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Feeding techniques - Apistogrammas

J

Jorge O'Reilly

Member
Joined
25 Feb 2023
Messages
203
Location
Argentina
Howdy.

So here's the deal: I purchased some Apistogramma Trifasciata a week ago, they were half starved, thin as a shotgun as we say. In advance, I had collected about, give or take, a thousand mosquito larvae. I honestly thought I'd be covered for some time. Wrong.

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They ate through that like they were... well, starving. The two small Gymnogeophagus Meridionalis did not help. They were in mint condition, faster, and a great deal smarter, to be frank. They got the lion's share.

The thing is, these are all wild fish, and will absolutely refuse to eat fish food. How on earth can I convince them to change their heathen ways?


Here's the tank. It's well established, in fact the two Gymnos didn't really require feeding, but five cichlids is well past the self-sustainability marker.

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Population: three Apistos, two juvenile Gymnos, six Otos (one of which unfortunately was an O. Arnoldi and also will eat nothing but algae) a gazillion wild ghost shrimp, and one absolutely great trichodactylus borellianus that has recently dropped crablets all over.
 
Forgot about two tiny Jenynsia Lineata fry. Those are clearly the fastest in the bunch, and tore through everything that fit their mouth.
 
No, I said ghost shrimp just to make it easier, they are on the Paleomonetes group but they're local. They deal with wolf fish, an Apisto won't cut it lol. However, I'm packing up to go somewhere I might find clean tubifex and start a culture of that. I also found a type of moina in a drainage system, possibly moina eugeniae, but I can't feed them yet, I''ve too few...
 
I found a ditch with a million larvae. Will probably remain stocked from here till autumn, so they'll have to learn how to eat dry food in that span of time.
 
I've just sorted through about seven liters of murky water, divvying up belostomatids, chironomid larvae, moina, mosquito pupae, large mosquito larvae, and small mosquito larvae. This is why my gf thinks I'm insane.
 
I don't know what the process would be but could you freeze it? Encouraging them to each frozen live is probably easier than dry. A bit of current and you can trick them into thinking it's wiggling. You could also try gel food - there are some diy recipies and again could be frozen for storage. For the otos fresh leaves - or dried for storage for winter.
 
Yes, that was my idea when I got the first batch of larvae. Unfortunately, I now have too few - relatively speaking, and I'd rather prioritize nutrition over education. At least until the spawn succeeds or fails. Then I'll wean them off, simply because mosquito larvae won't be an option come autumn. And I can't spend my scarce free time mucking around in mosquito infested drainage ditches, it's ridiculous.
 
The Otos are eating bell pepper. I've been sold an O. Arnoldi that won't eat it, unlike the rest of the affinis. But well, sink or swim, so to speak. There's plenty of algae, he won't starve outright. As for the DIY food, I have some, but I think it's past expiration date. Will have to make some more, but each batch gives me a quarter kg, which is about 30 times what I need, so I'll wait until a couple friends setup their own tanks. And I can't go to a fish market and ask for 30 grams of squid, they'll laugh me out of the place...
 
Pro tip I just found out: in order to feed a spawned female that just WON'T leave her eggs, lure the dither fish close to her nest. That'll bring her out like a panther, she'll chase them off and then eat.
 


Breed on you beautiful bastards.

The tank sprouted seemingly out of nowhere a great amount of chironomid larvae, greatly appreciated.
 
I just saw the male having a Tug o' War with a shrimp over an unusually long tubifex worm one of them had caught. My day has peaked.

Anyone have any idea how such a number of bloodworms (chironomids) might have gotten into my culture? I just removed like eight and stored them for feeding tonight. Whatever it was, I need to repeat it...
 
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I love them, but they are kind of like a camouflaged, tiny kuhli loach. Take a good look before it goes in, because that's one of your four/five glimpses you'll get... EVER.
 
do you have photos? I cant find them for sale under the scientific name, do they have a common name?
 
There is no way those are for sale, anywhere. I would be greatly surprised if they were. We just call them pygmy crabs, but "we" being the five blokes I know to be even aware of their existence. And yes, they all know them because of me...

In fact, it took me quite some time to identify the species... And I'm still not 100% sure.
 
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