Petricola feeding?

[vantgE]

I haven't seen my synodontis petricola eat and they have been in the tank over a week, they were quite fat when I first got them and definately skinnier, they are for now in a 20g with 19 maylandia lombardoi, (mbuna) fry
I have fed mysis shrimp, which disapeared but it seems more likely the cichlid ate it
I have fed flakes but not much gets to the bottom
and I have fed shrimp pellets but they are still there
Is it likely they are eating and I miss or or should I try some other foods

 

[bunjiweb]

Dont waste your time with things like flake. Petricolas will thank you for variety wafers after you turn your lights off. Try and aim them to land near the cave or rock or wherevers yours seem to hang out most.

Ben

 

[Dwarfs]

IME, most catfish don't eat for a while after they have been introduced into a new tank, but once you get them to start eating, they keep eating

As bunjiweb said, feed at night and drop the food near where the syno likes to hang out

 

[freddyk]

Once the lights are out you can drop the food wherever you wish, they'll be out and about in the dark. And believe me, they'll eat flake. Shrimp pellets might be too big for them right now, that could be the reason - it's not often you see any catfish turn these down. I use sinking pellets for the most part.

 

[bunjiweb]

sorry but flake IS just a waste of time so why not reccomend something good? pretty much any kind of sinking wafer or pellet will do them, they will scavange for most things also. Once a month i feed my 50G where my petricola are a bit of meat. They seem to really enjoy this, but not too often!

Ben

 

[vantgE]

I have a blue colored light and switch it in at night for a little bit they get much more active then but they the shrimp pellets aren't not eaten and i break them in half they don't seem o notice it.

Why not feed flake bunjweb? flake and pellets are mande almost entirely from the same ingredients and I know they eat it because the store owner fed em on it

 

[Erised]

I do agree that flakes wouldnt be my choice. They're not likely to touch it, and easily lose their appotite for it when getting fed other food once in a while. They just need meatier foods than flakes (Shrimp pellets contains a lot more of that than flake does ... it might contain nearly the same stuff, but in different quantities)

If you're very sure they eat it though, try taking a pinch inbetween your fingers and hold it underwater. This way the flakes get soaked and will sink nearly straight away (if you release them a couple of cm underneath the water line they will sink right away). Try doing this about half an hour after you turned off the lights. That will be the best chance you'll have on feeding them flake food.

I do however recommend de-freezing some bloodworms as well, and throwing them in at least twice a week. They'll definatly appreciate this

Like said before though, it cant take some catfish weeks before they're used to their new suroundings and start taking food. All you can do is try

 

[vantgE]

Fish food labels are hard to interpret. It is almost impossible to know what quantities are in a food. Consider this, when fish or shrimp or krill is added to the label it is wet. And to determine comparable for order on the label it is measure by weight, wet fish guess what? ways more then dry grain. And beyond that Who's to say what "fish meal" or "shrimp meal" actually contains technically such a broad name could include vegetable or grain foods

I do recognize that a shrimp pellet should have some dvantage over flake tank cleaniliness being one last night I droped some flake extra into the bottom and come home today to find the tank and spongefilters covered in something really gross, bloodworms aren't an option either don't want my cichlid fry eating that stuff,
So I guess i gotta keep doing what i'm doing

Thanks every one