i bought a needle fish from the lfs 3 days ago and i'm having some trouble getting it to eat... i've tried a variety of things including: blood worms, chicken gizzards (cut into small pieces), and i've even went as far as trying flakes, shrimp pellets and a frozen food called emerald entree (for omnivors). I have a variety of fish including catfish, sharks, cichlids and plecos so i have a huge variety of food at my disposal to try, even a number of foods left over from fish i don't have anymore... i'm aware that the preferred food for needle fish is other fish but the pet store i bought him at was all out of feeder fish small enough for him to eat and the danios they had were too large for it as he is still only about four inches long. I'm planning on going asap to the store to get some feeders but with my school work and exams i won't have time for another few days... will he be ok until then? any ideas on what i could try in the mean time would be most appreciated. help please.
Trouble Getting Needle Fish To Eat...
- Thread starter whitexboii
- Start date
We have one at work about 2ft long and it didn't eat for a good two weeks when we first got it. Mind you, it was big, so it could do that. Yours, I wouldn't be so sure about...a week is a long time to be going without food when you're 4" long and half an inch thick if that.
They do seem to require live food, at least at first. Try some guppies if you can get them, or white cloud mountain minnows at first. Then try to wean him onto dead, frozen fish. Long and thin is the key, though they will eventually eat bulkier things like goldfish.
They do seem to require live food, at least at first. Try some guppies if you can get them, or white cloud mountain minnows at first. Then try to wean him onto dead, frozen fish. Long and thin is the key, though they will eventually eat bulkier things like goldfish.
whitexboii;2460991; said:
let me know if you get him to eat and what he ate. mine is doing the same thing and afraid if he doesn't eat soon he might die
no luck yet, but he must be eating something because he's still kickin it. i get to buy feeders tomorrow night so hopefully he lasts till then
He could go a week or so with out food
Try fishfillets, shrimp cut into strips, Krill it can be hard to get them to eat prepared foods so you may have to give it a feeder or two till you can get it to eat prepared foods
Try fishfillets, shrimp cut into strips, Krill it can be hard to get them to eat prepared foods so you may have to give it a feeder or two till you can get it to eat prepared foods
if you cant find feeders small enough then you could try to find a really pregnant guppy and wait a few days till she has babys then throw them in the tank with your other fish. it would be better than nothing i would think. but i dont know if you have that long