What To Feed Lima Shovelnose

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Ok so on Thursday I took delivery of my new Lima shovelnose catfish and he/she is awesome it is around 3 inches or so in length and is nice and active.

I just have one problem. I'm not too sure if it is eating... I haven't yet seem him take anything. Iv tried sinking cichlid pellets, frozen bloodworm, live bloodworm, prawns, brine shrimp, smelt, frozen krill, frozen tropical mix and even flake. He is in my rio 400 with an Ornate Bichir and a small plec. They are both eating fine as always. I'm not sure it it's because the catfish is too slow to get to the food before its all gone or if it's the food I'm trying is not suitable?

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[MBOU]

Found that at first, mind would only eat when tank lights were off and i wasnt standing in sight of the tank. Very hesitant at feeding at first!

Hikari Massivore pellets are a must IMO, swear by them. They are also perfect for small cats because of the shape, of you lay them on a survace arch downwards and press on it, the tablet breaks into four little bits perfect for little cats! They are high protein and aimed at predatory fish, not like the cichlid pellets as such.

Keep up with the food you are feeding, keep trying foods until you find foods you know it likes.

 

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Ok thanks. Iv heard good things about hikari massivore pellets before in previous threads but never actually bought them. I will get some.

Thanks for the advice I love watching him which means I'm probably not helping when it comes to feeding lol

Another 2 questions I have if you can help me...
1. How do you tell if it's male or female?
2. What is the growth rate of them? I know it depends on a number of things. I'm just looking for a rough guide.

Also I apologise in advance if any of these questions have been answered in previous threads.

Thanks

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Not sure about male or female, but. I know they can get almost 2 feet long.

 

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Yea I know the overall size which is not a problem. He/she is in a 5 foot tank (Juwel RIo 400) at the moment and is 3 inches long. By August this year I'm either having an ND Aquatics 6x2x2 or an 8x2x2 tank. Iv had the go ahead and have the money for the 6 foot but I'm trying to persuade the other half to let me spend a little bit extra and get the 8 footer instead lol il be happy then. Don't think il be 100% happy with the 6 foot as its not much bigger than what i have now and i will only end up going bigger later on lol

Thanks

 

[MBOU]

Not entirely sure you can sex them really? Either way... certainly not at that size!!

It takes time, allow him (dont know why, i assume they are all him lol) to eat in piece and gradually bring feeding times earlier and earlier and start feeding with lights on. Take it slowly and he will tame up lovely. Mine got to a point where he would eat prawns out of my hands... though you had to watch your fingers as they kind of suck up the food and fingers and all

I dont know why but small catfish always have a complex about eating.

Size wise... the smaller they are, the quicker they grow... Its going to depend so much on what you get him eating!!

 

[dbanner]

Not entirely sure you can sex them really? Either way... certainly not at that size!!

It takes time, allow him (dont know why, i assume they are all him lol) to eat in piece and gradually bring feeding times earlier and earlier and start feeding with lights on. Take it slowly and he will tame up lovely. Mine got to a point where he would eat prawns out of my hands... though you had to watch your fingers as they kind of suck up the food and fingers and all

I dont know why but small catfish always have a complex about eating.

Size wise... the smaller they are, the quicker they grow... Its going to depend so much on what you get him eating!!

If I don't know the sex of any fish them I always assume it is a him lol

At the moment he swims back and forth then the lights come on at 6pm on a timer, at that time he stops and if I'm stood by the tank he just stares at me lol

I want to get to the stage you was at, where he will take food from my hand, but I'm quite fond of my fingers so il make sure I'm careful. So, it's just a matter of trying new food and waiting? I'm fine with that, just wanted to make sure I wasn't feeding the wrong things.

I have heard they do quite quickly up to around the 8-9 inch mark and then the growth rate slows down.

 

[MBOU]

I never had my sorobim from a baby so would be hard to know for sure, when i gont mine he was already 9" and within a year he was nearly 13" lol!

But at the same time, i was raising a 1.5" Red Tail Cat and a 1.5" Catfish of unknown origins. Was meant to be a tiger shovelnose but I believe it was a RTC x TSN. Don't ask... it was my ex's idea of a great birthday present along with a 2" Pearl Arrowana. In all fairness, the RTC x TSN and the Arro are doing great from what I hear and are in my old 8 x 3 x 2. I accidentally siphoned out the RTC during a waterchange. I used long black pond house to siphon out the front door.... into the snow.. as he hid all the time... it was too late for him by the time i realised the stupid thing swam up the tube! Cruel but probably the kindest thing really...

But both the RTC and RTC x TSN were really funny eaters, shy with the lights on and didnt like being watched and so on, as they got bigger, they got much bolder (the TSN x ate a good many fish he shouldnt have done LOL) so i imagine its perfectly normal catfish behaviour. They'd be lurking about in dim lit water and at the bottom so bright lights isnt really their thing.

 

[dbanner]

Lol iv heard of the big apatite of red tails and tiger shovelnose catfish. Eating basically anything that will fit in their mouths. Maybe I shouldn't be looking forward to him getting big lol I just think they look stunning when they are bigger, mine is really small. Il take a pic at some point today or tomorrow. Surprised I haven't took one by now, I'm usually straight out with the camera when I have new fish. Lol

 

[simonas]

let me know how you get on with yours as I bought one yesterday from my LFS hes about 4 inch long. Lovely fish but mine hasnt eaten yet

 

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let me know how you get on with yours as I bought one yesterday from my LFS hes about 4 inch long. Lovely fish but mine hasnt eaten yet

Ah nice yeah i will do. Iv still not actually seen him eat but I did look into the tank earlier and his belly was looking a little bigger so he must of ate something the lights were off at this point. Only thing I put in the tank were little bits of prawn that you get from a supermarket. So he clearly likes them lol

 

[MBOU]

They love prawn, mine lived purely on prawn and massivore pellets when he got bigger. Bloomin expensive to feed! Between him, the two stingrays, the rainbow snakehead, the 30cm clownloaches and a few cichlids, i was going through 1kg of prawns every week not counting all the bloodworm, krill and mysis etc!!

Have a mbu puffer at work that quite happily eats 1/2 kilo of prawns in a sitting, 3-4 times a week

 

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Lol thats a lot of prawn. My bichirs love prawn too. I miss my rainbow snakehead

 

[simonas]

puffers are gluttons!! the amount theyre belly stretches is obscene

 

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Iv only ever seen very small puffers around here