Congrats on you new niger cat. These guys are so much fun. As they continue to get bigger they become more and more sociable until they are staring at you begging. For me these guys went from an interesting, weird fish to one of my favorites. As for food, they love their pellets. My guys eat sinking cichlid gold, massivore, NLS jumbo and large fish formula, algae waffers, and they even suction floating food off the top that is meant for other fish. They'll sorta eat small chunks of tilapia, but they like their food small. They do exactly what you talked about with not just swallowing pieces of shrimp and fish. And, yeah. My big guys are about 2.5 years old. Their growth slowed down about 6 months ago, and they've been putting on serious mass. I suspect in a couple months they'll start lengthening again. I'll be interested to know how they do in pond liner.
New pick-up..Niger cat!
- Thread starter mqktandy
- Start date
mqktandy;4820136; said:
Their hooks down their sides get massive, and these cats are crazy powerful. I felt like they were significantly stronger than my other big cats that were longer than they were when I moved them. Plus, they are awkward in that they don't bend well as they get larger and so they kinda jerk around when they get themselves wedged in somewhere. It's all part of their adorable charm. I'm super keen on these guys.
Oh ok. Well it will be growing up in a very open 6x12 and than a 12x12 so I hope it somehow doesnt wedge itself into a corner. Lol. The liner is pretty thick and there is foam on the other side to help reduce the chance of a puncture.
mqktandy;4820156; said:
The liner youre using is pretty thick. I would though keep a few patch kits handy just in case though.
I will say that in the building of my big tank, I was originally going to use liner in the tank but after getting my large niger cat and seeing his body, i decided to go with epoxy to be on the safe side. They are definitely very sharp and I could see it being an issue if he got himself stuck because they are extremely inflexible. I think in such a large space as yours though I don't see it being an issue either though, especially with the extra thick liner.
Today was veggie day and I mixed in some massivore just for him. He seamed to like both, though I do need to find a good sinking pellet for him and the rest that I can buy in bulk cheaper than massivore or I'll go broke. Lol so open to suggestions. Also tore up a piece of shrimp into SMALL pieces to see if he'd take it and luckily he did. He actually ate about half a shrimp....hopefully sense he is eating it now while he's still small he will more readily take it throughout his life in the pond.
Also he is currently the only fish in the pond that will stand up to my big pleco and go into "his" corner to eat. Lol. Must be all that armored skin. Seriously though my 16" pleco has become the most aggressive fish in there when ever something strays into his corner, I even watched him beat crap out of my red tail today just for going over there. Idk wats up but I def liking this little guy more and more
Also he is currently the only fish in the pond that will stand up to my big pleco and go into "his" corner to eat. Lol. Must be all that armored skin. Seriously though my 16" pleco has become the most aggressive fish in there when ever something strays into his corner, I even watched him beat crap out of my red tail today just for going over there. Idk wats up but I def liking this little guy more and more
mqktandy;4823514; said:
I really do like Hikari food. However, due their insane costs, I've switched over to New Life Spectrum. If you buy the sinking large fish formula (I believe Thera A), it can cost about 1/2 the price. I get it from Pharaoh. It does have a pretty intense, long lingering garlic smell, and it does produce more waste than the massivore. However, given all of this, my fish look great, and I'm willing to deal with the extra cleaning of the filtration materials, given the cost difference. Also, good news, is that the extra waste seems to sink fairly well, and can be suctioned out of the sump.
