i have a senegal bichir and its not eating what should i do?

Question

i got it 4 days ago and iv offered it feeder guppies and earthworms ? what else should i try because its not showing any interest

Answer 1

Check with the store where you bought it to find out what they were feeding it. Sometimes fish can be tempermental when moved into a new environment and are given new foods to eat. It's possible they may have been giving it frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, or something else, and it doesn't recognize that the guppies are food, or they may be larger than it wants to eat.

Also, make sure you're water quality is good (proper temperature, ammonia and nitrite =0, nitrates below 30).

If you intend to feed live foods, it might be better to set up your own breeding tank of guppies. Store-bought feeders might be carrying parasites or bacterial infections which could transfer to the bichir. At least if you raise the food yourself, you know the health of the feeders.

Answer 2

Read this and go to this web page: We are starting to see more and more of these fish imported and they tend to do well in aquaria. They are a bottom dweller and do most of the food foraging at night. They are Carnivorous, but this should be no problem as they will thrive on earthworms, tubifex worms and fish flesh cut into strips. In nature they would hunt for insects and other invertebrates. The tank should be large and not overly bright. You must provide plenty of hiding places either as rockwork or driftwood. Make sure if your keeping more than one that each fish has its own place to hide. You are likely not to see them much during the day but at feeding time they will come out and forage. They have a highly developed sense of smell and will know as soon as food is added to the tank. They can be territorial to each other, but if they have their own space this will be minimized. They can be kept with other medium to large sized non aggressive fish. They have a reputation as being great escape artists and can move on land for short lengths, so take proper precautions with your tank cover.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile41.html

Answer 3

First thing to consider is your fish's environment. Are there other aggressive fish in the tank? Is there plenty of pvc pipes and caves for it to hide in? Have you tested the water for ammonia? If you have done all these things and the ammonia is very low to zero, then I would recommend frozen bloodworms. Freeze dried krill will also be eaten. Try the bloodworms first. At work, we feed them live black worms. If you can find them at a fish store, then I would try them as well.

Answer 4

I put flakes, blood worms, and cichlid pellets (little balls) in the tank my Bichir is in and he loves the cichlid pellets. He struggles to get them to stay in his mouth, but is very persistent.