Crayfish

[Igem_43]

I live in Largo Florida and I have an African Ornate Bicher that loves to eat crayfish and I need to find a place that sells them in my for feeder prices or some place to order them. I have a upside-down cat fish that is 35 + years old and the Bicher will pick on the catfish if we can't find crayfish. I am looking to keep both of them alive. The Bicher is at least 25 yrs old. Thank you to anyone that can help.
Lee Ann

 

[HoldenOn]

Wow! Those are some old fish.
I'd look into maybe breeding your own from 2 high quality ones to avoid parasites and nasties.

 

[Igem_43]

Wow! Those are some old fish.
I'd look into maybe breeding your own from 2 high quality ones to avoid parasites and nasties.

Yes I was thinking of doing that so maybe I should try.

 

[HoldenOn]

Yes I was thinking of doing that so maybe I should try.

I don't know much about crayfish, but I can say it will be much safer to take this course of action .

 

[Igem_43]

They are old and they both have lived through about 6 bouts Ick. So I am quite proud of them.

 

[HoldenOn]

They are old and they both have lived through about 6 bouts Ick. So I am quite proud of them.

That's very impressive. I've heard that the catfish are quite hardy.
I'd love to see some pictures .

 

[Igem_43]

That's very impressive. I've heard that the catfish are quite hardy.
I'd love to see some pictures .

Look under the post that says upside down catfish under my threads they're pics.

 

[Igem_43]

That's very impressive. I've heard that the catfish are quite hardy.
I'd love to see some pictures .

Upside down Cat Fish.

I have an Upside down catfish that we have had since 1985 or 1986. I wanted to know if anyone knows the oldest one in captivaty? Thank you, Igem_43

www.fishforums.net

 

[Retired Viking]

As a kid I caught plenty of them using sting and chicken gizzards and guts. I do not know how rivers or ponds are down your way but up north you can catch them just about anywhere even in land locked small ponds. I kept one as a pet for awhile.

 

[Koglin]

I agree with @Retired Viking, can try the body's of water he brought up and also try any man-made rock-bottom fishing lakes, try going along the shoreline and flip rocks - usually not hard to catch a couple dozen of various sizes (I use them to fish with though). Flipping rocks/sticks along the shore in other bodies of water will help too.

To catch wild though.. I imagine if you had somewhere to QT/treat them (as bait I use an aerated 5 gallon bucket with a few large rocks they can hide under until I flip to grab them, have housed for up to a few days at a time), them after treatment in a bucket or QT a separate tank you could house them in to pull from for feeding might work. That way you can hopefully kill off anything they might have, then move/keep them in a controlled environment where you know what's happening for you to pull from as food. Dunno though - just spitballing.

There's bound to be easier solutions, as you could only catch them wild during certain times of the year and it would take a lot to house enough for cold months (far as I know, I use different bait/fish for different fish in winter).

 

[Colin_T]

Go to a fishing/ bait shop or supermarket and buy a pack of frozen prawns/ shrimp. Keep them in the freezer and defrost one when you want to feed the fish. You can either remove the shell or leave it on the shrimp, depending on how big the bichir is.

Don't feed fish on live foods all the time because they usually go on a hunger strike if live food is no longer available. Use a variety of dead foods and ocassional live treats.