Is This Normal ?

Durbkat

Untrainable
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Messages
4,128
Reaction score
0
Location
Kentucky
My biggest long fin black tetra was really big but he missed 2 days of feeding and now he looks smaller in size. Is this normal or am I imaging things?
 
Yes if he had constipation and no feeding for two days it has flushed him through, durbkat what do you feed your fish as they seem to always be constipated, they need frozen foods in there diet like bloodworms,brimestrimp, and daphnia which is good for digesting the fish food, plus some green veg in there diet.
 
I feed them tetramin tropical fish flakes. I know they need bloodworms but I haven't been able to get to a lps that sells them.
 
Feeding to many dried foods like flakes causes constipation and swim bladder problems, all i do when cook veg is put some aside for the fish, ask your mum to put some aside, it not much just a peice.
 
Our family doesn't eat veggies. :/ Would bloodworms do the trick if I can get some?
 
You can try soaking the TetraMin for a while before feeding.

>>> Our family doesn't eat veggies.

What, none at all? -_- Do you have trouble getting life insurance? ;)
 
You can try soaking the TetraMin for a while before feeding.

>>> Our family doesn't eat veggies.

What, none at all? -_- Do you have trouble getting life insurance? ;)
What would soaking the food do? :lol: Thats right we eat no veggies what so ever. We have insurance :rolleyes: :p
 
>>> What would soaking the food do?

The drying process tends to shorten the lignin and other binding agents used to make the flakes. When the fish eat the food dry, it gets wet and tends to expand in their gut. This can cause them problems. Pre-soaking the food will help prevent that. Another issue is fish gobbling flakes at the surface often swallow quantities of air which can also upset their equilibrium, soaking it tends to make it slowly sink rather then float.

>>> Thats right we eat no veggies what so ever.

Okay. Your choice. I'm interested in your fishes welfare. A varied diet is important. Flakes are good, but a happy fish is one which gets a diet including some vegetable matter, some bloodworm or similar.
 
Thanks for the info but I have tried soaking the flakes before putting them in the tank and they get all scared when I am in front of the tank to long and they hide and the food just sinks to the bottom but I'll try again. I will also try to get my hand on some bloodworms. Which kind is better frozen or live?
 
I use Gamma irradiated frozen. That way, it is not possible to introduce disease or parasites. If you have a reliable supplier of live, then they are probably better, but make sure your fish eat them all. If any escape, they may emerge into biting midges in your room.
 
Many of the larvae like "bloodworms" or "glassworms" that you buy live, are the larval stages of insects.

Consider, you look in a pond and it is full of mosquito larvae, they wriggle about and whatever. After a while, they metamorphose into mosquitoes. Room full of mossies anyone? No.

Bloodworms are the larval stage of midges. These are another type of flying insect that loves to bite and eats blood.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top