feeding bangaii cardinal

[becka]

ok can't get my pair to eat. Put them in Sat and tried feeding shrimp soaked in Zoecon. They go for it then spit it out. Tried flakes as well, same result. I am cutting the shrimp into SMALL pieces. So I don't think the pieces are too big. any ideas? thanks! I would hate for them to starve!

[hcs3]

try mysis or brine. most fish, cardinals included, cannot resist either of these. brine is not a good food to feed regularly, but it gets fish used to the idea of eating prepared foods. mysis is an excellent food to feed everyday.

HTH

henry

[becka]

thanks! where can I find brine or mysis? My LFS carries brine flakes. would that work?

[hcs3]

look for either in the frozen section of your LFS's food department. brine can also be obtained live in some instances. if you can get it live, do so.the swimming of the brine is irrestible to ANY fish!

never tried freeze dried brine. it's probably worth a shot if it is your only choice.

HTH

henry

[joezkool]

Size doesn't matter to the BC's. Mine seem to like to grab the piece thats TOO big for it! I feed them shrimp pieces, and they love it. I don't soak it in stuff though. I know for a fact that they'd rather die of starvation then eat flake food. Live brine will drive them wild, but isn't good for them. good luck!

[becka]

I tried the shrimp first. maybe I am just using the wrong shrimp? It is little shrimp in a can. The BC went after it, the bigger the better! and then promptly spit it out. Like a kid eating okra. hmm, that looks interesting... pbblllttt what was that???? :P They did the same thing with the flake food that I am feeding my cardinals. BTW, just a point of interest (maybe I am lucky), but my 2 figi blue devil damsels aren't bothering my BC or my 2 true percs. The damsels still chase each other but seem to ignore the other fish in the tank. lucky? I will go and see if I can't get some brine or mysis in the am. If my LFS doesn't carry it, any other options till I can MO some? thanks for all the help!

[FMarini]

Hi:
fresh off the boat banggais have little interest in dead prepared foods (Please read my online articles for this
http://www.eparc.com/banggai/banggai.shtml).

I would highly recommend you feed live brine shrimp (selcon enriched) or live ghost shrimp for the first couple of feedings. Then once they are used to food and see other fish eat the dead prepared foods they too will try it....
in the mean time feed live stuff.
frank

[becka]

I think I may have it figured out! Night before last I got one of the BC to take the dead shrimp. Gobbled it up! maybe he was just starving! Last night I tried to feed them again. They went after the shrimp but spit it out again. Now here's my theory... they shrimp was cold. So maybe they got brain freeze! :) The night they ate the shrimp it had sat out for a while and warmed up a bit. I will try tonight to let it sit out before I attempt to feed and see if that is the key. Any ideas? However, I no longer have a computer at home so can't update till tomorrow.

[hcs3]

you definatley want the food to be completely thawed.

HTH

henry

[becka]

it was in the fridge, not the freezer. I tried to let it warm up last night, no sucess. :( I am at a loss. Don't know what to do. I don't have access to any live brine or mysis. What about ordering from www.brineshrimpdirect.com ? Do I have to have another tank to grow the shrimp? Anyone tried it?

[FMarini]

Becka:
since your banggais have been in your tank for a week or more...I suspect they are hungry enuf to eat prepared foods. I would definately try "thawed" -frozen brine shrimp, or small krill pieces.
These fish do not refuse shrimp
good luck
frank

[becka]

thanks so much for everyone's help!! I thought they would eat what I offered before they died. They are still with me and I am still trying to feed the shrimp. Hopefully they will come around. thanks so much for all the info and help!