Hey, very worth mentioning indeed! I can also learn from and try your methods for feeding these guys. I only feed my fish every other night and try different combinations each time. Tonight I'll try dropping a variety of pellets very near or on top of them and see how they react compared to using the bloodworm, cut earthworm, krill combination plate. I did notice some krill bits leftover the next morning from that mix but not sure it's because they didn't want them or if the portion I presented was too large? Again more experimentation needed to fine tune the menu and portion size. I did notice a small uneaten bit of krill with the batrochoglanis cat so maybe she's not all into that. I'm so glad I got 2 pacman's, had I only gotten the one I would have missed out witnessing the interaction between the two, far more interesting overall to me..
Two New Rare Catfish
- Thread starter Yellowcat
- Start date
Thank you
Yellowcat
! I'm glad if my experiences help you as yours definitely help me. I feed my baby fish most evenings but do give them a day off to from time to time. Usually like a three day feed cycle and one day off. Older fish get larger fasts such as my adults of my other fish. The little Pac-Man's are only 2 inches and I worry, perhaps erroneously that they have less fat reserves and therefore probably need a more constant feeding schedule. In this particular case it's the 2 inch guys I feed the most. In my experience many freshwater fish spit out krill. I think the chitinous shell is what's being spit out. I believe they chew it up get what's inside and spit out the exoskeloton. Don't know if that's what's happening with the Pac-Man as mine have eaten what I gave but I did break it up big time for the little guys. For the big Pac-Man I break them in half and they eat each piece whole. I haven't noticed any krill left behind, but I drop feed them pieces till they stop snapping. My own Batro's whatever they are show very little interest in Krill if any but do enjoy peeled shrimp. I don't usually like feeding shrimp unless the pieces are big enough that I can at least occasionally stuff them with pellets.
The little Pac-Man's as I mentioned have eaten pellets, small 1.8 mm pellets. They also tried to eat Ken's Ultra Earthworm Sticks. Struggled with it for a few seconds and then spit it out. I don't presoak pellets unless I'm adding vita-chem or garlic guard and I think they may have taken it if it was softer. I'm going to try soaking it with my Krill or bloodworms as it thaws and see if that makes a difference. Hoping the familiar taste will hep them get used to the different texture of the food and hopefully they'll learn to associate those pellets with food and I can stop presoaking with the krill and just add vita-chem now and then.
As far as interaction my two bigger Pac-Man stay close to one another but not overly so, but my two small Pac-Man's are almost always side by side. One roams around occasionally but always returns to their friend.
Once again I appreciate your observations and continued experiments. Last night when both pacman's were huddled in the corner I tried what you suggested, just offering just a few pellets, Ken's sticks and a Massivore pellet cut into 4 pieces. They immediately snapped at the mix, then wiggled, as they do, spreading the offerings around in their spot. I did notice them inhaling then spitting things out, the 1/4 Massivevore chunks in particular. Not sure what they ate or didn't really but surely were interested in the mix overall. A few minutes later I gave 'em a small bit of thawed bloodworms and got the similar snapping reaction too but less so. By virtue of their overall shape and protruding lower jaw, of course means that they are best at being predators hidden in the substrate waiting for prey to come near and their morphology suggests they could excel at feeding near the surface too. They are not built to be a bottom feeder such a synodontis for example, they apparently refuse to stand on their head to feed on the bottom as other cats do, unfortunately. Because they are new to me and all, for now I don't mind doing the specialized feeding techniques to accommodate their way of feeding. With all my other fish and tanks, feeding is just a matter of tossing in individualized mixes of pellets and frozen stuff then turning off the lights, done. The pacman's may present a problem when I go on vacation for a week or two, having my petsitter come by to feed the fish from preprepared individualized portions for each of 10 aquariums including the frozen cubes and some needing the live nightcrawlers, etc. Were he or I to just do that with the giraffe cat/pacman tank, the giraffe cat will get all the food. I ask a lot from my petsitter already with needing a half hour just to feed the fish as it is, not to mention looking after my cat. He's very good at everything he does and I tip him well. I'm a bit reluctant to ask him to go through what it takes to cater to the pacman's special needs, such as they seem to be right now. Worst case scenario would be to just increase the guppy population before I leave and hope for the best..
Thanks again
Yellowcat
. I'm glad they're having at least some positive reaction to the pellets. Probably just a matter of time till they get used to it. I haven't seen mine make any move toward the surface, but you mentioning them maybe exceling at feeding at the surface had me thinking. I had seen shallow tanks for plecos by Panta Rhei and while I wouldn't necessarily go with extreme current for these guys but a shallow tank may make surface feeding possible and floating pellets likely to be at least struck at. I'm not sure they would otherwise based on my limited observation thus far as they just don't seem to move much. Well until today, for some unknown and worrying to me reason one of the 2-inch Pac-Man's has become restless, off and on swimming even coming up to just under the water surface. It hasn't been going on long but unusual enough in what I've observed thus far for me to worry. It may just be as simple as his buddy switched sides from one tank to the other and he doesn't like it, as he seems to travel in a fairly circular pattern until he returns to his friend. So perhaps there's something on this side of the tank that is bothering him.
