Hand Feeding Ropefish <3

[tfreema]

Nice stocking! The ropes will definitely appreciate each others' company.

When I had congos and butterflies, my congos primarily ate from the water column, so the butterflies did fine. I'd put the food down a few inches into the tank so they'd swarm there and then the butterflies were left to their surface food. I also got the butterflies used to feeding out of tongs / my fingers so they could get some chunks of the "real" food that tended to sink, like cut up fish. My butterflies ate anything from flake to live - they were really easy.

You may regret posting about your butterfly fish after seeing this long post. Sorry in advance, but I am getting pretty frustrated with trying to feed these guys.

So, the butterfly fish WERE doing really well with coming and getting food from me, especially in the smaller quarantine tank. Now they tend to hover on the back wall and in the back corners of the 120g tank where I cannot get to them because I have the lid sealed down tight to keep the ropefish from escaping. I distract the ctenopomas with food and swoosh the bf food on the surface to them (crickets, pieces of mealworms, mysis shrimp, floating bug bites) and it can be right in front of their face and they just sit there!! I am getting really frustrated and spending a lot of time trying to get them to eat and making sure each one is at least eating a few times a week. The ctenopomas are good at surface eating too so keeping them at bay while waiting for the bf to finally figure out that is food right in front of their face is a real challenge. I tried tongs in the qt, but they shot after it and grabbed the food so fast that I thought they would injure themselves on the metal. They never would eat out of my hand. They run from me when I put my hand anywhere near them........ They need to figure out I am the giver of food, lol.

I am wondering if they are just not settling into the big tank with all the water movement. I have an fx6, fx4, 2 powerheads (on the floor of the tank) and a wavemaker (near the top pointed slightly down) to keep the water column turning and the debris on the floor of the tank moving so it can get caught up in the filter. I have the fluval nozzles pointed slightly down and in a direction to allow some calm water on both sides, especially the right side. And I have a bit of frogbit and floating wisteria that they enjoy lounging in, but that is just getting in my way of getting them to notice the food because it gets in the middle of it while trying to swoosh it to them.

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

 

[tfreema]

Still having issues with the butterfly fish. They are so skittish and jumpy. When I try to put their crickets in, they run away from me like my hand is the claw of death. If they don’t grab the cricket fast enough one of the ctenopomas will dart up and grab it, even if I have fed them big fat red wriggler worms in an attempt to occupy and distract them. Ugh!

It is really hit or miss. Sometimes they grab it, sometimes they don’t. The little one will go days without eating. Tonight that cricket even crawled around ON THE FISH! I put it right above it’s mouth and all around in front to the side to entice it. Finally took the poor cricket out and back into the cricket bin. The other two ate theirs no problem thank goodness.

Here is the updated pic of their tank.

 

[magpie]

Going days without eating is OK. Looks like you have a lot of floating plants so that's good. I wonder if it is the water movement, or maybe how bright the tank is?

How long have they been in the large tank?

 

[tfreema]

Going days without eating is OK. Looks like you have a lot of floating plants so that's good. I wonder if it is the water movement, or maybe how bright the tank is?

How long have they been in the large tank?

They have been in the large tank since about mid-May. They seemed to be good at darting out and getting their food at first. They were even eating bug bites floating pellets. As time has gone by, they have become more "skittish" and seem deathly afraid of me to the point that just seeing my hand dropping the cricket sends them scurrying to the back corners of the tank. Then I have to move the frogbit around and make a little bit of waves to get the floating cricket to them (filters are cut off for feeding) which agitates them even more.

I really think part of it is the ctenopomas darting up and grabbing the crickets or pellets because that really freaks them out. I am learning to feed them earlier in the evening while the ctenopomas are not expecting food yet. Those guys are really chill, but love to eat. That seems to be working a little better. If I can get a cricket right in front of them before they get jittery, they grab it. I have been able to get one to each at least a couple times a week and sometimes one will come grab the other guys cricket getting two (then I have to grab another cricket to try again, lol). Very slow movements to move frogbit out of the way and get the cricket to them. It is taking some serious patience. I work so early evening as soon as I get home is the only option for timing.

As far as water movement, I have unplugged the wavemaker that was near the top. That was put on when I had the fx6 and HOB to keep water movement going so waste and debris is kicked up into the water column for the filters to pick up. I now have an fx4 with nozzles pointing a bit downward. Both fx6 and fx 4 nozzles are also pointed to allow for calmer water on each end of the tank. I need some surface agitation as I do not have an airstone in the tank. I also have 2 powerheads with sponges over the intakes on the floor to help keep a circular flow of movement on the bottom.

2 have taken up each corner on the right end as their territory and the 3rd likes being right by the outflow hose on the other side.

For lighting, it is a planted tank so the light is pretty bright when on. Schedule is 9 - 1, and 5 - 8:30 so they have a dark period in between with just ambient lighting from the windows in the room. I have 2 turtle docks for the ropefish that they like to hang out by or under as well and the frogbit is covering about 1/3 of the surface collecting up in their calm areas. Two of them do seem to like staying in it. The other is happy by the hose in calm water behind the water flow.

If you have read all of this, thanks for your time, lol. The fish I have chosen are definitely not for beginners.

 

[tfreema]

Update on the feeding butterfly fish issue. I decided to try to feed them as soon as I get home from work before the ctenopomas are expecting food. It has worked like a charm. The butterfly fish come out for their food and most nights they each get a cricket. Not eating bug bite pellets again yet, but a couple of them ate some meal worm pieces so that’s progress.

Tonight I got caught up and didn’t feed them until almost regular feeding time. The ctenopomas were hovering. I managed to get crickets to a couple, but the third one freaked out and hid behind the turtle dock. So, that proves my theory that the ctenopomas darting up for their food freaks them out. I just have to feed them on a different schedule.

 

[magpie]

Happy to hear you're figuring it out!

 

[tfreema]

Guess what? Ropefish like crickets too, lol.

The ctenopomas have gotten hip to the early feeding and were hovering so I got my long handle substrate rake and gently ushered them to other side of tank, got two bf fed and just when the third one was about to grab his, a ropefish slithered up and grabbed it, lol. Oooof! Fortunately, I was able to get another one real quick and get him fed.