Reddish black phantoms?

[jollysue]

Two male BP are doing some kind of little flare dance that I assume is for dominance. One female is swoshing in and out . None are eating even though it's bloodworms and mysis shrimp and daphnia floating around them. They flare, then one swoops toward the other male and turns at the last minute and gives a shoulder butt, eyeing his opponent intently. It reminds me of a bully shoulder bumping another guy in the hall.

 

[Briarmoor]

Sue, my phantoms hardly get their share in the 55g, IMO. They stay back and I have to work at getting food down to them or the piggish black neons and gouramis eat it all off the surface, or dive down and get it as it floats down. My best bet is leaving my bubble bar on so that the food "whooshes" down quicker which gives the gouramis less advantage. Darn feeding frenzy in that tank anymore.

Glad you phantoms are entertaining you. I do enjoy mine, just wonder if they are going to be overwhelmed with the pushier fish in my tank at feeding time. No one messes with them otherwise. Forget bloodworms, the freeze dried ones float and no one gets a chance at those if they don't nab them from the surface.

P.

 

[jollysue]

I'll check back later, but try soaking the freeze dried food. It wll sink faster. I had similar trouble when I put my cockatoos in. They were very shy and, though they would go to the top, they hesitated too long . The serpas and silver tips are kamakazi dog fighters. From a suggestion I started soaking my freeze dried, started feeding in one end of the tank at first, then give a ration at the other. Of course the serpaes would catch on but had slowed down too. The cockatoo caught on after a while. I have many bottom feeders and have to make sure enough gets to them.

I have since switched to frozen blood worms, mysis shrimp and jarred daphnia. Lucky62 suggested that soaking was healthier too. There is a fear that freeze dried may be ill advised rehydrating in the stomach.

I ended up removing the serpaes because they are so moody. They can get very aggressive, and they were doing real hurt. The tank was on red terror alert all the time. The small neon breeds were clumped in a group almost constantly.

My tank has a feeding frensy too. They say that is good. It means they aren't overfed.

 

[Briarmoor]

I have since switched to frozen blood worms, mysis shrimp and jarred daphnia. Lucky62 suggested that soaking was healthier too. There is a fear that freeze dried may be ill advised rehydrating in the stomach.

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I am going to start feeding more frozen too. They really enjoy the brine shrimp and I think it's good that it is spirulina enhanced for their immune systems. Makes sense on the soaking bit, many people do that for dogs that are fed kibble. I gave up on kibble in March 1999 and have fed a raw diet ever since and the dogs thrive. I guess the fish would too, not as much bias on "raw feeding" for fish as there is for dogs. My vets had a cow when I told them I was feeding raw chicken to the dogs when I first started. They expected all my dogs to be dead of one organism or other by now.

P.