Weening Apisto fry from BBS

[davidjp1982]

Just wondering if anyone has had any success weening apisto fry onto dried food? I have a batch of fry 6-7 weeks old and I'm feeding BBS twice daily now each time adding a small amount of ground flake food, although as expected they seem to ignore the flake. Just wondering if anyone has any experience of successfully transferring to dried food? Is it possible or are daily hatching of BBS the only way to keep them alive? Thanks.

 

[gerald]

Like most of us, they go for their favorites first. Try adding less BS, so they dont get full, and then see if they eat flakes when the BS are gone. Some will of course start eating it sooner than others, and will grow faster, so you might need to segregate sizes if they grow too unevenly. Some individuals might never accept dry food. Also depends on species: cacatu, mac, panduro, regani-group are usually pretty good about learning to eat dry foods. In my limited experience, the slim-bodied species like bitaen, aggasi, and pertens are more picky. Anyway, DO keep some live or fresh-frozen foods in their diet for long-term health. Ad cooked veggies too - sweet potato is my current favorite - I've been amazed how many fish love it, including carnivorous tetras, bettas, darters, etc.

 

[davidjp1982]

Great thanks - as soon as I finished typing that post I noticed my triple reds have just spawned so won't be turning off the hatchery just yet!

 

[Simon Morgan]

You could also transition them on to microworm before going onto dry food.