what to feed knifefish

[dbcb314]

white and slimey doesn't not sound like ich...

if it is ich, there is no medication needed. Just increase the temp of the tank to the mid 80's and add aquarium salt (not marine salt) and it will go away in about 10 days.

I would not feed at night. Feed when you usually feed. They will get used to it. And keep the lights on when you usually have them on. They will get used to that too.

I would try to get a picture of the white slimey stuff though. That doesnt sound right

 

[nitrofish1]

yeah it doesnt look like ich, but it almost looks like a slime of some sort, wonder if he rubbed some of his slime coating against a decoration? so continue feeding as normal? i didnt have a problem feeding last night, they didnt go after it like crazy, but an hour later the food was still there, but once i got home a few hours later it was completely gone so im still wondering if they got to it or not. i will continue to feed normally and such. ill bring news after feeding or after you reply whichever is first.

 

[nitrofish1]

ok dbcb, heres the best picture i could get of him. he was out of his log but underneath one of my caves today, but he has come out in the open more often, improvement?

if you notice its on the top arch of its back, ive done alot of fishing and it looks like the slime that would come off the fish when you handled then, however he hasnt been handled, maybe he rubbed up against something. its in the same spots on the other side of him as well.

this knife of mine is one that just lays on the bottom of the tank, he is only really active at night, he will come out for the day, but he is much more active at night. wonder if this is part of the problem or just a personality trait.

 

[benzjamin13]

Sounds like it has some access slime coat. Doing a water change will help.

 

[nitrofish1]

i am surprised now, my little one that hides in the log ornament i got just had a tetra swimming in the log and didnt chase it off. at first it would chase off things that it couldnt even see swimming next to the log, or even near the entrance.

 

[dbcb314]

looks like loss of slimecoat to me, but I am no fish disease expert.

just keep the water clean if it were me. Maybe add some salt to keep away infection.

did a pleco do it maybe? IDK if they attack knives or not.. never kept a pleco with mine.

 

[dorrianjr]

i feed my knifes flakes and have no problems, I also use a lunch box which is a frozen varity pack. You can pick this up at petco\smart

 

[nitrofish1]

i dont have a pleco in the tank anymore. i tested the water parameters last night and they are normal. its just looking like today they are more out in the open, ill see what happens when i feed tonight. bloodworms again.

 

[nitrofish1]

ok so i fed tonight. same idea as last night, tetras backing off after a while, but they still arent going for the pile of bloodworms. the little one is picking off some of them, but the big ones arent. are they each disrupting their own electrical signals for food? little one just came out and around the tank, but the others are still in their same spots as they were b4. fed the same way as last night.

 

[nitrofish1]

woke up this morning, one of knifefish dead. thanks for the petsmart guarantee. put him in the freezer so i may take him in later. he was very skinny, and he still wasnt eating. im thinking about trading in my tetras because they pick at my knifefish's fins.