dat! its a thinbar, 1". i have been eyeing this little
fella in the lfs for a month now. seems nobody was interested in picking him up and is very stable since i saw it last month.

i brought him home today and gave him his own 60 gal with lots of driftwoods.
dark substrate and a mild flow powerhead. it only took him about 20 mins to be stable. im only recharging the battery of my camera right now thats why
i cant take pix yet.

i was told it was being fed with guppies. my question is, in a 60 gal(48"), will he be able to catch the guppies? or is it too big for him? i dont want to offer frozen yet until i can see he cant catch the guppies.

another question is, other than a similar size dat, what tank mate can i put in the tank with him so he'll have competition for food?

any help and/or advice will be appreciated. thanks!

 

[MKSII]

i dont want to offer frozen yet until i can see he cant catch the guppies.

Why not? Frozen is easier to get, do not need another tank up to hold food, usually less messy at feeding and most importantly is almost always parasite and disease free. Most people have a hard time trying to get their fish off live food.

 

[krichardson]

I have never seen a one inch dat before,anywhere.If they come in any smaller they will be eggs,good luck though.

 

[ceejaye23]

Why not? Frozen is easier to get, do not need another tank up to hold food, usually less messy at feeding and most importantly is almost always parasite and disease free. Most people have a hard time trying to get their fish off live food.

i know about the risks of feeding live. im actually against it. but as of now, ill give it what it got used to rather than starve it to die just because i dont want to feed live feeders. i will eventually convert him to frozen foods when it's past the critical stage. probably when it reaches 2".

 

[MKSII]

I got mine at 1 inch also, about a month ago. He's a good inches now. The LFS I got him at test their fish with bloodworms to see if they will eat them. He's been eating them since day one, along with any live food he wants and/or can catch. He's already figured out the feeding schedule and can't wait for more.


I do have feeder guppies in the tank, although I add like normal fish (20+ at a time - also have guppy breeder tank). I have a couple Leopard Ctenopomas and ropefish. I also add lots of ghost shrimp.

 

[ceejaye23]

how does your NTT react to lights? mine is still skittish so far.
maybe because he's the only fish in the tank aside from guppies and when you stand in front of the tank, he darts to his hiding spots. loses its colors and will stay there. this is also the same way he would react with the lights on.

 

[vaine111]

They wil bolt to their hiding spots when the lights turn on. Give them 5 minutes to adjust and they usually come out but NTT's are very skittish.

The best way to get them off live is to get other fish in there that will eat what you want it to eat.

They are very acceptable to getting diseases especially ich and flukes so live food should be a no no unless you breed your own. A 10 gallon with some floating fake or real plants and about 10 guppies should give you more then enough live food to get you started.

He should eat bloodworms and/or shrimp after a few tries. Good luck and enjoy they are an awesome fish to keep!!

 

[ceejaye23]

They wil bolt to their hiding spots when the lights turn on. Give them 5 minutes to adjust and they usually come out but NTT's are very skittish.

The best way to get them off live is to get other fish in there that will eat what you want it to eat.

They are very acceptable to getting diseases especially ich and flukes so live food should be a no no unless you breed your own. A 10 gallon with some floating fake or real plants and about 10 guppies should give you more then enough live food to get you started.

He should eat bloodworms and/or shrimp after a few tries. Good luck and enjoy they are an awesome fish to keep!!

very good info. thanks!

 

[MKSII]

Yeah, mine hides a lot with the lights on, and most of the time when we are around. He doesn't loose his stripes or change any color wise. He just prefers to hide - he has sneeked to the other side of the tank and was watching me look for him.....smart little guy.

I have been hanging around the tank not paying attention to it to get him used to people, and not hounding the glass. Although the wife was at the glass, and he came zooming over to check her out and then left.

 

[ceejaye23]

thanks for the info MKSII!