Not too bad viktor. I’m up at 5:30am for work anyway. Then get my kids up for school. By 6am these cats are swimming and waiting for food. That’s when i feed. If I can keep these fish long term like this then I’ll do it.
My shoe head catfish.
- Thread starter kno4te
- Start date
I hate you so much right now lol, I wish I could find a small group of 3-8 of them. I am dedicated to breeding these now so I can spread them to other people who otherwise would never get a chance to see these lovely beauties.
As for their mouths being small I have to disagree, I saw mine yawn and his mouth was pretty big for the size of him. But then again his mouth does stretch across his entire face...
Speaking of him, I got a tilapia fillet and cut off a few small pieces and tried to make him eat them by slowly moving it around his face as you did. It didn't work so I gently took him out of the water and when he opened his mouth I quickly stuck a small piece in there. It took a few tries before I finally figured out what size was small enough for him to not spit it out. I watched him for a few minutes after giving him the right size and he didn't try to spit it out so I'm calling it a win if he did infact eat it. I'm just hoping he's going to develop a love for the taste so I won't have to force feed him. He hasn't even been eating the ghost shrimp so this was kinda a last resort. Didn't get around to giving him pin head crickets though, I assume it would go the same way with the pellets though.
I think ur right about the mouth size but the pieces I’m using are small and angles of the mouth seem more narrow. Maybe food at these sizes need to small though and that’s key. So far so goodBoth are eating tilapia cut up w/o any issue. Both swimming around now. Keep at it
fishhead0103666
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So I’ve cut the light from 9:30pm till tomorrow and they are active at this time but unsettled. Still happy they both are eating.
To breed these will be some effort. A black water tank might be needed. A group would be nice. Will keep an eye out for sure.
fishhead0103666
. So I’ve cut the light from 9:30pm till tomorrow and they are active at this time but unsettled. Still happy they both are eating.
To breed these will be some effort. A black water tank might be needed. A group would be nice. Will keep an eye out for sure.
11pm pic and with a little light they started to sink to the decor. Will see what happens early morning.
I'm going to try to get my little guy to start taking cut tilapia as soon as possible to get him on a steady diet and if I'm lucky pellets later. I'm also going to start cutting off all lights at a certain time and turning them back on at 6 am each day so they'll get on a pattern.
As for breeding them I have reserved a 55 gallon for the breeding of them and will work with them for as long as it takes. I am dedicated to this at this point.
As for breeding them I have reserved a 55 gallon for the breeding of them and will work with them for as long as it takes. I am dedicated to this at this point.
What temperature are you keeping yours at kno? Mine are at 74 currently and I think that may be a reason as to why my little guy isn't eating well. It is 3 am though so the temperature will probably rise in the day time but still. Oh yeah, I've now resorted to putting the pellets/tilapia directly into his mouth so he can't spit them out.
You have mentioned it twice now. That's a first for me. I've never heard of successful force-feeding a fish by placing feed in the mouth. In the stomach via a syringe with a tube - yes, it is known but in the mouth? The fish should be so scared and stressed that it would spit it out right away. Scared fish have no appetite.
Seems like your shoehead is an intriguing exception.
Seems like your shoehead is an intriguing exception.
If I had any other tricks left to use then I'd use them. At this point I'm just trying to keep something in him stomach and get him onto tilapia and pellets. Even after feeding him by hand several times, he doesn't tuck himself away into a corner or somewhere where I couldn't get to him.
