juvi endli training dilemma

[Fishermoe14]

So im having problems getting my endli to take anything besides chopped up minnows and was wondering if there is any advice to be had...

i keep the endli with an ornate, del, and sen.. they will all eat what i currently try to feed them.. ( shrimp, fd blood worms, fd tubiflex, colorbits) but the endli refuses to touch anything but cut minnows..

the endli is probably around 3.5 inches whereas the others are slightly over 4.. i dont throw the minnow in there unless i see the endli's stomach concave slightly.. which is what worries me.. since its still very young i dont want to stunt its growth by lack of food.. but i also dont want the thiaminase to be a problem for him/her esp with it being so small..

ill be switching to broken up massivore on monday... but will continue feeding minnows only when the endli looks like a twig with a head..

is there anything you guys can recommend or suggest?

 

[King-eL]

Try and starve it for a week then feed the food you want to feed it.

I feed my fish lots of frozen foods and I read an article that the more you freezes the food the more it contain thiaminase. I also feed goldfish to my fish but my bichirs still grow fast like weeds in no time and most are close to 20" or pass 20"+. I see a lot of people that feed massivores to there bichirs and I don't even see them get near 20"+ and probably just around 14-18 inches.

Thiaminase won't really affect if you give your fish a varied diet and don't stick to one or two diets. Give it more variety of foods that are highly nutritious. I give my bichirs 10+ different kinds of foods. From pellets, frozen foods, fried foods to feeders. I don't even mainly feed pellets to my fish I just feed them pellets weekly. my main diet for my fish are frozen foods and I feed them monthly of feeders fish.

 

[micro]

I give my small endlicheri earth worms and he really loves them!

Try that if you can get them.

 

[Fishermoe14]

Try and starve it for a week then feed the food you want to feed it.

I feed my fish lots of frozen foods and I read an article that the more you freezes the food the more it contain thiaminase. I also feed goldfish to my fish but my bichirs still grow fast like weeds in no time and most are close to 20" or pass 20"+. I see a lot of people that feed massivores to there bichirs and I don't even see them get near 20"+ and probably just around 14-18 inches.

Thiaminase won't really affect if you give your fish a varied diet and don't stick to one or two diets. Give it more variety of foods that are highly nutritious. I give my bichirs 10+ different kinds of foods. From pellets, frozen foods, fried foods to feeders. I don't even mainly feed pellets to my fish I just feed them pellets weekly. my main diet for my fish are frozen foods and I feed them monthly of feeders fish.

i wouldn't mind starving it for a week but its stomach starts to concave in after a few days... how long do you think a little 3.5 inch endli can go without food? i really want it eat more than 1 thing.. lol

i feed the regular foods every day so the others can eat and possibly the endli.. the massivore will just be a staple that i will treat with shrimp and fish fillets... but gotta get them on it first. lol

 

[Fishermoe14]

I give my small endlicheri earth worms and he really loves them!

Try that if you can get them.

idk where i could get earthworms this time of year... the ground is frozen and i pretty sure the bait store doesn't carry them in the winter.. but im gonna check anyway

do you drop em in whole or cut them up?

 

[King-eL]

i wouldn't mind starving it for a week but its stomach starts to concave in after a few days... how long do you think a little 3.5 inch endli can go without food? i really want it eat more than 1 thing.. lol

i feed the regular foods every day so the others can eat and possibly the endli.. the massivore will just be a staple that i will treat with shrimp and fish fillets... but gotta get them on it first. lol

They can go without eating for almost a half a year. But that would be extreme and not recommended as there are many factors when they are keep in captivity.

 

[Fishermoe14]

They can go without eating for almost a half a year. But that would be extreme and not recommended as there are many factors when they are keep in captivity.

i thought as juvis they needed to be kept pretty well fed... i just measured it its actually closer to 2.5 inches.. with the 3 others being 3.5...

 

[King-eL]

i thought as juvis they needed to be kept pretty well fed... i just measured it its actually closer to 2.5 inches.. with the 3 others being 3.5...

Well you ask how long they can go without eating food so I just answer your question.

Yes small bichirs should be feed more so they'll grow fast. That's the purpose of them getting well feed.

For a captive breed endli I won't worry too much about the max growth as captive breed endli won't go to max potential size anyways. Expect it to grow 18" or smaller.

 

[Fishermoe14]

Well you ask how long they can go without eating food so I just answer your question.

Yes small bichirs should be feed more so they'll grow fast. That's the purpose of them getting well feed.

For a captive breed endli I won't worry too much about the max growth as captive breed endli won't go to max potential size anyways. Expect it to grow 18" or smaller.

ah alright.. if juvis will go that long without food ill just keep feeding pellets til it takes them.. lol

 

[micro]

idk where i could get earthworms this time of year... the ground is frozen and i pretty sure the bait store doesn't carry them in the winter.. but im gonna check anyway

do you drop em in whole or cut them up?

I actually buy them in a bait store and the do have the during the winter.

You want to get the small or medium sized ones. I drop em in whole and my small endli eats it with out any problems. It can take him a while to swallow but let it take time hehe.

good luck!