10 replies to this topic

[loopsnj64]

So I just got a Scientfic Collection Permit for Blackbanded Sunfish in order to study their social behavior (in Lake Horicon, do expect a Trip report this summer!), I don't have the fish yet, but im a little nervous about WHAT to feed them

-The Blackbanded Sunfish will live in heavily a planted 30 gallon tank
-The water surface of the tank is coated in duckweed and vallisneria leaves, as well as floating anacharis in some places
-The other inhabitants include Rainbow Shiners & Banded Killifish, as well as a single, small, crayfish

So what should I feed the Blackbanded Sunfish... im considering the following
-Flour Beetles
-Bean Beetles
-Springtails
-Smaller Isopod species
-Black/blood/tubifex worms (I know Tubifex should only be a "treat" but im just grouping the 'worms' together)
 

[Betta132]

Cyclop-eeze and bloodworms, both frozen, are probably a good bet. If they won't take those, try microworms or flightless fruit flies, which are both easy to culture. And if your tank is heavily planted and has been set up for awhile, it should have some available bugs for them to snack on.

Careful with that crayfish, though, they don't stay small for long.

[loopsnj64]

Cyclop-eeze and bloodworms, both frozen, are probably a good bet. If they won't take those, try microworms or flightless fruit flies, which are both easy to culture. And if your tank is heavily planted and has been set up for awhile, it should have some available bugs for them to snack on.

Careful with that crayfish, though, they don't stay small for long.

I know, I know... im going to keep a close watch on him

My other concern is GETTING food to the sunfish, given the tankmates (shiners, killifish)

now I know a few people have done this sort of combination... and I am aware of the idea of feeding the shiners on one end, feeding the sunfish on the other end while shiners are distracted

but heres the thing, the tanks surface is  covered in plant material (duckweed, vallisneria leaves, etc.), I think most live food would just take advantage of these "lifeboats" and remain away from even the shiners

...and thats why I want to use live blood/black worms, so I could actually have SINKING food

[mikez]

Don't stress over feeding bbsf.
They will take and thrive and breed on all the common frozen fare. I raised 3 generations on mostly frozen brine shrimp and blood worms.
Don't worry about your other fish either. The bbsf will get right in and compete just fine.

[dsuperman]

I feed mine mosquito larvae when i can. I keep a small tub with live blackworms going to feed them also.

 Frozen bloodworms,frozen brine shrimp, the only pellet food i,ve ever seen them eat and not spit out is the New Life line.

[gerald]

Wild-caught chaetodon might not eat frozen foods at first.  I would make sure to have some live blackworms, mosquitoes, or tiny red earthworms (from leaf piles or compost) available to get them over the stress hump the first week or two.  After they're settled in they're usually less picky and become enthusiastic feeders.

[loopsnj64]

Don't stress over feeding bbsf.
They will take and thrive and breed on all the common frozen fare. I raised 3 generations on mostly frozen brine shrimp and blood worms.
Don't worry about your other fish either. The bbsf will get right in and compete just fine.

 

Wild-caught chaetodon might not eat frozen foods at first.  I would make sure to have some live blackworms, mosquitoes, or tiny red earthworms (from leaf piles or compost) available to get them over the stress hump the first week or two.  After they're settled in they're usually less picky and become enthusiastic feeders.

The only reasons im stressing a little bit over their care are
-I got a permit to have them... as they are a protected species in NJ... I feel obligated to be especially careful
-I have multiple week-long vacations this summer, vacations where the only people I could trust to their care are simply not going to handle live foods...
-It won't be easy for me to get any kind of live food, not because of access issues... but because my mom insists that I feed crickets (you know, the oversized, noisy, smelly things)... because thats the "live food" that shes used to having me feed my pets... so now that I know that literally any other live food is better, she insists that those are somehow worse than crickets (and I simply cannot bear crickets any longer.... such nuisances...)

