i got a 7" ornate bichir 2 days ago. i dont know what to feed it. it isnt used to me going up to the tank yet and by the time it goes up to the top, all the food is gone. i tried shrimp pellets but it ignored them. the tank mates are: 4" FH, 2.5" bluegill, 2.25" jewel cichlid, and a 6" bgk.
Ornate Bichir Diet
- Thread starter lizardfishman
- Start date
I feed mine shrimps, silver side, smelt, night crawlers, and earthworms. Just make sure food reaches the bottom for your ornate. Also cut up the food so that it would fit in it's mouth. They can't really chew so they have to swallow their food.
I've fed mine night crawlers, frozen and freeze dried krill, blood worms and a number of different kinds of sinking pellets. with cichlids also in the tank it can be tricky. you have to feed enough so that some will reach the bottom for the bichir to get to but not so much that extra will be left over to foul up the water. mine took a week or so to get used to sinking pellets but it finally started eating them. it also took some time before it would come out with the lights on to eat, so you might try dropping in some sinking pellets an hour or so after lights out after your cichlids have "gone to sleep". 
Let it settle in a cpl days.I use hakari sinking carnivore pellets as a staple of the diet but also add in all listed above.As stated above try sinking foods just before lights out.Or tatget feeding if all else fails-Anne
give your bichir food that sinks, i feed mine small fish, muscles, shrimps and pellets, try this trick, if your feeding don't but in all the food in one side spread it out, so when your cichilids go to one place where most of the food is dropped, place some food on the other side so that your ornate has the chance to eat some
You can try baby bullfrogs, catfish or feeder goldfish...
If not, introduce sinking pellets in total darkness(lights out), your ornate will find its way to the food.
cheers,
zhan
If not, introduce sinking pellets in total darkness(lights out), your ornate will find its way to the food.
cheers,
zhan
i got it to eat 4 earth worms to day. it really liked them. now i've got to get it on pellets. what are the best kind? i'm going to Big Als tomorrow, so i can get some. are the hikiri sinking carnivore pellets any good?
Anne recommended the Hikari carnivore pellets to me a while ago & got to say to say the poly eats well with them (even though it was difficult to get them here in England). They certainly help with the growth rate.
In my opinion, live food will enhance bichirs' growth rate.berserker said:
A mixture of live food and pellets on alternate days will be the best combinations.
Or you can try de-shell market prawns too...
