I recieved some Banded pygmies from Zimmermans today..All the research I have done says they must be fed live foods. I do have some brine shrimp eggs set up in a hatchery but I decided to experiment...so far they have eaten tropical flake food,some of it they spit out but most gets eaten, Hikari cichlids pellets that I ground up into small pieces,they eat it when it is falling and when it is on the bottom going at it and picking it apart. Convict fry..very small. These where all fed in small quantities for this trial, plus there are 6 ghost shrimp in the tank that seem to enjoy the food as well. I am going to track this a bit through the next few days and possibly weeks and see how they do. Any one else have any luck feeding these little guys other food items than live.
Feeding banded pygmies
Started by
Guest_brian1973_*
, Dec 05 2008 12:05 AM
7 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_rjmtx_*
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 12:18 AM
Mine do get all types of live inverts, as well as all the newly htched snails they can stand, but I also feed them frozen bloodworms. They'll take them out of my hand. I bet you could get them on flakes, but they eat so little that, for me at least, the bloodworms go a long way.
#3
Guest_ashtonmj_*
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 06:52 AM
Mine have been devouring live blackworms. I've also fed them frozen bloodworms, live brine shrimp, and frozen daphnia.
#4
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 09:36 AM
Any one else have any luck feeding these little guys other food items than live.
I have kept and bred Okefenokees and Bandeds feeding them almost completely with frozen brine, mysis, tubifex, etc.
They hit it when falling and then seem to learn that it is food adn will chase it to and pick it off the bottom as well.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#5
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 01:24 PM
Mine live mostly on live and frozen daphnia and frozen bloodworms and mysis, but they also eat some of the crushed krill pellets and tropical flake I put in for the killifish.
#6
Guest_brian1973_*
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 04:12 PM
Thanks all for your input, tonight I will try frozen bloodworms, I saw the live food requirement and about died, I thought why didnt I see that before I ordered them. Brian Zimmerman did tell me he was feeding them frozen bloodworms as well, I looked into black worms but since I moved to Texas I am renting out a room from a relative and I dont think she will go with worms in her fridge...lol
#7
Guest_ashtonmj_*
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 06:04 PM
Speaking of banded pygmies from Brian. I've had mine for two weeks in a 5 gal that is 2/3 solid javamoss with duckweed on top and a very small sponge filter. I've made two minimal water changes and feed blackwoms 5 days a week. One fish is obvious a male and is already doing an amazing dance. He approaches smaller, bland pygmies (assuming females) alternates his pelvic fins 2-4 times, undulates his caudal fin, and then undulates his body. I've seen this pattern repeated 3 times in the past 10 minutes. Thinking of setting up a webcam or getting the digital video recorder out to continue and monitor and take behavioral notes.
#8
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 05 December 2008 - 06:17 PM
My pygmys eat a mix of blackworms and white worms. I occasionally dump a big portion of blackworms in the tank, and they eventually get eaten over time. I feed the white worms in a tiny glass dish that keeps them from burying into the soil. It's interesting - even though they are cultured in a soil/peat media, they live for at least a few days underwater in that dish. I've never seen one die before getting eaten.
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