What should I be feeding some of my smaller minnows? They cannot get there mouths around my standard pellets and my flakes won't sink.
I have some questions about breeding. First what is the ideal temperature for breeding minnows? Right now I have 10 minnows in a 55 gallon tank. Should there be a higher concentration of fish if I want them to breed? Also, is there a way to sex them? and how big are they when they are mature?
Thanks!
Minnow Advice
Started by
Guest_bassboy753_*
, Dec 15 2009 09:15 PM
13 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Burbot_*
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Posted 16 December 2009 - 12:08 AM
What should I be feeding some of my smaller minnows? They cannot get there mouths around my standard pellets and my flakes won't sink.
Welcome to the forum!
To sink flakes, put some in the tank and stir them with your finger a little to get them to start sinking, or drop them by the filter (if its a powerhead) and let them get pushed down. It works with every kind I have used.
I have never bred minnows, so good luck! It would help if the members knew what kind of minnow you are talking about. Pictures would help a lot too for identification.
Edited by Burbot, 16 December 2009 - 12:09 AM.
#4
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 16 December 2009 - 08:49 AM
Most minnows will eat flakes or very small pellets (like Hikari cichlid baby pellets). But if they're new and wont eat dry foods yet, get some frozen brine shrimp or frozen bloodworms at a pet shop. Did you catch them wild or buy them? If caught wild, tell us where, so we can help you identify them.
#5
Guest_bassboy753_*
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Posted 16 December 2009 - 05:43 PM
Some are rosy red minnows, some are unidentified but they are a translucent grey with a darker stripe down the middle. They coexist in one school quite nicely. They Hover over the semi-buried rocks on the bottom. Actually now there are only two minnows left, I had an 80% kill today. But coming from petsmart I expect no better. I will continue to add them in batches of ten and let the strong survive, as the two that are left are the only two that were completely intact from the day I got home. It won't cost me anything because petsmart has a guarantee that says if my fish die within one week they replace free. So I will continue to cash in on that until I have y desired aquarium.
Here is the fish to ID
Here is the fish to ID
#8
Guest_fundulus_*
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Posted 16 December 2009 - 08:35 PM
OK, I've got bluntnoses on the mind, I've been seeing bunches of them recently... Through the miracle of Google here's a good description of breeding fatheads, which can be mass-produced once you get going.
Breeding the Fathead Minnow
Breeding the Fathead Minnow
#10
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 17 December 2009 - 10:28 AM
Most shops dont make much effort to keep bait/feeder fish healthy. A fathead minnow that wont eat is pretty sad; they're normally gluttons. Something about your picture looks like a NEW tank set-up. Are you sure your filter is well-cycled (i.e. full of nitrifying bacteria to consume anmmonia and nitrite)? If not then ammonia or nitrite build-up could be killing the fish. If so then live fast-growing aquatic plants, filter media or sand from another well-established fish tank, or garden soil should help. Even if replacement fish are free, you'll find it a lot more fun to watch them live and grow, than die.
The question now is where to find a healthy population that is disease free because petsmart obviously can't do it, hahahaha
#11
Guest_BTDarters_*
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Posted 17 December 2009 - 08:31 PM
Maybe it's just me, but that fish looks like a beat-up Common Shiner (Luxilus cornutus). I've seen them in with the Fatheads sometimes at PetSmart. That apparent lateral stripe terminating at the tail has me wondering, though. Hmmmm.
Brian
Brian
#14
Guest_bassboy753_*
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Posted 17 December 2009 - 10:34 PM
It's a beat up looking, probably parasite laden, common shiner. Why not get some healthy fish?
Haha, I would go collect them, but there is ice on all the lakes here. And Gerald, the tank is not new I just took the picture right after I put in a new ruck which stirred up the substrate.
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