Sorry to hear about your potential vacation issues. I do know what you mean as while their feeding is of particular interest it is tedious and I too am trying to work out a better feeding system for them. Your guppy idea though maybe just what the doctor order for your vacays. Mine still haven't eaten any live food except for the two big Pac-Man's eating one rosy red each during their first few days. So currently the Rosies and Guppies have become pets? I guess? Lol ?They even act as a cleanup crew for any uneaten food which is funny because it puts them in striking distance of the Pac-Man's who just ignore them.
Speaking of funny I got what I think is a funny story. Big Pac-Man's are being kept with my Australian Lungfish. Now my Lung eats pellets but he chews them and almost spits them out before sucking the pellet back in and continuing to chew and then swallow. I wonder can you see where I'm already going? Well I dropped in one of Kens pellets on one of the cats head and poof it disappeared; cool the cat got it. I dropped another pellet for the Lung who is ridiculously slow to find and eat food(which makes him a great tankmate for these guys). Anyway, the lung found the pellet but turned his head and body toward the Pac-Man after doing so. The Lung started doing his thing except when he almost spit the food out the Pac-Man flew out from under the sand and snatched the Lungs mostly chewed pellet right out of his mouth. The poor Lung didn't even know what happened. He looked so funny and sad as he looked one way then the other so slowly then looked down still trying to find the pellet. The Lung then tried searching the area, but I of course took pity on him and dropped another pellet on his head which took him what seems like eons to find. The pellet landed on his head but he moves his head so slow it remained perched on there for several seconds before falling from his slow movement scans, turning his head from left to right. And it took him several more seconds to find it once it did fall. Happened just shortly before I sat down to write this. The Lung is not totally without skill and observation ability though. He does notice me when I approach the tank and immediately looks up waiting for his pellets and is even capable of grabbing them on occasion in mid float down to the bottom.
Yellowcat
. I'm glad they're having at least some positive reaction to the pellets. Probably just a matter of time till they get used to it. I haven't seen mine make any move toward the surface, but you mentioning them maybe exceling at feeding at the surface had me thinking. I had seen shallow tanks for plecos by Panta Rhei and while I wouldn't necessarily go with extreme current for these guys but a shallow tank may make surface feeding possible and floating pellets likely to be at least struck at. I'm not sure they would otherwise based on my limited observation thus far as they just don't seem to move much. Well until today, for some unknown and worrying to me reason one of the 2-inch Pac-Man's has become restless, off and on swimming even coming up to just under the water surface. It hasn't been going on long but unusual enough in what I've observed thus far for me to worry. It may just be as simple as his buddy switched sides from one tank to the other and he doesn't like it, as he seems to travel in a fairly circular pattern until he returns to his friend. So perhaps there's something on this side of the tank that is bothering him.Sorry to hear about your potential vacation issues. I do know what you mean as while their feeding is of particular interest it is tedious and I too am trying to work out a better feeding system for them. Your guppy idea though maybe just what the doctor order for your vacays. Mine still haven't eaten any live food except for the two big Pac-Man's eating one rosy red each during their first few days. So currently the Rosies and Guppies have become pets? I guess? Lol ?They even act as a cleanup crew for any uneaten food which is funny because it puts them in striking distance of the Pac-Man's who just ignore them.
Speaking of funny I got what I think is a funny story. Big Pac-Man's are being kept with my Australian Lungfish. Now my Lung eats pellets but he chews them and almost spits them out before sucking the pellet back in and continuing to chew and then swallow. I wonder can you see where I'm already going? Well I dropped in one of Kens pellets on one of the cats head and poof it disappeared; cool the cat got it. I dropped another pellet for the Lung who is ridiculously slow to find and eat food(which makes him a great tankmate for these guys). Anyway, the lung found the pellet but turned his head and body toward the Pac-Man after doing so. The Lung started doing his thing except when he almost spit the food out the Pac-Man flew out from under the sand and snatched the Lungs mostly chewed pellet right out of his mouth. The poor Lung didn't even know what happened. He looked so funny and sad as he looked one way then the other so slowly then looked down still trying to find the pellet. The Lung then tried searching the area, but I of course took pity on him and dropped another pellet on his head which took him what seems like eons to find. The pellet landed on his head but he moves his head so slow it remained perched on there for several seconds before falling from his slow movement scans, turning his head from left to right. And it took him several more seconds to find it once it did fall. Happened just shortly before I sat down to write this. The Lung is not totally without skill and observation ability though. He does notice me when I approach the tank and immediately looks up waiting for his pellets and is even capable of grabbing them on occasion in mid float down to the bottom.
M
Mikepugman
posted his video here and Yellowcat replied. These posts have been moved to the better suited Kolt's ID thread on the same wrongly-ID'ed fish from the same vendor here: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/pseudopimelodidae-i-d.750022/page-2 posts #14, 15, & 16.
Back to L. Alexandri, apparently they are feeding well, heres a crappy photo of a fat pacman cat!
Just can't help but love that pancake of a fish or as I call them after a meal Bump-o-potamus. Sorry I know lame, but I can't help it.
