Catfish Feeding

[fishyfish890]

Hi everyone,
 
Just wondering if you were to feed a catfish pellets would the other fish eat it before them? If so, would sinkable pellets be better. Any suggestions would be great.
 
Many thanks,
 
Fishyfish890

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I may get flack for saying this, but I have never kept any fish that would not eat about anything they could. Vegetarian fish will eat meat and vice versa. However, this does not mean any food is good for any fish. Take zucchini, aka courgette. Most people put it in a tank for bn (or other plecos with similar diets) only to learn that almost all of the fish in the tank have a go at it.
 
Having a tank with fish that have divergent diets can be a problem when it results in fish eating too little of what they should and too much of what they should not. I have tried ordering my fish not to do this, but it did not work
 
So to answer your question requires that we know what other fish are in the tank.

 

[m00ms]

catfish pellets take too long to break up so the other fish will not get to eat them before the cats do and besides cats never seam shy when it comes to eating.

 

[Byron]

I agree with both members.  I have this issue, and my method is to simultaneously feed a flake/floating pellet food (the "upper fish" food) and a quickly sinking food for the substrate fish (in my case, catfish including corys, whiptails, and Farlowella, and loaches depending upon the tank).  Even so, some of the sinking foods do get picked up by the upper fish after a while, so you should feed sufficient to account for this.
 
Another option is to feed the catfish food during total darkness.  Most catfish are nocturnal to some extent, while most upper fish are not.  But you will note I said total darkness; this means when the room is in complete darkness so you cannot see into the tank.  As long as there is some form of light in the room, the fish will not normally "sleep."  Once there is complete darkness, they will slowly enter their inactive "sleep" state.  Waiting an hour or so after total darkness works.  The only disadvantage to this is that you cannot enjoy watching the catfish eat; I have some species of corys and loaches that I would hardly ever see except at feeding time.
 
Byron.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Byron, after reading your above post and specifically this line: "As long as there is some form of light in the room, the fish will not normally "sleep." I woke up in the middle of the night and wondered. When there is a full moon our or close to a full moon, this is pretty much the same thing as having a small light on at night. Does this mean that there is about a week every month around the the full moon during which many fish do not sleep or do not sleep as much as they normally need?
 
I have had between 5 and 9 tanks in my bedroom since late 2002. I am a night owl. I have my television and computer on often into the wee hours. Despite this I have had fish apparently do fine in these tanks including having a number of them spawn. For sure this room, with its illuminated nights, would be the exact opposite of completely dark.
 
I wonder, if the fish are not getting their needed "sleep," would this not affect them? Why do they grow, spawn and generally thrive? Plecos, at least, have an easy way to deal with this in a properly scaped tank, they just hit the caves and other hidey holes. But I think most of us find in the early hours of the day when the light in a room increases but before the lights come on, the fish are hard to spot in many cases as they are hidden by decor or plants. They find cover against predators and the light?
 
If nothing else, my fish , even if sleep deprived, are certainly up on current events as late night tv here is often the various cable news networks.

 

[Byron]

The effect of light upon aquarium fish is something I researched a few years back for an article on another site.  As with all animals and plants, a period of total darkness is essential to the physiology.  We all have a circadian rhythm, and upsetting this will mean problems.  Ever experience jet lag?  People who work nights and sleep during the day usually darken their room, or wear an eye mask; same reason.
 
In the tropics where our fish originate, the ten or so hours of night are generally pitch black for the fish.  The moon does not penetrate the forest canopy much, and even if it does, the fish in open waters remain along the banks under dense vegetation cover.  If I may, I'll cite the relevant portion of my article.
 
The Day/Night Cycle
 
Most animals have an internal body clock, called a circadian rhythm, which is modified by the light/dark cycle every 24 hours.  This is the explanation for jet-lag in humans when time zones are crossed—our circadian rhythm is unbalanced and has to reset itself, which it does according to periods of light and dark.  Our eyes play a primary role in this, but many of our body cells have some reaction to light levels.  In fish this light sensitivity in their cells is very high. 
 
Previously I mentioned that the rods and cones in the eye shift according to the changes in light.  This process is also anticipated according to the time of day; the fish “expects” dawn and dusk, and the eyes will automatically begin to adjust accordingly.  This is due to the circadian rhythm.
 
This is one reason why during each 24 hours a regular period of light/dark--ensuring there are several hours of complete darkness--is essential for the fish.  In the tropics, day and night is equal for all 365 days a year, with approximately ten to twelve hours each of daylight and complete darkness, separated by fairly brief periods of dawn or dusk.  The period of daylight produced by direct tank light can be shorter; and the period of total darkness can be somewhat shorter or longer--but there must be several hours of complete darkness in the aquarium.  The dusk and dawn periods will appear to be stretched out, but that causes no problems for the fish.  It is the bright overhead light that is the concern, along with having a suitable period of total darkness.
 
To answer your question on the effect, this is related to something I posted in another thread a few moments ago.  How do we as aquarists really know the fish are "fine?"  Living the expected lifespan is usually the best gage.  Stress along the way, such as from inappropriate environmental conditions which includes light/darkness, tends to weaken the fish by making it spend more energy that should be directed elsewhere physiologically.  Along the way, the fish may seem fine, or in some cases they do not, depending.
 
I recall reading a couple of years back about car lights shining into the fish room being able to actually affect aquarium plants.  Scientific data was provided, though I doubt I could track this down now.  But if this impacts plants, it must impact fish.  

 
Byron.