Chili Rasboras

[Mikeyboy123]

I picked up ten chili rasboras. Think I’m down to nine now as one of them looked in really poor condition out of the bag. It was ultra skinny and not able to swim properly. Anyway, concerned about feeding them. I’ve got some dennerle nanogran, frozen baby brine shrimp, liquify no. 3 and I’ve also tried standard flake which I’m crushing up. They don’t seem keen on any of it. They seem quite happy in general. One or two are still a bit shy but most of them are playing around quite happily. I’ve got some brine shrimp eggs on the go but it’ll probably be another two days before any hatch. Should I just persevere with say the liquifry for now and hope they get used to it? I asked the shop where I got them from and they just use either crushed standard flake or the fry powder.

 

[Byron]

I picked up ten of these yesterday. Think I’m down to nine now as one of them looked in really poor condition out of the bag. It was ultra skinny and not able to swim properly. Anyway, concerned about feeding them. I’ve got some dennerle nanogran, frozen baby brine shrimp, liquify no. 3 and I’ve also tried standard flake which I’m crushing up. They don’t seem keen on any of it. They seem quite happy in general. One or two are still a bit shy but most of them are playing around quite happily. I’ve got some brine shrimp eggs on the go but it’ll probably be another two days before any hatch. Should I just persevere with say the liquifry for now and hope they get used to it? I asked the shop where I got them from and they just use either crushed standard flake or the fry powder.

I don't see value in fry foods like liquifry, but I suppose it won't hurt if they eat it (if they don't, just adding to the organic waste). Flake food is fine, but don't overfeed. In a new environment fish sometimes take some settling before they are ready to even eat. Bug Bites (the micro size in the blue container) would be a good food to get.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

Thanks, I’ll check out the bug bites. The liquifry 3 is a fine powder food rather than a liquid food. They go for it and then spit it out which is what they are doing with everything I offer them.

 

[Byron]

Thanks, I’ll check out the bug bites. The liquifry 3 is a fine powder food rather than a liquid food. They go for it and then spit it out which is what they are doing with everything I offer them.

OK. One thing though...when fish take a food in their mouths and seem to spit it out, they may actually be breaking off a very tiny bit to eat. I have seen characins do this with a bug bite or a tiny flake; one fish will sometimes do this over and over and you can se the food getting smaller each time until it is gone, all swallowed. They may of course also spit it out as they don't like/want it. But not always.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I've also recently acquired ten and they're great little fish.
Mine are tucking into finely ground flake and they really like the frozen cyclops I found, at Maidenhead Aquatics, where they were recommended to me.
They've also been enjoying a food tablet, stuck to the glass, which contains mealworm, apparently. They seem to have no problem darting in to feed, amongst some equally peckish Cherry Barbs.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

I did think about the stick on food tablets as I’ve used them before and was thinking they might be a good option. Will give them a go.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

Still having problems getting these guys to feed. I’ve tried the following: crushed flake, micro granules, fry powder, frozen baby brine, stick on tabs. Some of the bolder ones are taking a little but most don’t seem interested at all, or they go for it and then spit it out. Apart from one that seems to be hiding away at the back the whole time, they all seem happy and are playing around in the plants and filter current. I’ve got some brine shrimp eggs on the go and should be getting a micro worm starter culture delivered soon. I use a mix of tap water and rain water, and there is a population of tiny creatures living in the rainwater butt. Some of them have ended up in the tank as I’ve seen quite a few small white worms and the odd little jigger darting around. I’ve seen some of the fish eating these and maybe they are all getting some food that way. I’m persevering and doing all I can but I’m worried at least a few will die soon through lack of food. Hopefully the wriggle factor of the bbs and micro worms will save the day but not sure what else I can do.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Be very, very cautious not to overfeed and soil the tank.

Note that the "go for it and then spit it out" is them eating...they take in food, 'chew' and break it up, swallow a bit and spit the rest out.
They're tiny and they don't need much and will be eating stuff invisible to our naked eyes.
If you're really concerned, don't feed them at all for a couple of days. This wouldn't harm them at all...the problem will be with yourself, trying to resist their little, seemingly-pleading eyes.

Mine really do like the frozen Cyclops, from Dutch Select Food. Remember, that even a brine shrimp is a huge prospect for a chili rasbora.

 

[itiwhetu]

Feed only what will sit on the black part of their eye. Finely ground flake food is fine.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Feed only what will sit on the black part of their eye. Finely ground flake food is fine.

Good advice, but it's hard enough getting a decent-sized tetra to sit still long enough for me to drop food on its eyeball.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

A few days have gone by and I am a lot happier about the situation now. I did lose two fish but one was at death’s door straight out of the bag and another just stayed hidden under the filter the whole time and died after a few days. The remaining 8 are looking really good though and they have started to accept a bit of the fry powder, although not exactly very keenly. i also fed them newly hatched bbs today and they enjoyed those and I’ve set up a Microworm culture that should be ready to start harvesting in the next couple of days. However, I think they are getting a lot of their food from what’s living in the tank, which is maybe why they aren’t so keen when I try and feed them the dry food. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am using rainwater mixed with tapwater. The rainwater comes from a water but which has been there for about 10 years. I filter with poly filter overnight before adding the water but even so, there’s always quite a few little white worms floating around. I initially thought they may have been introduced along with the plants I bought but they’re defo coming from the water butt. When I sit and watch the tank, pretty much every couple of minutes, a worm will come sailing across the tank in the filter current and it’s a constant supply of live food for the fish. Looking more closely I can see there are worms wriggling around in the Java moss and moss balls. Every now and then they are letting go and the current takes them and delivers them to my fish. I can also see various other minute creatures jigging about and I can see some patches of tiny organisms growing on the glass which the fish peck at. I seem to have unintentionally created an ecosystem which is automatically supplying the fish with what they need. I am running a few litres of water butt water through my fine net each day and then dunking the net in the tank to keep the microcreatures stocked. I am little concerned about any of these creatures being potentially dangerous to the fish but it’s all good so far. I’m also concerned that they will just refuse dried food altogether which may make things a bit difficult if I am on vacation. It’s all very well showing my neighbour how to feed dry food, but showing them how to harvest bbs is a bit more involved!

 

[Mikeyboy123]

They are going fit the fry powder quite enthusiastically now. I’ve got some frozen BBS and will try and pick up some more small frozen food next time I’m at Lfs. 8 chillis in an 18 litre and they are so tiny. The amount of food all 8 are consuming is probably the same as 1 neon tetra. I think the tank could easily accommodate a few more. They seem to spend all day taking it in turns to swim through the filter current.

 

[itiwhetu]

They are going fit the fry powder quite enthusiastically now. I’ve got some frozen BBS and will try and pick up some more small frozen food next time I’m at Lfs. 8 chillis in an 18 litre and they are so tiny. The amount of food all 8 are consuming is probably the same as 1 neon tetra. I think the tank could easily accommodate a few more. They seem to spend all day taking it in turns to swim through the filter current.

They will start spawning soon and then you will have more than enough.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

They will start spawning soon and then you will have more than enough.

Never really tried breeding fish although I did have a swordtail drop a load of fry once. I’ve got a spare little tank lying around and a sponge filter so I might give it a go. Think they aren’t sexually mature yet but I’ll see if I can give it a go later in the year.

 

[itiwhetu]

Never really tried breeding fish although I did have a swordtail drop a load of fry once. I’ve got a spare little tank lying around and a sponge filter so I might give it a go. Think they aren’t sexually mature yet but I’ll see if I can give it a go later in the year.

They will just spawn when they are ready.