Polypterus Delhezi eating crickets!

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Hello About two weeks ago I picked up two delhezi bichirs abou 2.5 and 3 inchs they grew to 3 and 4 inches in a week then stoped eating I was feeding them shrimp pellets and worms when they stoped eating I was not worried as I now that they somtimes go on food strikes my parameters are fine ammonia 0ppm nitrites 0ppm nitrates 5ppm so I added more plants and hides recently any ways I wanted to find a back up food they could not resist and so after seeing Hendre feed his sen cockroaches I tried crickets that I found out side and It worked!!! just wiggling it in their face they ate it just hoped this discovery helps others I think it is maybe due to the fact that baby bichirs feed more heavily on small insects than adults do just wanted to share thanks for reading!!

 

[Hendre]

Bichirs will never say no for tasty food, especially if it wriggles. Would not feed more than twice a week

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Thanks was not planing on it just as a last resort if they are looking to skinny before I get them back on pellets also Hendre did ent you post a thread about polys being able to digest chitin better than most fish?

 

[Hendre]

Thanks was not planing on it just as a last resort if they are looking to skinny before I get them back on pellets also Hendre did ent you post a thread about polys being able to digest chitin better than most fish?

I did, that was a study done on Polypterus senegalus specifically. It may work for delhezi too, but rather safe than sorry and keep it as a treat. Crickets also have more chitin in than dubias by weight

 

[jjohnwm]

A caution: I also feed live crickets and earthworms that I collect on my own land, but I live on a rural acreage with no nearby neighbours. I know for a fact that there have been no pesticides. herbicides or any other "cides" used on my property since before I bought it over 10 years ago...and yet I still am a wee bit nervous about contamination. I won't use things like mayflies, regardless of the huge numbers that are available during the correct season, simply because they are immigrants from outside my land. Crickets and worms are pretty sedentary, and it's almost a sure thing the ones I catch have never been off my property for many generations.

Just something to keep in mind. If you live in the city, on a typical tiny city lot, you don't know what sort of chemical contaminants the bugs you catch may have come into contact with on adjacent or nearby properties. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Hendre]

I think most crickets and roaches are captive bred and used for feeders for reptiles usually

 

[jjohnwm]

Agreed, but the OP mentioned that he "found them outside".

 

[Hendre]

Oh yes. Yeah I will very rarely feed wild insects due to foreign contaminants, my brother breeds dubias by the hundreds so that's easy

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

ok good to know I thought I was safe as my house backs onto a wild field with no farm land or pesticides but will be more carful