a basic feeding question for apisto

[Incredible319]

Sorry if the question seems very trivial but,...

for a pair of apisto (adult or almost adult), how much of freshly hatched brine shrimp would you feed them? I understand that these things are very tiny when hatched but....

for sure, the one in this video is overfeeding, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoAKTPl6qs

I feed mine probably 1/8th of this amount - am I underfeeding them?

I read that it can foul the water very badly if not eaten. So, i feed them only a small amount such that they can finish it. I didnt try to overfeed to find the limit though.

thks.

[stormhawk]

In the video, that is a lot of BBS being used, it is better to feed fry at regular intervals than all at once.

Adult apistos do not gain much nutrition from BBS, because they are small. You are better off feeding the adults with adult brine shrimp and/or dried foods if they have adapted to them.

[Incredible319]

oh i see..Sure, i have been feeding them more of the hatched ones for the past weeks. I was scared to get adult ones from shop in case they carry some kind of disease.

but i feed them the frozen ones too though.

[stormhawk]

Adult brine shrimp are usually free of disease as long as they were cultured in clean conditions. If you do feed your fish with adult brine shrimp, just net them out from a container, and rinse under running tap water, then just feed to your fish. Since they require marine-like conditions to be cultured, it is highly unlikely the adults will bring any disease with them, but as with all foods, be it dried, live or frozen, some caution is necessary. Rule of thumb, the adult brine shrimp must be swimming around vigorously.

[Incredible319]

Ok, i will do so. During weekend, i went to C328 for some brine shrimp but it was out of stock already..i will try to get hold of some..

[David]

Uncle...Hikari Mysis Shrimps....this is good.

I think I spelt the middle word wrong.....

[vic_tan0911]

hi bro how to grow the adult brine shrimp??

[EdwinTay]

hi All

With my little knowledge of science, I would recommend a varied diet. I feed my apistos frozen bloodworm (for protein), frozen brine shrimp & frozen daphnia (calcium) & dried food which is the $5 per bag luohan pellet with spirulina, pounded into bits (ruffage). Occasionally, I buy live daphnia but have to scoop them out because the water they come in is often very dirty. I feed on alternative days. If you put plants in the tanks, I believe apistos can go about a week without feeding. Also, one senior brother recommended putting Malayan or cherry shrimps ($10/ bag of 50) - the apistos eat the larvae.

So far, this method works very well as it;
1) reduces costs (You must count transport every time you go buy live food),
2) reduces risk of infection (especially from live tubifex),
3) reduces wasted time
4) reduces hassle (e.g. hatching brine shrimps)
5) my apistos seem very healthy & I have relative success in breeding them

[stormhawk]

hi bro how to grow the adult brine shrimp??

Hello Vic,

Growing the BBS to adulthood requires a proper tank with a cycled filter and marine-like conditions. They are filter feeders so stuff like Liquifry Marine will work. However, this is not economical for a home hobbyist because of the time and space required.

[vic_tan0911]

hi All

With my little knowledge of science, I would recommend a varied diet. I feed my apistos frozen bloodworm (for protein), frozen brine shrimp & frozen daphnia (calcium) & dried food which is the $5 per bag luohan pellet with spirulina, pounded into bits (ruffage). Occasionally, I buy live daphnia but have to scoop them out because the water they come in is often very dirty. I feed on alternative days. If you put plants in the tanks, I believe apistos can go about a week without feeding. Also, one senior brother recommended putting Malayan or cherry shrimps ($10/ bag of 50) - the apistos eat the larvae.

So far, this method works very well as it;
1) reduces costs (You must count transport every time you go buy live food),
2) reduces risk of infection (especially from live tubifex),
3) reduces wasted time
4) reduces hassle (e.g. hatching brine shrimps)
5) my apistos seem very healthy & I have relative success in breeding them

hi bro
may i know what brand you used for the frozen bloodworm (for protein), frozen brine shrimp & frozen daphnia (calcium)?? frozen food its clean?? its safe? dont have any germ or Disease？？

[stormhawk]

Locally in Singapore, most people would go with Hikari brand for frozen foods. They are sterilised before packing, but like any other frozen food, if it thaws too much in transit back to your home, the food will spoil faster. Potential disease would be intestinal problems due to increased bacterial activity, especially if the food has spoiled or is close to spoiling. Any kind of fish food has a risk but read the following tips if you want to know whether it's fresh or not:

For bloodworm - Fresh frozen ones are bright red to red in color.
For brine shrimp - Frozen brine shrimp should be orange to pinkish in color, white when it enters the water.
For daphnia - frozen cubes should be brownish to slightly pinkish in color, white when in the water.

