New pair of Apisto. Agassizi

[Minders]

I got a pair of Agassizi's on Saturday. It took them less than 24 hours to claim a really good "cave" spot in the tank and make it their home. It really was fascinating watching them work themselves into the social structure of the tank. As my tank is predominantly tetras (with the exception of pencilfish, hatchetfish and corys), it's so interesting seeing fish with such a different type of behaviour. Wonderful.

But my question is this... a few days on, I've not actually seen them eat anything. I see their mouths are much different to the rest of the fish in my tank. I fed the tank bloodworms on Saturday and just flakes yesterday and today. I've not seen the Apistos eat any of it. They come out and look around, presumably sensing the excitement of feeding, but they don't seem to eat any of it.

Do I need to feed them something else? Or will they eventually catch on? Will they come to the top to feed? Any experience/advice will be very much appreciated. :wink:

 

[farm41]

They may never come to the top to feed, but they may feed from the bottom when you aren't looking. They may be quite shy and unsure of their new surroundings for a couple weeks. Keep offering them food, and make sure some gets to the bottom for them to look at, and soon they will eat. Don't let the food accumulate on the bottom though.

 

[Minders]

I do try to let some flakes drop down near to where they're staying. Unfortunately, the tetras are quick and greedy. It's hard to get food exactly where I want it. I do, however, make sure there is a burst of flakes in the water (more than the tetras can gobble up in seconds) because of the corys. I try to get food down to them too. So there MUST be food around for the Apistos, but it will only be tiny bits (if it's managed to escape tetras) and they'll have to get there before the corys. I'm sure they'll sort themselves out. I'll keep a close eye to make sure they don't look like they're losing weight. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I'd hate to lose such beautiful (and dare I mention pricey!) fish. I'd rather do it correctly from the outset than end up "fire fighting", if you see what I mean.

 

[farm41]

None of my apistos will eat flakes, they eat mainly live foods and some frozen. Some of my apistos won't even touch the frozen food, it's mainly the wild caught fish though.

 

[Minders]

Hmmm... I think I better ring the fish shop to find out how they were feeding them... That might be a start. Thanks for the info!

 

[Neil]

Minders,
Don't worry about it! Your fish will get the routine. It is likely that they were fed something else. Whenever you change what you fed apistos, they usually take a few days to get with the program. They are also new to the tank. Same deal there. Takes a few days for them to get "on the fed".
Matt has a point about flake. Apistos are less likely to easily eat flake, but they will eat some kinds. I use OSI Marine. My fish seem to like it. Other flake should be acceptable too, but make sure that you give them something else as well. You frozen bloodworms are good. Keep feeding them. If you resort to live brine (likely what your LFS feeds), then you will even have a harder time getting them to eat anything else. That would be a big disadvantage, because it isn't as nutritious as some other foods.
You have alot of fish to hog the food. Make sure that you fed enough to give the apistos a chance and a little time to discover the food. But as Matt says don't foul the tank. You would have to fed alot in your tank to do that.
Neil

 

[mk_ultra]

A tricked I used is shrimp pellets. To hard to gobble going through the water and it lands right where i want it. The apistos then end up foraging in the gravel and find it.

 

[Minders]

Thanks guys. Some good tips there. I will see how they get on. My fish shop has a very comprehensive range of foods, etc. I'm sure I will find a happy balance before long. 8)

 

[2la]

A strategy I used to feed slower A. bitaeniata in a tank featuring ravenous Congo tetras was to get a 2-foot-long 1"-diameter rigid plastic tubing that you can purchase from most aquarium stores, set it upright on the gravel, and drop the food into the tube. Eventually the flake or frozen food will drop to the bottom while the more competitive fish can do nothing but lunge at it from the other side of the plastic. Once the food hits the ground, remove the tubing slowly, and your apistos in time will learn to await their meal in the proximity of the bottom of the tubing. Competitive fish will still get a portion of the food, but a much greater proportion will be available for your slower-feeding fish.

I've come to the realization that competition for food amongst different species is signficantly affecting my tank-stocking practices, and I no longer desire to keep beautiful but hard-to-feed species such as zebra or Queen Arabesque plecos or woodcats with swift tetra or barb species. Apistos are at another distinct disadvantage in that they have pharyngeal teeth, and this necessitates more time to 'chew' their food than more competitive species, which can more readily swallow their food with only a few bites, if any. HTH...

 

[Minders]

This is all fascinating stuff. Like so many others, before I had my own tank, my view of aquariums was like "Oh how pretty and relaxing and gosh isn't that one colourful..." The actually nitty gritty of what's really going on in there totally escaped me. Luckily, now that I know about it, I find it all extremely interesting and relish the challenges it presents.

For instance, until I just read that thread, I'd never heard the term "pharyngeal teeth", but I can guess what it sorta means, and now have something I can go and study and find out about, and I'm sure it will help me in feeding my little apistos.

Last night I fed the fish (flakes, they only get bloodworms twice a week) and the lady apisto came up to have a look, but I think she was scared of my hand and disappeared again. She's a very shy little lady. Presumably she'll get more used to me over time. My other fish eat right from my fingers!! I hold and wiggle the frozen cube of bloodworms so it doesn't just fall as a frozen lump to the bottom, but distributes the worms as they thaw. The fish swarm around nibbling around my fingers like crazy. I love that.

 

[Neil]

21a,
Good post! Great feeding methodology in a situation that lends itself to creative solutions such as that.
Neil

 

[2la]

Thanks kindly, Neil--praise from up high, indeed! BTW, it's 2-L-A, as in "Tula," my actual name. Feel free to refer to me be either spelling, or by "dumbass," which my friends seem to prefer...

 

[Minders]

I fed some bloodworms last night and made sure a little blob of them made it down to the log where my apistos hang out. The male disappeared off into the plants, but the female stayed nearby and I definitely saw her eat one or two bloodworms (despite constant badgering by the tetras). I know the worms distributed all over the tank, and one of my corys had an impossibly fat belly, so I know he must've been tucking into worms somewhere. I'm hoping the male apisto similarly found some worms and ate them. Can't say for sure though.

Anyway, I have also now procured a length of rigid clear plastic tubing which I will also have a go at using and see if me and my apistos can get the hang of it.

Thanks for the advice guys.