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FAQs on Mormyrid Fishes Foods/Feeding/Nutrition
Related Articles: Mormyrids, Elephantfishes, Electrogenic
Fishes,
Related FAQs: Mormyrids, Elephantfishes, Mormyrid
Identification, Mormyrid Behavior,
Mormyrid Compatibility,
Mormyrid Selection,
Mormyrid Systems,
Mormyrid Disease,
Mormyrid Reproduction,
Bony
Tongue Fishes, Electrogenic
Fishes, Aba Aba
Knifefish, African Butterflyfish,
Arapaimas,
Arowanas, Featherfin Knives,
New World Knifefishes, |
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Elephant nose feeding –
1/28/08
Hello. Sorry I ask so many questions. I just wanted to know, do elephant
noses have to eat live foods everyday?
<Pretty much for the first few weeks. After a month or so, once you have seen
the Elephantnose eat and know it is putting on weight and 100% sure nothing is
competing with it (such as a catfish or loach) you can also use (wet) frozen
foods such as bloodworms.>
If not, how often?
<Every night.>
Can they eat crickets or do they not know it is food?
<No chance.>
Also, can they eat pelleted and flaked foods?
<No.>
Last, how do you train them to eat pellets and flakes and crickets?
<Don't bother unless you want to starve the fish to death. They will not take
these food items. This is why most people simply shouldn't keep these fish.>
Thanks for your time.
<Cheers, Neale.>
Elephant nose continued... –
1/28/08
Sorry, I forgot to ask...
1) what is the approximate growth rate of an elephant nose fish
<Depends on the conditions, but should reach full size in about 2-3 years.>
2) and can live foods be their main meal? Or should it be a treat?
<Live foods are the preferred food for this species. Wet frozen foods such as
bloodworms can also be used once the fish is settled down and feeding.>
3) last, how will I know if my elephant nose ate his food at night? I don't want
it to starve. he is the only nocturnal fish I have)
<If the Elephantnose is the only nocturnal fish, then if the worms are gone by
the morning, they've been eaten by him. The fish should have a nice rounded
abdomen. Do make 100% sure the tank has a sandy substrate, not gravel, because
these fish feed in a very specific way by trawling the sand for food using the
chin barbel. Gravel can damage the barbel, and long term seems to put them at
risk of Finrot. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: elephant nose... more re
a child's understanding, fdg. 1/28/08
Hi, isn't frozen food everyday bad for the elephant nose?
<No, it's fine for them.>
Aren't I supposed to mix it with flakes and pellets?
<Be nice if you could, but they won't eat those things. End of story.>
Or is frozen cube foods enough nutrition for the elephant nose?
<Yes; you do need to mix the variety a bit, so you have bloodworms, white
mosquito larvae, Tubifex, etc. in the freezer. But your fish can live very well
in these things. Seriously, this is all my fish get, and they're fine.>
Also, do you know any good brands for frozen cube foods that are cheap and has
great nutrition and value?
<They're all much of a muchness in terms of cost. Here in the UK, a single
blister pack of frozen foods usually costs around £2.50, though retailers often
sell 5 for £10 to sweeten the deal. There is a bit of variation in terms of
flavour, it seems, because sometimes the fish aren't as keen on a new pack as
they were with the old one. So maybe try out different brands and types.>
Thanks again Neale. Sorry for the inconvenience.
<Happy to help, Neale.>
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Longnose elephant fish
Dear Mr. Fenner:
I am inquiring about the long nose elephant fish.
<Mormyrids, Africans... freshwater for the unitiated browsers>
I have several and they seem to be doing well, except I am not sure if they are eating or not. I have
tried flake food and they didn't seem to like that at all.
<Nope. Won't sustain them at any length.>
Then I read that I should be feeding them live black worms. The problem is when I put the worms in the tank, I can't get the fish attention, and they don't seem to know that the worms are there. What am I doing wrong?
<Maybe the time frame... they're mainly nocturnal feeders in the wild... and I would try other live foods as well... Chironomid larvae (bloodworms), Brine Shrimp, Daphnia... or small trials of these and other once-live foods that come frozen/defrosted... at "lights off" time>
Is there a better way to feed these fish the black worms? Please help, as I really enjoy these fish. Also I think I read somewhere that you can breed the black worms yourself, if you have any information on this, I would really
appreciate it forwarded to me.
<Yikes... will have to resurrect some "pre-computer" writing efforts, or move up the "to be written" "live foods/feeding" projects... and quick. Do try the above suggestions for now...>
I appreciate all of your help and any and all information that you could provide me. Thanking you in advance for your help.
Sincerely, Shirley Schiavone
<You're welcome. I'll try to get to the live foods articles, even the coverage of the family Mormyridae... but this will likely take a couple of months... write in the meanwhile if you have specific questions. Bob Fenner>
Dead elephant nose
I bought an elephant nose about a month ago and lost him 3 wks ago, after reading your information on them, I wish I would have had the feeding test
done, then I would have known not to buy him, he would not eat and got skinnier and skinnier, it was horrible, I brought him to the pet store, and
he wouldn't eat for them either, they treated him for internal parasites for a wk in a half and he still didn't look good.
<Likely too far gone from the process of (likely chemical) collection in the wild, starving, poor water quality from there through shipping, handling... Happens to whole shipments at times>
So from what I read what you have wrote, do you have any ideas in what I could do to keep my
elephant nose alive, when I buy one in the near future. Do you have any idea to why he
wouldn't eat, because I did ask them how long was he here before I bought him and they said 3 wks, and he look good, apparently not or he would have
ate. Also my water was good where it should be, so I can't figure why he wouldn't eat?
<Morymyrids find aquatic worms almost irresistible... try blackworms, tubificids... if the specimen/s don't take these, I would leave them at the shop>
If you could help me it would be appreciated, I don't know any where else to turn to there is not a
lot of people that know about these fish.
<There is considerable known about their esoteric biology, but not much popularized re their practical husbandry... Many die from jumping out (for lack of an adequate aquarium cover) and metal poisoning from errant medicine treatment for instance... Easily avoided>
Thanks, Sincerely
Shelley
<Bob Fenner>
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