Microworms For Adult Apisto's?

[thefirethief]

Is the any point in feeding them to a fully grown Apistogramma Agassizzi? I have a small male that seems to struggle with flake and most of the frozen food I offer however readily takes the microworms when offered and spends some time picking them off the bogwood and substrate. This fish has been a struggle from the start and is still emaciated, clamped fins and shows poor colour. Any idea if this is the nutritional equivelent of throwing a bag of chips to a whale?

any input would be appreciated!
Mark

 

[jayjay]

By small you mean how big? Have you tried baby brine shrimp or crushed/powdered flake? It's fine for it nutritionally, after all it's what a lot of fry are fed.

 

[thefirethief]

I think about an inch and a half/three quarters. Much smalled than other Apistos Ive kept. I've had him for about 8 or 9 months in a 30Gal amazon community but I've recently moved him to an 8Gal to try keep a closer eye on exactly whats being eaten.

I'm actually just curious as to whether Microworms are suitable for anything other than fry as my blue eye'd rainbowfish and killi's also seem to love them. Any ideas?

 

[Spank]

Is the any point in feeding them to a fully grown Apistogramma Agassizzi? I have a small male that seems to struggle with flake and most of the frozen food I offer however readily takes the microworms when offered and spends some time picking them off the bogwood and substrate. This fish has been a struggle from the start and is still emaciated, clamped fins and shows poor colour. Any idea if this is the nutritional equivelent of throwing a bag of chips to a whale?

any input would be appreciated!
Mark

I think It's all down to the individual fish when it comes to feeding apisto's

On the one hand my cockatoo dwarves are a pain in the a*se when it comes to feeding time. I've tried wheening them off onto flake or pellets but they'll try it for a while before realising the frozen or freeze dried stuff is better. Now I've just accepted their needs and have them on a rotating diet of freeze dried or frozen brine shrimp, frozen artemia or frozen blood worm, all of which they accept readily.

On the other, I'd give granules or cichlid pellets a go because I have another pair of apisto's that'll eat prepared foods with relish and these were trained from the start to accept all types of food.

So just see what works, give them a trial with granules or pellets (in my experiance all apisto's don't like flake) and if they still don't give in then it's onto the frozen and freeze dried stuff

 

[thefirethief]

Cheers spank. One thing I haven't actually tried is cichlid pellets so I'll get a tub of that soon and see what happens. I'm quite happy to give frozen all the time its just a hit or a miss really. He'll take frozen bloodworm and flake but ussually spits it back out. Frozen blackworm, brineshrimp and mysis all get ignored.

As I said, the only thing it seems to enjoy is the live Microworm which is fine as Ive got a constant supply of them. My only concern is that I'm unsure of whether something so small can sustain a fish that size.

 

[jayjay]

As they are so small, feed a lot of them.

 

[Lynda B]

I know I asked the same question about adult bettas and microworms and was told no, that they would not provide enough nutrition, based on the sheer volume that you'd have to feed. Don't know about apistos though.

 

[jollysue]

My fish all get live black worms. Even my Cories start to wrestle them as soon as they can hold them down. I don't have a clue about the micro worms, but as long as they can get enough, and they are not too fatty but have nutritien, I don't see the problem. If it seems they can't get enough down to meet their needs, then suppliment or use them as a treat.

That's a really small agassazi.

 

[thefirethief]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jul 18 2007, 11:01 AM) [snapback]1695160[/snapback]
I know I asked the same question about adult bettas and microworms and was told no, that they would not provide enough nutrition, based on the sheer volume that you'd have to feed. Don't know about apistos though.[/quote]

I'm guessing the same rules will apply as they are both a similar size. I do have a dependable culture so I can feed in numbers, still I'm a bit wary. I'll keep using them as a supplement.

My fish all get live black worms. Even my Cories start to wrestle them as soon as they can hold them down. I don't have a clue about the micro worms, but as long as they can get enough, and they are not too fatty but have nutritien, I don't see the problem. If it seems they can't get enough down to meet their needs, then suppliment or use them as a treat.

That's a really small agassazi.

Yeah, I don't know why the growth seems to have been stunted. I did actually manage to fatten him up a few months ago however when I re-introduced him to the larger tank it wasn't long before he deteriorated again. Here's a picture a when things were looking a bit better.

I've done some reading on microworms and have found the following... 'The nematodes (microworms) are 76% water and 24% dry matter; 40% of the dry matter is protein and 20% is fat.' So im guessing I'll need to start another culture, black worms is always an option. Are they relatively to keep at a sustainable level?

Mark

 

[BigC]

Grindalworm and Whiteworm would be better for adults, in moderation mind.

 

[jollysue]

Black worms are a river worm. They are harvested from cold water rivers. I can keep a supply healthy and fat for about a month. I feed 2 lbs a month to 200 usg of tanks--mostly Cories. They are a high protein lower fat than blood worm source. But they must be cleaned with fresh declorinated cold water almost daily if they are a very clean supply when obtained and must be kept refrigerated. I have a local source who is a national supplier to wholesale. I get a good price at about $12 a pound, and I pick them up. They are the staple for conditioning several catfish species for breeding. If you just feed one little fellow, you could probably get enough easily at a good lfs.

I can't remember, have you considered brine shrimp?

The little guy is really pale. I think I would keep him in a low stress environment. Is there any possibility he has parasites?

I think the water content sounds high for the protein, especially since he has some problems.

 

[thefirethief]

I've tried frozen brine shrimp but he's not too interested, ussually spits them back out. That picture is actually him looking his best, its ussually clamped fins and very drab, dark colouration. I've only just moved him back into an 8Gal which only houses 2 ember tetras so I'm going to see how things go for the next few weeks with regards to feeding. If things don't improve I'll start treating for parasites, which is something I've never actually had to do so will need to read up quite a bit.

 

[jollysue]

yes do, because it could be something else. brineshrimp can be raised at home is why I asked. I see that the other poster, BigC, sells brineshrimp eggs. You might chat with him and see what he suggests. Good luck with the boy. Agassazi is a nice fish.

 

[Spank]

that apisto to me looks like a her.... I could be wrong though! how old is she/he

 

[thefirethief]

I've had him/her for at least a year now and was roughly this size when I got it. I had doubts about the sex and actually posted thread on here a while ago and people generally agreed it seemed like a male.