Ugly Betty

[Boxa]

Have got a butterfly fish (ugly Betty) as named by the Mrs! only problem is she wont seem to eat and just spends all her time hidden behind the pump, don't know if it's because the fluval is too strong in the tank or something else.

We have UB in a 4ft tank which is 2ft high and just under 2ft deep, running too fluval 4's

Any help or advice on keeping B'fish would be much appreciated

 

[Esfa]

what are you feeding?

mine readily accepted mealworms.

 

[Boxa]

Have tried bloodworm, daphnia and the standard flakes but so far she wont touch any of it.

 

[nmonks]

The key thing with Pantodon buchholzi is to understand how it detects prey. It does not approach prey items, and it doesn't take food from all around itself. It has a small "kill zone" comprising two approximately 90 degree arcs extending from each eye at most 2-3 cm depending on the size of the fish. Pantodon buchholzi detects movement in this zone and will potentially strike at any suitable food item there.

The best way to get new Pantodon buchholzi feeding is to place small live insects in front of each eye. Wingless fruit flies (Drosophila) can be obtained from any reptile store and are absolutely ideal. Otherwise you can use very small crickets or really any small insects you catch around the house or garden. Live mosquito larvae and livebearer fry will work, too. You can also use forceps to hold frozen bloodworms in the right position, and then by gently wiggling the bloodworm try to elicit the strike reaction.

Once settled and feeding, Pantodon buchholzi will usually wean onto dead and frozen foods, but it is often not the case that they take such foods immediately. You should always plan on using live foods first, and then see how things go.

Obviously flake and pellet foods will need to be in the kill zone to be eaten at all, but that does assume your Pantodon buchholzi accepts non-living foods, and that requires some period of training.

Cheers, Neale

Any help or advice on keeping B'fish would be much appreciated

 

[Gill]

i have always had great luck with reluctant feeders.
I use Mealworms, Crickets, Moths, Spiders, WodLouse, Daddy Long legs, Any bugs from the garden, even ants nests and pupae.
earthworms are a great favorite of mine.

HTH

 

[Boxa]

Well at the moment she spends most of her time hiding behind the pump, is this due to too much water movement? was thinking of getting a spay bar to slow the movement down or would she fair better in a slower moving tank until she starts to eat more.

 

[beblondie]

do you have any floating plants it can hide under or around-Anne

 

[Gill]

yeah they don't like alot of current and loads of floating plants for them to skulk underneath.

 

[Boxa]

Got some floating plants which she does seem to like hiding in but not a great deal, since putting the spray bar on the fluval she seems to have come out more to look about but might watch her for a few more days and if no good then put her in my training tank that has a slower pump and loads of floating plants.