Not all frozen foods, just the tubifex. Bloodworms, brine shrimp, krill, rotifers, etc are all great foods, but why feed your fish tubifex if you can avoid it, and avoid a potentially untreatable disease/infestation.
What do baby tire track eels eat?
- Thread starter EmrePekdeniz
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I've heard lurid tales about Tubifex too. I have some, but I never tried them yet, and it seems they're going to the wastebin now. I'm going to get some freeze-dried bloodworms today, and frozen if I can find any, and see if it works.Laticauda;4733351; said:
Oh, I thought you meant all frozen foods. I've never heard if tubifex causing disease and/or parasites though (although I've never used it before, either).Laticauda;4733351; said:
^^ I did not know this about tubifex, I've never had them available.
Anyway, my fire eels and the other spiny eels I've cared for all took well to frozen bloodworms initially. They tend to go on hungerstrikes though. I used to expect that none of them would eat for at least a few days and it typically took a week or two to get them eating consistantly. They don't seem crazy about frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms and mysis shrimp worked best for me as starter foods. Once trained to eat I've got them eating anything meaty. I can even throw bits of veggies in there and they'll eat them now.
Typically takes about 2 weeks to teach them a turkey baster is filled with yumm and they'll eat almost anything that comes out of it
Anyway, my fire eels and the other spiny eels I've cared for all took well to frozen bloodworms initially. They tend to go on hungerstrikes though. I used to expect that none of them would eat for at least a few days and it typically took a week or two to get them eating consistantly. They don't seem crazy about frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms and mysis shrimp worked best for me as starter foods. Once trained to eat I've got them eating anything meaty. I can even throw bits of veggies in there and they'll eat them now.
Typically takes about 2 weeks to teach them a turkey baster is filled with yumm and they'll eat almost anything that comes out of it
I couldn't find any frozen bloodworms. I bought some freeze-dried worms, the next best thing I hope. My community tank is very large (130 gallons) compared to their size and I feed after I switch off the lights, so I couldn't really see whether they were eating. They were very excited at feeding time though, I hope that means they got their fill.
Thanks for all replies!
Thanks for all replies!
zig zags are one of the few species I've had luck with at work getting on pellets. shrimp pellets, and if you can find them worm pellets would also be something worth investigateing. If you have Prime reef flakes available to you you may try those as well, I've had some success with smaller spineys and that flake food. live blackworms are also very readily taken. I avoid Artemia( brine shrimp) as it has poor nutritional value the older/larger it gets. so spending your money on anything but baby brine is throwing money down the toilet imo.
You may want to look into ordering frozen online. freeze dried may work out. and may not. Make sure you see them eat. spineys have very good sense of smell, so they may be excited about the smell of the frozen bloodworms.. but not actually be eating them.
Thye have very good sense of smell, so any prepared foods you try should ideally be very high quality.
You may want to look into ordering frozen online. freeze dried may work out. and may not. Make sure you see them eat. spineys have very good sense of smell, so they may be excited about the smell of the frozen bloodworms.. but not actually be eating them.
Thye have very good sense of smell, so any prepared foods you try should ideally be very high quality.
I'm offering freeze-dried Prodac, planting some in the sand. They seem to be interested, but I can't verify if they're eating. They're so small. Is it actually possible for them to starve, or does the hunger instinct take over and lead them to eat less desirable food?
Also, are Tetra Fresh Delica whole bloodworms any good? They're preserved in some kind of gel I think. I found some for sale.
Also, are Tetra Fresh Delica whole bloodworms any good? They're preserved in some kind of gel I think. I found some for sale.
AHAHAHAHAH! I finally saw my baby zigzags eels eating. I've added a few dozens cherry shrimp to the tank. I wasn't offering them as live feeders, mind you, since I've had a few ghost shrimp swimming around for months and they were never eaten. Nevertheless, as soon as I've added them, the baby zigzags got very excited and swallowed a few cherries each!
I don't know if they were starving at this point, but it's been three weeks since I got them and I don't think they could have survived without eating anything, not to mention I've been offering all kinds of different things.
I don't know if they were starving at this point, but it's been three weeks since I got them and I don't think they could have survived without eating anything, not to mention I've been offering all kinds of different things.
Glad to hear they are eating.. and yes.. they can and will starve themselves to death. One of the reasons most spiney species are very challengeing to keep in captivity. If cherry shrimp are a viable food source for you to use they are excellent food for them. Otherwise continue to try meaty foods, along with periodic feedings of the shrimp to keep their strength up.
Well, I could keep some cherry shrimp and feed once every few days, but I have baby bichirs in the same tank and well.. they eat everything despite their small size. Most of the cherry shrimp I've added to the tank ended up in their stomachs, I'm afraid. I would have to isolate the zigzags.MonsterMinis;4753438; said:
They survived three weeks before the cherry shrimp, though. They sometimes jab at the sand and I can see their mouths moving, I kinda assumed they were picking up the small particles trapped in the sand. Or maybe they're eating the baby ramshorn snails, which somehow appear and disappear.
Thanks for all the helpful comments!
