Needle Fish

[CFC]

Great news, i have finally managed to get my needle fish to take dead fish so no more live feeders will have to die just to keep my fish alive.I tried getting some pics but the glare from the lights made it impossible to see anything,if anyone knows how to remove glare from the pictures let me know and ill send some to you for correcting.
Watching these fish feed is something else but i felt it a little distasteful to post pics of live fish being eaten,i know of no other aquarium fish that can open its mouth so wide for the size of the fish,it has to be seen to be believed.

 

[Jamnog]

cool cfc lucky for the fish

 

[Alex]

Maybe you should try to take some photos of when your needle fish tries to bite your finger off, thats not distasteful, just funny.

 

[shimanocono]

No live feaders Thats no fun. I guess it depends on your taste however. What type of dead fish do you feed them now?

 

[CFC]

Lance fish,i think there the same fish that they make white bait out of.
Feeding live feeders isnt fun and it adds a risk of disease being introduced into the tank,its not cheap either,to make sure the needle fish had a chance to get any food i would have to put in 20 danios or similar sized fish every week because all the other fish would want them too even though they accept alternative foods.

 

[superman]

how did you manage to get him to eat them dead?

 

[impur]

You are talking about a needle-nose gar right? I had one of these that would eat pelet food. It was pretty kewl when i first saw him chomp down and a big cichlid pelet. That definately cut down on the feeding cost. These are really fun fish to have, i might get a couple for my next tank.

 

[CFC]

I feed the other fish in the tank lance fish as well and i offer the needle one first each time before letting them sink to the bottom of the tank,normally he would shy away and refuse them but the last two times ive done this he just grabbed the fish from my fingers and started swallowing,i think that maybe the frozen fish seemed too big before but he even refused them when cut in half,or prehaps he got fed up with only eating once or twice a month.Whether or not hell continue taking the frozen i dont know,he hasnt taken another since but that as only 3 days ago so he probably wont need another feed till wednesday or thursday (today being monday).

Do you still have your needle Superman?If you have give it a go it might just be a size thing,mine has reached about 7" snout to tail now.

 

[CFC]

You are talking about a needle-nose gar right?

Might be another name for them? The fish i have is Potamorrhapis guianensis the freshwater needle,recognisable from other needles by its size,up to 16" and the bright red spot on the top of its head,the fish is a greenish silver in colour.

I cant imagine this fish taking pellets but i did have one that would take glass worm until the bigger one ripped his head off,other than that i have only seen this fish show a intrest in fish and XL ghost shrimp.

 

[impur]

Ahh the fish I had was Xenentodon canaila. It only ate live for awhile but i stopped buying live on a regular basis and the fish began eating the pellets. I was quite amazed. I eventually sold the fish because i was moving but it had great personality.

 

[superman]

Funny thing was that mine started taking freeze dried krill just before I read this post of yours. I found that quite funny, I read your post right after I posted the news about my needle fish eating dead food. I think this is great, even my clown knife fish has started eating the krill, he has been refusing dead food for the past 3 months. I love discovering new ways of caring for my fish!

 

[one-envy]

cfs, do you have a pic of your needle fish? how big will it get? its not the same as a needle nose gar right? i was unable to find a pic of it when i searched.

 

[impur]

Potamorrhapis guianensis - Freshwater needlefish

Xenentodon canaila - Needlenose gar

 

[PunkRock050]

One time I read an article about a girl swimming when one of those needle fish got scared or was hunting or something, and jumped out of the water and got stuck in her neck. Actually I think it was on Real TV or something. Pretty sick

 

[Wolfefish]

hi guys. i just added the needle fish to my aquarium. i was told they will only eat minnows. i'm glad i found this forum. i will try these other options. if anyone still uses minnows, how many times a week do you feed them to the needle fish? i've gotten conflicting opinions from the local shops. how often do you feed them these other food options? any help would be appeciatted. thanks in advance. Wolfefish