Young bowfin feeding tips?

[Duckman77]

I bought a couple 3" bowfin recently. I have owned larger bowfin before a long time ago.

I'm having limited success feeding these guys. So far I have offered bloodworms (nibbled them a bit), mysis shrimp (didn't really eat it at all), krill (sucked it in, chewed on it, spit it out), and brine shrimp (didn't eat).

The only thing I really got them to eat was chopped up red worms (red wriggler composting worms actually). They were eating these reasonably well initially, but still not eating as much as I'd like. Today I offered chopped worms (a slightly bigger red I picked up at a pet store) and they grabbed it, seemed to try to swallow it, but then spit it out.

Maybe the new worms have a funky taste? I will try the original red wriggler compost worms tomorrow.

Both fish are otherwise active. One of them swims up and down the glass watching me as if he is hungry. He hits the worms and krill aggressively, but I couldn't get him to swallow today. It seems like I'm just not offering what he is hungry for.

I haven't been able to find blackworms or feeder guppies locally.

Tank is a 20 gallon long, weekly water changes, no heater (70-72 degrees room temperature).

Any tips or thoughts on how to get these guys eating more?

 

[fishinman]

Live black worms. I have tried baby bowfins a couple of times and they have always died on me (And i have been keeping fish for 30+ years so i like to think i know what i'm doin). The only thing i have ever gotten them to eat with any enthusiasm is live black worms. I think they just need to be fed multiple times per day.. and i could not meet that requirement with work/family/etc. in my experience they need lots of attention. Good luck and let us know how you make out


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[Duckman77]

Thanks for your response. I will try to find some blackworms. I tried the vendor on this site, but got no response.

This morning I tried the red wriggler composting worms again and I got them both to eat. It must have been the taste/texture/size of the other worms I bought at the pet store that they didn't care for. I feel a little better that they ate again today.

If anyone else has any ideas I could use going forward, they would still be appreciated.

 

[Siddons11]

I never had difficulty getting them to eat. I started by feeding them small bluegill from my pond then started them until they ate tilapia and shrimp. I didn't find them to be fragile but they did like to murder eachother.
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[Zeke]

I don't ever use store bought worms. They excrete a funky yellow juice/mucus. I just use the one's that are in the yard. Try some white shrimp. If you can get black worms, those are the ticket.

 

[jpcampbell123]

i too am adding some bowfins kept them in the past before
the ones i had was around 2 inches and they seemed to not be picky at all
i gave them a mix of crushed cichlid pellets, tiny bits of tilapia, and frozen blood worms
mine took to the crushed cichlid pellets as they fell to the bottom
also offered bits of night crawlers too they seemed to like it all
also did 50 wc daily i have heard they can be really sensitive to ammonia build up in a tank when small
but once you get them to the 6 inch mark they are usually ok