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Hikari Vibra Bites For Picky Eaters?


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#1 Peixe11

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Posted 25 September 2020 - 05:49 PM

Just got some blue spotted sunfish from Zimmermans fish and I have been pleasantly surprised by them. From lurking this forum I would have assumed them to be really shy and reluctant eaters. They're anything but. I got them them delivered Tuesday night and they are already rushing to the front of the glass when I enter the room.

 

I've already fed them frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp (what fish doesnt like those?) but have also started throwing the Hikari vibrabites in https://www.hikarius...ibra_bites.htmlthese are supposed to be good pellets for picky feeders and all the blue spotteds attack them without hesitation before spitting them out. However after 2 feedings some of them seem to be swallowing them. Anybody tried them on other natives that don't like processed foods like darters?



#2 centrarchid

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Posted 25 September 2020 - 09:45 PM

I will give them a shot. The magical complete feed for me has been Otihime which Bantams, both crappie species and flier go nuts for.


Find ways for people not already interested in natives to value them.

#3 El Todd

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Posted 26 September 2020 - 10:17 AM

I think the thing with bluespotted sunfish might be that they are shy when taken from the wild and not shy at all if raised in captivity from a very young age. Thanks for the tip on the Vibra bites, they look like they have a respectable amount of protein - I'll probably end up trying them on my darters and maybe even see if the chubsucker likes them.



#4 gerald

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Posted 27 September 2020 - 11:13 PM

Soaking pellets in thawed brine shrimp until they soften can be a good way to get picky fish used to eating pellets.


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#5 UncleWillie

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Posted 29 September 2020 - 06:54 AM

Thanks for sharing, Peixi and Centrarchid.  Similar to Gerald, I had some luck feeding Hikari pellets/food sticks to picky pirate perch by softening them up for a minute in a sludge of thawed bloodworms.


Willie P


#6 MtFallsTodd

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Posted 01 October 2020 - 06:12 PM

Ordered some yesterday, I'll let you know how they work out.
Deep in the hills of Great North Mountain

#7 JasonL

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Posted 04 October 2020 - 03:25 PM

I ordered some and tried it out this week on some of my more finicky fish.

 

I have a couple flier and a chubsucker who loved it right away with no training.   My River Darter did as well but he will eat just about anything including shrimp pellets. Not sure if this is the species or the individual.   My other darter species are ambivalent thus far.  It’s possible they may acclimate over time since it does look like small bits of bloodworm and sinks.
 

I think I will keep some on hand from now on.  It has potential for finicky fish in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 



#8 El Todd

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Posted 06 October 2020 - 09:42 AM

I tried the vibra bites this morning. I like how they sink pretty quickly. The darters ate them very readily, I think they thought they were bloodworms the way they were kind of sneaking up on them before lunging. My chubsucker seemed kind of indifferent; but he's slow to adjust to things, anything really.



#9 MtFallsTodd

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Posted 06 October 2020 - 12:26 PM

Got mine yesterday, everything loved them. Going to catch some rainbow darters, put them in a seperate tank to see how quick they take to them.
Deep in the hills of Great North Mountain

#10 El Todd

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Posted 06 October 2020 - 05:11 PM

Some of my darters are rainbow darters, they ate it without any problems. The darters  are from Catoctin creek in Maryland, I caught them about a year ago on a collection trip with Chasmodes and a couple other people.

.



#11 JasonL

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Posted 06 October 2020 - 05:30 PM

My orangethroat, redline, and mud darters are now onboard.  Logperch not yet.

 

Overall I am very pleased thus far. 



#12 Peixe11

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Posted 06 October 2020 - 06:46 PM

Glad to know darters like them too! I think that will be the next native tank I try for. The Blue Spotted sunfish are now eating pellets I drop into the tank too, I'll probably experiment with flakes soon.



#13 doubleatraining

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Posted 09 October 2020 - 12:20 PM

I grabbed a small bag of them when I was at my LFS last week. I took a rolling pin to them so the pieces would be smaller. The Bluefin Killies really seem to attack them. I was able to get the pieces small enough for my Threadfin Rainbows too!



#14 Chasmodes

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Posted 14 October 2020 - 01:21 PM

Thanks everyone for the heads up.  I'll have to give these a try.


Kevin Wilson


#15 El Todd

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Posted 14 October 2020 - 03:30 PM

The vibra bites seem to be working well for the chubsucker now. That thing is a nightmare to try and feed while maintaining good water quality; with this food he seems to be getting enough to eat without making things too messy.



#16 Chasmodes

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Posted 17 October 2020 - 12:39 PM

I'm definitely ordering some today.  Todd, do you think that these would work well in an auto feeder to feed the darters?  I'm thinking that this could solve future vacation issues.

 

I have another question related to the one above...will the darters get any in a tank full of cyprinids?  My cyprinids are pigs.


Kevin Wilson


#17 El Todd

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Posted 17 October 2020 - 05:54 PM

I'm definitely ordering some today.  Todd, do you think that these would work well in an auto feeder to feed the darters?  I'm thinking that this could solve future vacation issues.

 

I have another question related to the one above...will the darters get any in a tank full of cyprinids?  My cyprinids are pigs.

I have a cyprinid and darter mix but the setup is very different from yours; the water level is only 11" so the darters have no problems getting food. The vibra bites might work well in a feeder - but you might have to make some adjustments in your situation; perhaps a mix of floating food with the vibra bites. The vibra bites sink pretty fast.



#18 MtFallsTodd

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 07:35 AM

I've made a feeding station with an undergravel uplift tube to get food to the darters level. It didn't take them long to figure out it meant food.
Deep in the hills of Great North Mountain

#19 lilyea

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Posted 22 October 2020 - 03:14 PM

There are some soft pellets in the saltwater hobby that I have found to be effective with picky eaters.  One brand that I have used is ME Corals, but there are a few others that are available.



#20 gzeiger

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Posted 28 October 2020 - 10:04 AM

I always have good luck with Ken's food too (kensfish.com). Just look at the ingredients and you'll see why. Vibra Bites looks like a good product compared to most on the market, but there's still a lot of grain in there, and it's relatively expensive compared to Ken's mixtures.






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