What’s your predatory fish’s favorite food?

[Caveden]

Agree on the worms. My pictus catfish and loaches go or used to go craaaaaaaazy for them.

For The Masked Shadow:
Mussels are also excellent, just don't feed too often unless you can also feed Vitamin B supplements.
Lawn grubs are nutritious, tender and tasty. Just not as easy to find as worms if your lawn doesn't have a grub infestation - if it doesn't, you may have to dig a while.
Cooked, rinsed salmon with no salt etc might be good (my loaches and even cardinal tetras like it a lot).
Frozen krill (as mentioned) is usually a big hit. Most of my fish like it a lot, especially the clown loaches.
Tubifex can be a good source of protein and fat if you can find it sanitary.
Mysis shrimp (as also mentioned) is good as roughage among other things, because of its shell.
And of course the previously mentioned bloodworms are always a good shout, if you haven't been feeding them.

Mussels are a good idea, krill as well. bloodworms don’t provide nutritional value at all, mostly seen as a treat. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Salmon results in a layer of oil at surface of tank, and is extremely fatty, resulting in fatty liver disease

I like the rosy reds idea. Unfortunately, Japanese Herring is most likely hard to find here. I understand the Ghost Shrimp part, but my Sen is a little weird. He eats snails regularly. Not the shell, but the actual snail meat. It's really odd. I feed him well, but he is always looking for a snack, and he just sucks up the snail and spits out the shell. As for live food, I read they shouldn't be fed often, however, they eat live foods in the wild, so what is the hold back?

Your bichir is on crack ?

people don’t recommend live food because:

1. Feeder fish contain thiamiase
2. May contain parasites
3. Most feeders are goldfish, and goldfish are extremely fatty
4. Some dislike seeing the “killing”, although others see it as entertainment (like me ?)

however from my point of view I see feeder fish as a stimulus, providing predatory fish entertainment and ability to hunt as they do in the wild. Of course you can choose feeders which contain lower amounts of thiaminase, and Quarantine them.
SHOULDNT be fed in excess however, in my case I feed them once every 2-3 weeks, or if my friends come over and want to “awed”

 

[Midwater]

1. Feeder fish contain thiamiase
2. May contain parasites
3. Most feeders are goldfish, and goldfish are extremely fatty
4. Some dislike seeing the “killing”, although others see it as entertainment (like me ?)

Broadly true. But I would like to add:
1. Feeder fish contain thiamiase
Predatory fish manage to handle it in reasonable amounts.
Types of fish vary in the amount of thiaminase. From what I can gather, tilapia have very low levels, and so are great feeders. (I also feed raw tilapia to my dog and cats.)

2. May contain parasites
There is a balance of risk to everything. I think it is worth giving a natural diet.
From what I can gather (again) ghost shrimp seem to carry the fewest contactable parasites.

3. Most feeders are goldfish, and goldfish are extremely fatty
Yes. So don't use them.

4. Some dislike seeing the “killing”, although others see it as entertainment (like me ?)
It is life Jim. So get on with it.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

bloodworms don’t provide nutritional value at all, mostly seen as a treat. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Is that so? I have read from Loaches Online that they are actually a very rich food.

Salmon results in a layer of oil at surface of tank, and is extremely fatty, resulting in fatty liver disease

For unrinsed salmon, this is indeed true. It is why the salmon must be rinsed, to get rid of the oil/fat that causes the problem.

 

[Caveden]

Broadly true. But I would like to add:
1. Feeder fish contain thiamiase
Predatory fish manage to handle it in reasonable amounts.
Types of fish vary in the amount of thiaminase. From what I can gather, tilapia have very low levels, and so are great feeders. (I also feed raw tilapia to my dog and cats.)

2. May contain parasites
There is a balance of risk to everything. I think it is worth giving a natural diet.
From what I can gather (again) ghost shrimp seem to carry the fewest contactable parasites.

3. Most feeders are goldfish, and goldfish are extremely fatty
Yes. So don't use them.

4. Some dislike seeing the “killing”, although others see it as entertainment (like me ?)
It is life Jim. So get on with it.

^^ my points exactly. That’s why I recommended rosy reds cause they contain Low thiaminase levels.

Is that so? I have read from Loaches Online that they are actually a very rich food.



For unrinsed salmon, this is indeed true. It is why the salmon must be rinsed, to get rid of the oil/fat that causes the problem.

Yes they are terrible and provide no essential growth at all.
Salmon is way too fatty and oily, hence I stoped feeding my own predatory fish salmon

 

[The Masked Shadow]

So salmon has an oily layer on top? Wouldn’t the salmon need to be thin and chopped up before rinsing?

Is that so? I have read from Loaches Online that they are actually a very rich food.

I’ve read that they should be used as a treat, along with brine shrimp.

I provide my own feeders, but the mate of my X. Variatus past away from unknown reasons, so no more feeders. I think rosy red minnows are a good idea, I heard they breed really fast.

I also want something that is easy to find - ghost shrimp seem out of the picture, and would only be seen as a once in a year treat. This is because I need to set another thing up. Maybe a project over the summer, but right now no.

 

[Randles]

Earthworms (nightcrawlers) mine go WILD for. My Oscars jump out of the water at them when I'm trying to feed them. Crickets are a close second too. I also feed mealworms and locust (hoppers) occasionally.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

My Oscar’s liked mealworms and crickets the most
My bichirs liked smelt the most
My Ctenopoma liked mealworms
The African knife fish liked mealworms and pellets
My Jack Dempsey liked meal worms and tilapia

 

[SourAngelfish]

Night crawlers and super worms are two favorites among my fish. Scallop is also loved on rare occasion

 

[Sadrobots]

i recently got a weeksii and a senegal (same size) - the senegal came from a friend so he eats great already, i havent really seen him turn his nose up at things, however i have not witnessed with my eyes the weeksii eat yet. i feel like he might be at night? he is still new to the tank, roughly two weeks now, so i know he is still feeling it out. i am feeding a mix of earthworm/brine shrimp/carnivore pellets/meat wafers; frozen krill; wax worms. am i sort of on the right track?

 

[Rocksor]

i recently got a weeksii and a senegal (same size) - the senegal came from a friend so he eats great already, i havent really seen him turn his nose up at things, however i have not witnessed with my eyes the weeksii eat yet. i feel like he might be at night? he is still new to the tank, roughly two weeks now, so i know he is still feeling it out. i am feeding a mix of earthworm/brine shrimp/carnivore pellets/meat wafers; frozen krill; wax worms. am i sort of on the right track?

Bichir are generally night time predators. They get trained to eat during the day. With this in mind, chances are high that the weeksii is wild caught, and will start to eat during the day when it feels comfortable there are no predators around (like you). It will eat during the day, once it starts to realize you are not being a predator but a source of food.