Why is my tiger shovelnose catfish not eating?
- Thread starter Big Back Double Mac
- Start date
Growth varies a lot. What Dave's cited is a good-to-ideal scenario. Plus this is an averaged number over the first year. Fish tend to grow in spurts too, sometimes fast (in length), and other times filling out the new longer body, not adding much length.
Genes, comfort level of the fish, diet and frequency, water temp, oxygen level, tank size, set up and current, etc. all come into play.
If your TSN was sold as just a TSN (not claimed to be a w/c TSN) then chances are 100% your fish is a refuse, either from a farming ops of food TSN in south america, or a carelessly and extremely cheaply produced Asian TSN bred for ornamental fish trade, which abound in defects and poor unnatural conceiving, hatching, and rearing techniques. In either case, we as a community have come to believe, pretty much know, that these TSNs are a genetic refuse and suffer from sub par growth rates and adult sizes, the severity of problem varies a lot, mostly between bad and worse.
Genes, comfort level of the fish, diet and frequency, water temp, oxygen level, tank size, set up and current, etc. all come into play.
If your TSN was sold as just a TSN (not claimed to be a w/c TSN) then chances are 100% your fish is a refuse, either from a farming ops of food TSN in south america, or a carelessly and extremely cheaply produced Asian TSN bred for ornamental fish trade, which abound in defects and poor unnatural conceiving, hatching, and rearing techniques. In either case, we as a community have come to believe, pretty much know, that these TSNs are a genetic refuse and suffer from sub par growth rates and adult sizes, the severity of problem varies a lot, mostly between bad and worse.
mine was wild caught, i dont buy my fish from these fish farms, since i dont want there to be risks just like you said. right now im feeding him tilapia once every day. he seems to be getting more comfortable around people so i think its going great right now.
How was it labeled, who have you bought it from, and how much was it?
Just something to keep in mind that long term tilapia filet feeding will cause problems because filet is utterly devoid of a complete nutritional package. You'd do good by your fish to presoak tilapia in VitaChem before the fish develops a nutrient deficiency, such as a vitamin, or mineral, or a trace element, etc.
Or start training the fish to accept quality pellet, e.g., by presoaking the pellets in tilapia juice.
A young, growing organism needs balanced nutrition most of all to develop problem free.
Just something to keep in mind that long term tilapia filet feeding will cause problems because filet is utterly devoid of a complete nutritional package. You'd do good by your fish to presoak tilapia in VitaChem before the fish develops a nutrient deficiency, such as a vitamin, or mineral, or a trace element, etc.
Or start training the fish to accept quality pellet, e.g., by presoaking the pellets in tilapia juice.
A young, growing organism needs balanced nutrition most of all to develop problem free.
i got him from a friend who came back from his trip in south america, i bought it from him for about 6 bucks. The Tiger shovelnose is having different types of food now such as shrimps, bloodworms, catfish pellets and etc. all in all he doing great.
Cool. Must be w/c then if your friend claims so. This kind of fish origin is a first for me... 
im pretty sure what he does is legal from where im from atleast. hes a certified fishermanCool. Must be w/c then if your friend claims so. This kind of fish origin is a first for me...
