Tiger Shovelnose Feeding Question

[seanpatrick]

i have a shovelnose catfish that is currently about 8 inches long and is healthy...he is eating goldfish as of now, however i want to ween him off of the live and get him on something healthier since i know feeding live can cause all sorts of fish problems...so the question i had was how can i ween him off of the goldfish, and with what?...ive tried sinking shrimp pellets but he doesnt like them and also the other fish in the tank eat them before the shovelnose can get to them...so i was hoping somebody could give me some usefull advice on what to do and what to feed him..
thanks in advance
-sean

 

[willtang3000]

its very difficult to wean a tiger shovelnose onto dryed and frozen foods at that size but try starving him for 3 days then feed him foods like mussels and shrimps with helpings of sinking carnivore pellets and after a couple of weeks he should be okay feeding on the new foods good luck

 

[CFC]

I wouldnt bother with pellets, your chances of getting any shovelnose to eat them is very slim. Frozen meaty foods are the way to go, visit your local fish market or frozen fish section of the supermarket and buy some white bait, shelled mussels and cooked shrimp/prawns. These can be kept in the freezer and you just defrost what you want each feeding time by floating them in a bowl of tankwater.

To ween the shovelnose off feeders just starve it for a week (yes 7 days, an 8" shovelnose can easily go that length of time without food with no harm done) and then offer some of the frozen food, feeding when the lights are out is best for this as the fish will feel more secure and will spend longer investigating the new food, all catfish will naturally scavenge and eat dead fish during times when other food is scarce so a hungry shovelnose will naturally eat anything fishy smelling that drifts past its nose. If it doesnt eat then keep starving it for another 3 days and try again, if at this point it still doesnt eat give it just 1 small feeder fish and then start the process again, eventually hunger will get the better of it and it will eat the frozen food.

 

[seanpatrick]

thanks a lot i will try this and let u know how it goes...
-sean