Definitely
Thats why i want to do a mainly knife fish tank, so that i can tailor feed them and keep them healthy. also because they are awesome.
Pellets vs Purely Raw Feeding?
- Thread starter Stalker_Loneriff
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Thats why i want to do a mainly knife fish tank, so that i can tailor feed them and keep them healthy. also because they are awesome.
In Italy, i had issues to find pellets for carnivorous fishes.. so till the adulthood my polys ate barely only raw food.(avian, fish, shrimp and other sea food meat) They grow healty without problems. My tanks ar filled with plants, mud and algae, also i give them wild alive gambusia when i find them in the rivers, i think that may have helped. Also they surely ate some of the commericial foods that i give to other fishes.
When adult, they becomed very unfussy and stared to eat corydoras made pellets and pellets used in trout industry, that i used for my tilapias.
I really don't know if one food is better than another. Polys are very adaptable fishes, i think they could eat barely everithing. The mix of pellet and raw food seems the more advisable for me... Also because with pellet is easyer the stock of the food and it's easyer to not overfed. They're basically more pratical. But i don't really know if a poly need that kind of food. Maybe feeding with only one kind of meat it's not the best for them but probably the right mix of raw foods may do even better than prepared ones.
When adult, they becomed very unfussy and stared to eat corydoras made pellets and pellets used in trout industry, that i used for my tilapias.
I really don't know if one food is better than another. Polys are very adaptable fishes, i think they could eat barely everithing. The mix of pellet and raw food seems the more advisable for me... Also because with pellet is easyer the stock of the food and it's easyer to not overfed. They're basically more pratical. But i don't really know if a poly need that kind of food. Maybe feeding with only one kind of meat it's not the best for them but probably the right mix of raw foods may do even better than prepared ones.
Amino acid and fatty acid requirements are fairly identical within aquatic species. Some species require less/more fat, younger fish tend to require higher protein/fat levels due to their higher metabolic rate during growth stages, etc. None of this is an exact science as most species kept in the hobby have never undergone extensive dietary research, certainly not regarding longevity, vs purely growth. Some of the largest carnivorous finfish on the planet are raised to 8-10ft in captivity on a strict diet of pellets. While pellets may not be perfect, generally speaking neither is a raw diet when administered via the hands of a hobbyist. Most of the foods that we feed in a raw state are also missing nutrients that would be commonly found within natural prey items. (think gut contents) At the very least if feeding raw I would supplement with a liquid presoak of Boyd Vitachem or similar, 3-4 times per week.
thanks for all the input guys. i've learned a lot. and it may not be an exact science but in my opinion i think the best way to go is to feed mainly raw anchovies as i can feed them with all their parts(meat, bones, guys etc) and supplement with hikari carnivore and give them tilapia meat as treats
I think the biggest problem with feeding only raw is the we as hobbyist only feed the meat and nother the shell/guts which have different nutrients that they add to the diet...I think a mixture of both would be the best/closest we could give to complete diet
Currently I'm only doing tilapia and pellets as a staple. How often should anchovies, silversides and shrimp be fed?
FYI ....... anchovies are a very fatty fish, IMO they should only be fed sparingly, and not as the main staple, certainly not to warm water species such a bichirs.
I feed mine like once or twice amonth. Just as a treat. Like
RD.
Mentioned they are very fatty food.
good to know! II had no idea they were very fatty. I'm still learning the basics of fish nutrition. So this really helps.Thank you!
thanks for the specifics. I won't go over 1-2x a month!I feed mine like once or twice amonth. Just as a treat. Like
