Scomb doesn't get to eat

[johnnytaboo]

Well, I've had my BATF and my Scomb together for a while now. They get along fine, occasionally swimming side by side. Neither has ever taken a bite at the other. Overall, they seem to be good pals; however, there is one issue: the BATF is so fast, the scomb never gets to eat.

These are the only 2 fish I have that still get live. Every night I drop in 4-6 small feeders, and every night the ATF gets all of them in seconds. It's actually really impressive, but the poor scomb never gets to eat. I even tried intermingling some cut up tilapia, and the ATF still hits it, angrily bites it for a few seconds, then spits it out before the Scomb can even move.

Anyone experience this in their tanks? How do I make sure there is enough food for the poor Scomb? Just MORE feeders?


Thanks in advance for any help,
John

 

[Slippery K]

Toss in more feeders at a time. Eventually the atf will eat his fill and the scomb can have some chow.

 

[Chicxulub]

Toss in more feeders at a time. Eventually the atf will eat his fill and the scomb can have some chow.

+1.

When I was still feeding live I would have to do this fairly often.

Also, if the brevis is taking tilapia fillets, I'd cut them small enough that he can swallow them and starve him till he eats them. If he's biting it and spitting it out, he's 90% broken already.

 

[krichardson]

Two different attack/feeding styles.The scomb is already a rather slow grower and not getting its share of the food could further hinder its growth.

 

[johnnytaboo]

Thanks guys. I think I'll keep trying a couple tilapia filets initially, just to see if I can get he ATF to take them. If he takes them, then maybe I can fill him up with those, and drop in feeders for both of them to pick off. If that fails, I guess I'm looking at 10 feeders at a time.... which is going to get expensive since the ATF likes eating nightly.