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sculpin food?

Started by Guest_cjones_* , Apr 25 2009 08:36 PM

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11 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_cjones_*

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Posted 25 April 2009 - 08:36 PM

I recently caught a sculpin what do these guys eat?

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#2 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 25 April 2009 - 09:41 PM

Darters.

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#3 Guest_smilingfrog_*

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Posted 26 April 2009 - 03:39 AM

Darters.

...and other small fish and invertebrates.

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#4 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 26 April 2009 - 11:02 AM

Irate is almost never serious so please pay little attention to him. Like a comedian though his comments could not be funny if they did not contain a fair amount of truth. Sculpin have very large mouths and are capable of eating tankmates almost equal in size. At first I would recommend using chunks of frozen food and placing them on a small skewer or tongs. In my experience with Mottled and Banded Sculpin they first prefer moving foods but quickly learn to accept motionless frozen food. Pieces of frozen fish and market shrimp worked well for me.

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#5 Guest_cjones_*

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Posted 26 April 2009 - 05:47 PM

Irate is almost never serious so please pay little attention to him. Like a comedian though his comments could not be funny if they did not contain a fair amount of truth. Sculpin have very large mouths and are capable of eating tankmates almost equal in size. At first I would recommend using chunks of frozen food and placing them on a small skewer or tongs. In my experience with Mottled and Banded Sculpin they first prefer moving foods but quickly learn to accept motionless frozen food. Pieces of frozen fish and market shrimp worked well for me.

haha thanks well he is in a tank with 6 darters so I will keep a close count

thanks for the info

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#6 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 26 April 2009 - 06:15 PM

While not being serious he is really right. Aside from smaller sculpins, darters are small, benthic, and readily fit into a sculpins mouth. I've collected at least a dozen large sculpin before with darters hanging out of their mouths.

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#7 Guest_Sombunya_*

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Posted 27 April 2009 - 10:35 AM

I have three fresh water Sculpins in a 20 gallon tank, the longest is about 4 inches long.

I threw about 20 small Rosies in there to keep for later feeding to my Bluegills. Two hours later there were 7 left.

I turn off the filter and feed Bloodworms. They seem to like that. Also, they seem very, very shy compared to my Bluegills. If I walk into the room they quickly hide so I stay away at feeding time.

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#8 Guest_cjones_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 10:13 AM

This one is about 2 inches, so he is the same length as the darters he just has a giant mouth by comparison. I fed him earthworms with a skewer yesterday and he seemed to really like them.

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#9 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 10:20 AM

I would guess if you skip a feeding or fail to feed the sculpin enough, the darters will not last long. I believe it was Martin who first used the "Highlander" mantra in regards to sculpin? There can be only one.

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#10 Guest_Drew_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 12:18 PM

I made the mistake of keeping one with juvenile rainbow darters and lost a couple before I realized what happened. Having purchased the rainbow darters, I was not happy.

They will eat small guppies as well.

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#11 Guest_Bob_*

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Posted 29 April 2009 - 08:33 AM

Mottled sculpins, at least, have no qualms about taking on food that's too large for them, even if they're comparatively well fed. When I first started keeping them, I found one dead after choking on a large fantail darter.

You can train them to come to a turkey baster full of blackworms. Dribble the blackworms out slowly enough so they don't get into the gravel. They'll pick off guppies and other feeders, but, since darters hug the bottom, it takes them awhile. If you're keeping them with something that's more active, you might train them to take feeders, and eventually, strips of fish, from a pair of long forceps.