Live silversides?...

benray4fun · #1 12/23/2007, 11:30 PM

Everyone has frozen foods, but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for live silver sides. I imagine some of you have got to be feeding live silver sides...thanks

JHemdal · #2 12/24/2007, 12:05 PM

Many of the silversides are extremely delicate, and the care they would require to keep them alive would far outway any benefit if used as food. I believe that one genus, Menidia can be handled o.k., (and is sold live as a bio-assay animal) but others such as Atherinops and Labidesthes kak off if you even look at them cross-eyed.

Jay

billsreef · #3 12/25/2007, 11:58 AM

The Menidia sold for bio-assay work are sold as small larvae. At that size, only a few mm's, they actually transport much easier than the adults. The key to transporting adults is large water volumes per fish and strong aeration. Doesn't make for cost effective transport at a wholesale level, and at a retail level they wouldn't make home from the pet shop alive with traditional bagging methods.

Your best bet would be hit the beaches in the spring and seine up a bunch of silversides to pack away in the freezer

benray4fun · #4 12/25/2007, 03:36 PM

I was hoping to keep a few in my display instead of chromis. I had no idea silversides were so damn sensitive.

I recently bought about 40 of them a little bigger than larvae, I put about 30 in the display and 10 in the fuge. Every last one in the display were hunted down and swallowed hole, my clowns were so aggressive that they bumped into the glass trying to get'm...lmao

Anyways, out of the 10 in the fuge, I only have two left, I think some went into the over flow and back into the main tank. That or some got caught by the jelly fish or aptasia in the fuge, I don't know, but they went fast!

I need some larger ones, say about an inch and a half so they can survive. Do you guys think they will survive at that size or are they that sensitive that they cannot survive in an aquarium?...
I hope my last two silversides survive for the long haul, but I seriously doubt it now.

Well I looked and now I only have one left...

billsreef · #5 12/25/2007, 03:59 PM

Inch and half doesn't need as much room as the adults. They can be kept in aquaria, they have high O2 demands, need lots of swimming space, and lots of food. I raise them in a lab for research purposes. The hard part is actually transporting them. Fine mesh nets, move fast when transferring them, and give them good water quality and circulation

benray4fun · #6 12/25/2007, 07:02 PM

I have all the requirements so far. I just need them a little larger than the larvae stage and I should be fine. I mostly want them for my anemone, hopefully it will catch one once in while.

spotfin · #7 12/26/2007, 03:31 PM

I catch Menidia menidia in the summer. They don't fair well, and I take them home to freeze. My rays and frogfish love them. I think you would be better off freezing them and then thaw for your anemone.

benray4fun · #8 12/27/2007, 01:30 PM

I do that now, I was hoping to have them live in my display. I'll have to get another batch of at least an inch to an inch and a half and see if they'll do better. If they don't survive after that then I'll just throw in the towel. I was hoping to have live food being chased around on a regular basis instead of having extra nutrients in the water column.