there are lots of factors which affect your sens growth, but a 3'' sen is still very young and best to put it in a grow out tank where your sen can get the food without other tank mates bothering your sen. A Sen can only reach about 11-12", though it may be more in the wild. Frequent feeding time and water temperature, say around 80F would definitely help with the growth, and always keep an eye on the water quality.
Other than that, use below information which is available from the sticky in the forum,
FEEDING & NUTRITION
Now that you have a bichir what does it eat? In their natural habitat bichirs normally eat small fish,various insect larvae and invertabrates.Bichirs are generaly non agressive ambush predators but also oppurtunistic scavengers.Objects to big to be consumed whole are often "deathrolled" till
small parts are twisted and ripped off the carcass.The key here is to balance the diet thru a variety
of foods with an eye on total nutrition.A varied diet is a good diet for your fish and yourself.
Now then what can we feed them? You actually have several options and They will be listed below
The freezer at your local fish store is a smorgasboard of foods which should include
silversides or lancefish
mysis shrimp
brine shrimp
krill
bloodworms
tubifex worms
squid
beefheart
Simply thaw and feed
Your local market can be a great source of foods check the seafood section of the freezer
You can use just about any foods you find there including
mussels
shrimp
most fish filets (avoid salmon i think its to oily)
Available at the butcher counter or they should be able to order it for you
beefheart
and yes chicken gizzards
to prepare the above cut it into strips and remove any fat you can find
fish do not digest mammialian fat well
Live foods include
some frog species(some frogs release a nasty chemical when bitten)
tadpoles
African dwarf frogs are safe and part of the natural diet
ghost shrimp
earthworms
mealworms feed only the recently shed(white) ones the chiton in the exoskeleton
can be hard to digest and in some can result in intestinal blockages.
There is really no reason to feeders except as the ocassional treat.
Various live fish and fry can be used for foods.Caution here unless you raise them
any commercialy bought feeders usually rosie reds/tuffies (the albino form of fat head minnows),
guppies,bait minnows etc.need to be quarantined before feeding them to your fish for several reasons.
reason 1 They are kept in horrible conditions
reason 2 They are often diseased
reason 3 They often are carriers of parasites
During quarantine dispose of the obviously sick or diseased.The remaining ones feed quality
foods a healthy feeder is of course better for your fish.
Goldfish just generaly are poor feeders and should be avoided. they are oily not very nutritious and constant feed of them causes faty deposits on the liver leading to premature deaths.They also contain very high levels of Thiaminase a destroying hormone.While many fish used as feeders contain this goldfish seem to have an abundance of it.Another issue is a spine at the front of the dorsal fin which can lead to problems if the goldfish is swollowed the wrong way (tailfirst).Yet another reason not to use goldfish,goldfish farms utilize copper meds in suspension form to combat diseases in the feeders associated with overcrowding.These copper meds are retained by the feeders for long periods after they leave the farms.Most lfs invariably retain all or part of the feeders shipping water when the feeders are loaded into their bins/tanks. And copper does not dissapate from a closed system.
The key is to balance the diet with a variety of foods listed above not just 1 or 2 items and skipping a meal once you notice a decline in growth rate is good for fish.The sad truth is we as hobbyists tend to overfeed our charges
Pellitized foods
Can be found in various diameters and forms include sinking and floating pellets and sticks
shrimp pellets
worm pellets
even pellets for cichlids will work
spirulina sticks
brine shrimp sticks
Algae wafers(some eat them some just look at them)
Read the labels and look for this information
NUTRITION FOR CARNIVORES
Below are the agreed upon nutritional requirements for predatory fish
below that is a list of necessary vitamins usually supplied and just for informational
purposes.
PROTEIN:: 45% or more (this would be the ideal)
FAT:: 3% Min. to 6% Max.
FIBER 2% Min. to 4% Max
Other than that, use below information which is available from the sticky in the forum,
FEEDING & NUTRITION
Now that you have a bichir what does it eat? In their natural habitat bichirs normally eat small fish,various insect larvae and invertabrates.Bichirs are generaly non agressive ambush predators but also oppurtunistic scavengers.Objects to big to be consumed whole are often "deathrolled" till
small parts are twisted and ripped off the carcass.The key here is to balance the diet thru a variety
of foods with an eye on total nutrition.A varied diet is a good diet for your fish and yourself.
Now then what can we feed them? You actually have several options and They will be listed below
The freezer at your local fish store is a smorgasboard of foods which should include
silversides or lancefish
mysis shrimp
brine shrimp
krill
bloodworms
tubifex worms
squid
beefheart
Simply thaw and feed
Your local market can be a great source of foods check the seafood section of the freezer
You can use just about any foods you find there including
mussels
shrimp
most fish filets (avoid salmon i think its to oily)
Available at the butcher counter or they should be able to order it for you
beefheart
and yes chicken gizzards
to prepare the above cut it into strips and remove any fat you can find
fish do not digest mammialian fat well
Live foods include
some frog species(some frogs release a nasty chemical when bitten)
tadpoles
African dwarf frogs are safe and part of the natural diet
ghost shrimp
earthworms
mealworms feed only the recently shed(white) ones the chiton in the exoskeleton
can be hard to digest and in some can result in intestinal blockages.
There is really no reason to feeders except as the ocassional treat.
Various live fish and fry can be used for foods.Caution here unless you raise them
any commercialy bought feeders usually rosie reds/tuffies (the albino form of fat head minnows),
guppies,bait minnows etc.need to be quarantined before feeding them to your fish for several reasons.
reason 1 They are kept in horrible conditions
reason 2 They are often diseased
reason 3 They often are carriers of parasites
During quarantine dispose of the obviously sick or diseased.The remaining ones feed quality
foods a healthy feeder is of course better for your fish.
Goldfish just generaly are poor feeders and should be avoided. they are oily not very nutritious and constant feed of them causes faty deposits on the liver leading to premature deaths.They also contain very high levels of Thiaminase a destroying hormone.While many fish used as feeders contain this goldfish seem to have an abundance of it.Another issue is a spine at the front of the dorsal fin which can lead to problems if the goldfish is swollowed the wrong way (tailfirst).Yet another reason not to use goldfish,goldfish farms utilize copper meds in suspension form to combat diseases in the feeders associated with overcrowding.These copper meds are retained by the feeders for long periods after they leave the farms.Most lfs invariably retain all or part of the feeders shipping water when the feeders are loaded into their bins/tanks. And copper does not dissapate from a closed system.
The key is to balance the diet with a variety of foods listed above not just 1 or 2 items and skipping a meal once you notice a decline in growth rate is good for fish.The sad truth is we as hobbyists tend to overfeed our charges
Pellitized foods
Can be found in various diameters and forms include sinking and floating pellets and sticks
shrimp pellets
worm pellets
even pellets for cichlids will work
spirulina sticks
brine shrimp sticks
Algae wafers(some eat them some just look at them)
Read the labels and look for this information
NUTRITION FOR CARNIVORES
Below are the agreed upon nutritional requirements for predatory fish
below that is a list of necessary vitamins usually supplied and just for informational
purposes.
PROTEIN:: 45% or more (this would be the ideal)
FAT:: 3% Min. to 6% Max.
FIBER 2% Min. to 4% Max