Should I put together a critter keeper and just keep wild-caught live foods (store/online bought foods will be kept in their cultures) before the collecting trip, so that I have some food for the first few days... (also how do I culture blackworms, the only info I know about them is that people sometimes put them in their substrate... which I don't think would be viable, given the conditions in this tank)

In general, how would I wean them on to frozen/freeze-dried food... is it like with other sunfish... don't feed for a day or two... offer frozen food and cross your fingers in desperate hope that they take it... rejoice if they take it

[gerald]

It's not easy to culture blackworms unless you have a well and can set up a constant flow-thru system.  How about small red earthworms in a tub outside with tree leaves and composted food scraps?  Mom wont mind that, will she?  I trained some blackbanded and bluespotted sunnies onto cichlid mini-pellets (Hikari i think?) years ago by soaking them in thawed bloodworms for 5-10 min until they got soft.  This was of course AFTER they learned to eat frozen bloodworms, which didn't take long. They don't all adapt to flavor-soaked pellets, but some do.  It helps to have at least one fish in the tank who eats the "new" food - that encourgaes the skeptical ones to eat it.

 

Also, we'd love to hear about what sort of study proposal you submitted to the NJ-DEP to get your scientific permit.  They dont exactly hand those out like candy.  Nice achievement! -- must have been a good proposal.

[Dustin]

I have had good success with blackbanded from SC taking freeze dried bloodworms.  They would also eagerly take frozen bloodworms and mosquito larvae.  I had no problem feeding them after the first day or so and found that they are much better feeders than bluespots and most other non-cyprinid natives.

[loopsnj64]

It's not easy to culture blackworms unless you have a well and can set up a constant flow-thru system.  How about small red earthworms in a tub outside with tree leaves and composted food scraps?  Mom wont mind that, will she?  I trained some blackbanded and bluespotted sunnies onto cichlid mini-pellets (Hikari i think?) years ago by soaking them in thawed bloodworms for 5-10 min until they got soft.  This was of course AFTER they learned to eat frozen bloodworms, which didn't take long. They don't all adapt to flavor-soaked pellets, but some do.  It helps to have at least one fish in the tank who eats the "new" food - that encourgaes the skeptical ones to eat it.

 

Also, we'd love to hear about what sort of study proposal you submitted to the NJ-DEP to get your scientific permit.  They dont exactly hand those out like candy.  Nice achievement! -- must have been a good proposal.

Believe me, she minds everything! ...besides, my main concern with anything outside is well... doesn't winter make that food seasonal?

Anyway, what I want to do is study the behavior of the fish (especially their social interactions), I can't find much info on Blackbanded sunfish... not online or on the books... the info I get from both those sources is no more than what follows
-Like weedy, shallow areas
-Have loose schools
-Eat insects

Aside from that, I cant find much information on them, so I decided to change that! (This is seriously one of the most gorgeous fish species I have ever laid eyes upon... its a shame so little is known about them) I went to Lake Horicon a few times (see here http://forum.nanfa.o...ps-summer-2015/) it sounds hard to believe given the fishes incredible appearance and protected status, but the locals apparently have never heard of this fish! (its to the extent I saw someone using a Blackbanded Sunfish as pike bait.

So, I decided to resolve the issue of little being known about the fish
 

Edited by loopsnj64, 27 June 2016 - 10:24 AM.

[dsuperman]

HOW I MAINTAIN A SMALL BLACKWORM CULTURE:

  

   I bought live blackworms from the local fish store about five years ago, using just a very small portion i put them in a small plastic container measuring 12 long by 7 wide by 6 high. I filled the container with clean aquarium water to about four inches, adding  a cut up brown paper bag .  When the paper is gone i add more.

 

 I've left it in dark areas of the fishroom and also in well lit areas. I don't see a difference in yield in either area.

 

 A very slow airline seems to be needed to keep them going. If the air is shut off for a day or two,it is easier to harvest the worms with a turkey baster as they attempt to crawl up the sides.  Usually,this small container can be  harvested once a week, i just swipe a corner bottom,brown sludge and all. It is a job this way to rinse under tap water, then into the refrigerator. Rinsing once a day until all are fed to the fish. Another way to harvest is to drop a white paper towel sheet into the container. The worms will crawl into the layers of the towels, then i shake them out in a bucket of clean water.Some will remain in the towel,i just return it to the container for the next harvest.

 

 If i remember ,i take a few cups of water out once a week and refill with aged water. When feeding flake food to fish i might put a pinch in the worm container [seldom]. 

   

   No worms have been added to this culture in five years. There always seems to be enough for weekly treats for maybe ten fish. The photo of the worms in the last two photos is about 1/4 of the weekly harvest,after i fed the fish.