What's a good bulker-upper?

[redtailcatfreak]

My RTxTSN went from 2" to 18" in less than 6 months from massivore.. that's growth typically acheived in a year on these guys.

yeah my RTC is on a steady pace of 1" or more a week. all i feed him frozen krill. sucks em right down

 

[mshill90]

My RTxTSN went from 2" to 18" in less than 6 months from massivore.. that's growth typically acheived in a year on these guys.

yeah my RTC is on a steady pace of 1" or more a week. all i feed him frozen krill. sucks em right down

Well, I weaned him off massivore and onto shrimp pellets. He was LAZY! He would lay in the tank and open his mouth until the pellets fell into them.

Then he thought a $50 bichir would be yummy..

Then I found him a new home.

 

[redtailcatfreak]

Well, I weaned him off massivore and onto shrimp pellets. He was LAZY! He would lay in the tank and open his mouth until the pellets fell into them.

Then he thought a $50 bichir would be yummy..

Then I found him a new home.

haha yeah i know what thats like. he just sits there till the foods by him then just opens his mouth. mine ate a bichir last week. Only $12 buck though.

 

[Kcameron]

haha yeah i know what thats like. he just sits there till the foods by him then just opens his mouth. mine ate a bichir last week. Only $12 buck though.

so youre all saying I should just serve up some baby bichirs, huh?

 

[calioutlaw1a]

Yea he likes the worms. the frozen krill and brine only have like 18% min protein and 7% fat. I'll look at getting some massivore's though while i wait for my live foods reproduce

Can you list the complete guaranteed analysis for me please? Those numbers are meaningless until you compare them on a dry matter basis.

 

[redtailcatfreak]

so youre all saying I should just serve up some baby bichirs, huh?

haha thats exactly what im saying. they love em. just like an earthworm but alot more expensive.

 

[Kcameron]

Can you list the complete guaranteed analysis for me please? Those numbers are meaningless until you compare them on a dry matter basis.

those are all approximations, but frozen krill and worms usually contain about 80% moisture, 1%phosphorus, etc. I am at my other homestead right now and away from my big tank so i dont have the packages right yet. Stay tuned and i can get them for you this weekend. Probably can find them online though.

EDIT: nvm, i found them...This is for hikari; I guess I was even overestimating:

Guaranteed Analysis:Crude Protein11.0% minCrude Fat1.2% minCrude Fiber5.0% maxMoisture79.0%
I actually use Sally's which has even less protein and fat :-\

 

[calioutlaw1a]

Alright well lets use Hikari Frozen Krill and Hikari Massivore as an example:

Frozen Krill Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 11.0% min
Crude Fat 1.2% min
Crude Fiber 5.0% max
Moisture 79.0% max

Massivore Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 47.0% min
Crude Fat 5.0% min
Crude Fiber 3.0% max
Moisture 10.0% max

Frozen Krill:
100-79=21% Dry Matter (DM)

11% protein/21% DM = Protein (DM basis)/100% DM

Protein = 52.4% on a dry matter basis

Massivore:
100-10=90% DM

47%/90% = Protein (DM basis)/100% DM

Protein = 52.2% on a dry matter basis



Here you can see how misleading guaranteed analyses can be when you don't know how to properly compare the numbers. Hikari Massivore and Frozen Krill have the same amount of protein (about 52%).

 

[DrownedFishonFire]

I would say frequent water changes, and more variety of food is really the key, instead of bulking them up fast as you can sometimes can shorten their lifespan in the long run.

 

[Gruff Master]

I've learned that with the types of fish that I keep, that small portions at 3x a day works a lot better than numerous huge quantities. Fish will only assimilate so much. Constant feedings only force out the previous meal before it can be fully digested. That makes it hard for fish to get their required nutrients. Regular water changes and a balanced diet also greatly help with growth. Well, this is what works for my stock.