Most manufacturers claim to have sterilised their products before packing. Whatever the case is, it pays to be observant and diligent with frozen food at all times. Feeding them spoiled frozen food will lead to bigger problems. If the bloodworms are too big, just use a tweezer to grab a few thawed ones then use a scissor to cut it down to smaller pieces. Works great for species with smaller mouths.

[vic_tan0911]

hi bro ... its very clear i got it, thanks your information

[vic_tan0911]

Locally in Singapore, most people would go with Hikari brand for frozen foods. They are sterilised before packing, but like any other frozen food, if it thaws too much in transit back to your home, the food will spoil faster. Potential disease would be intestinal problems due to increased bacterial activity, especially if the food has spoiled or is close to spoiling. Any kind of fish food has a risk but read the following tips if you want to know whether it's fresh or not:

For bloodworm - Fresh frozen ones are bright red to red in color.
For brine shrimp - Frozen brine shrimp should be orange to pinkish in color, white when it enters the water.
For daphnia - frozen cubes should be brownish to slightly pinkish in color, white when in the water.

Most manufacturers claim to have sterilised their products before packing. Whatever the case is, it pays to be observant and diligent with frozen food at all times. Feeding them spoiled frozen food will lead to bigger problems. If the bloodworms are too big, just use a tweezer to grab a few thawed ones then use a scissor to cut it down to smaller pieces. Works great for species with smaller mouths.

hi bro do you know what the diffrent both of this blood worm??
UVChiChong.gifduoWeiChiChong32.gif

[stormhawk]

Right hand side is imitation of Hikari's product, with the same design etc. The difference is in quality and the size of the bloodworm. Hikari tends to have bigger sized bloodworms, the imitation brand contains mostly small sized bloodworms. Most of these FBW are packaged in China, where I think they culture the midge larvae aka bloodworm in big ponds with a lot of organic matter, say duck ponds and such. Hikari claims to treat their frozen food with UV radiation to kill bacteria and such. No idea if the other product gets the same treatment.

[vic_tan0911]

Right hand side is imitation of Hikari's product, with the same design etc. The difference is in quality and the size of the bloodworm. Hikari tends to have bigger sized bloodworms, the imitation brand contains mostly small sized bloodworms. Most of these FBW are packaged in China, where I think they culture the midge larvae aka bloodworm in big ponds with a lot of organic matter, say duck ponds and such. Hikari claims to treat their frozen food with UV radiation to kill bacteria and such. No idea if the other product gets the same treatment.

hi bro you mean right hand side that one was fake? so you suggest i use the left hand side that one?
but both of that picture i get from hikari chinese official website,
http://www.hikari.cn/Product/LDprdshow.asp?id=37
http://www.hikari.cn/Product/LDprdshow.asp?id=42

[stormhawk]

There are fakes out there with the same packaging. If you got the pictures off their China website then that means one is radiated with UV and the other by some other method. Both are fine to use, but you must see how big your fish can swallow. Some batches of frozen bloodworm are huge. I bought a pack once, did not know how big the size was, but they were twice the size of the normal small bloodworm. Frankly speaking, I would go with the UV radiated bloodworm. Make sure you thaw the worms in a cup of water before feeding, so the worms warm up to room temperature. They should move easily with a pair of tweezers and not be stiff. I don't like to just drop the cube in the tank and wait for it to melt away. IMO, too cold and it might cause the fish discomfort, but that's just me.

[Incredible319]

hey bro,

Get these ones and save yourself the trouble of going for an unknown brand.. Its costs SGD1 at C328.

hi bro do you know what the diffrent both of this blood worm??
UVChiChong.gifduoWeiChiChong32.gif

[stormhawk]

Incredible319, he is located in Malaysia. FBW stock and availability there may be different from what we have here.

@vic_tan0911, how much is a pack of FBW in Malaysia? In RM that is.

[Incredible319]

oops..sorry, my bad..

[joopsg]

hey bro,

Get these ones and save yourself the trouble of going for an unknown brand.. Its costs SGD1 at C328.

hi bro do you know what the diffrent both of this blood worm??
UVChiChong.gifduoWeiChiChong32.gif

Hi bro, when i was keeping fishes way before my Apistogramma. I actually purchase these 2 type of hikari. Apparently, the first one is one from hikari. The second is from the oem plant of hikari but it is from china. The first one worms in my opinion is red and fat. The second one quite a number of dead ones and my cichlids also do not like to eat.

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