Food for Badis and dario

[VishaalDalal]

Hi, have been facing a unique dilemma when feeding the fish in the tank.

1. Any live food(microfex, wriglers, grindals) are eaten before they hit the lower areas where the badis stay.
2. I have read on the net that Tubefex can cause stomach disorders in Badis and Dario.

what I do.
a. put some tetrabits at one corner and the live food in the other corner.
b. use a long pipe to bypass the water column and feed directly near the substrate.

any other suggestions specially for point No 2

[bmukh]

What are the tankmates you have? Darios will not be able to compete with Badis for food. To feed Darios, try Micrworms and Brine Shrimps. Tubifex is a bad idea.

[SCORPIO]

Feeding Tubifex is not a good option. Most of the sites advice that they creates health problems in fishes.

My dario-darios are living on seed shrimps and RCS fry.

[VishaalDalal]

ok sorry for the incomplete info.

Tank 1
1. 4-5 endlers
2. 1 SAE
3. 3 glass bloodfin tetras (these i want to sell)
4. 1 pair of rams.
5. 5 badis singenensis
6. 10 to 15 RCS

moss, ferns and a few stem plants

Tank 2
1. 8 Dario Dario
2. 6 CPD
3. 3 male endlers
4. rcs

1. I am not feeding tubefex but as Microfex is similar hence my question.

[vijendra_s123]

The best bet would be to give the Badis and the Dario their own tanks atleast till they settle down and get used to the feeding process in a tank, these would probably be wild caught ones (gradually they learn to accept food in a closed environment, my Badis and darios even used to eat frozen food)

Tubifex is a big no no for them...

[VishaalDalal]

they are in seperate tanks.

No tubefex is being fed but as Microfex is a type of tubefex i posted the question.

[vijendra_s123]

they are in seperate tanks.

No tubefex is being fed but as Microfex is a type of tubefex i posted the question.

Both the species are in seperate tanks but have several tank mates, tubifex is a no no for them as the source from where it is obtained by shop keepers is not know, they might be collected from polluted waters, where as microfex is cultured by us only and we know what we are feeding them is safe...

By the way the Badis will rip apart the RCS, so shift the RCS to the other tank

[bmukh]

For tank 2, remove te Endlers to tank 1. Darios wont have problems in eating. For tank 1, First fed the others tetrabits...then try feeding the Badis. Do not put the entire live feed in one go. Do bit by bit...soon the badis will come to the top. It always does so with me. Then feed

[Romi]

Vishaal,

The article you have read , i have read also, (seriouslyfish.com ). The harm lies in feeding Tubifex species too often, not in feeding it occasionally, (say twice a week). Nearly the same harm comes of feeding White Worms and Grindal Worms everyday (both different in only size with regard to the nutrition they provide). You should not feed them Enchytraeus worms (white and grindal) more than thrice a week.

If you want to be a responsible Badis spp. keeper, learn to respect snails as a staple diet. No twice a week or thrice a week restrictions there...

Badis love pond snails (Physa sp.) though MTS are too hard for them (though i suspect they can eat newborns in desperation). Pond snails breed rapidly, are small, look fine. there are some red types in them, which look positively decorative. Shrimplets are good too, but hey, i love my shrimp too much

Pond snails are easy, if u give them a separate container to grow in. Change water occasionally, feed greens or any stale food u dont want to give the fishes, give a spone filter. Your Badis will become 'Badaaaa' .. ...

They are very alert, very alive fish, eating all kinds of microfauna in a planted tank, over and beyond any dwarf cichlids ability to scavenge..

Good luck

[bmukh]

Vishaal,

The article you have read , i have read also, (seriouslyfish.com ). The harm lies in feeding Tubifex species too often, not in feeding it occasionally, (say twice a week). The same harm can come of feeding White Worms and Grindal Worms (both different in only size with regard to the nutrition they provide).

If you want to be a responsible Badis spp. keeper, learn to respect snails. Badis love pond snails (Physa sp.) though MTS are too hard for them (though i suspect they can eat newborns in desperation).

Pond snails are easy, if u give them a separate container to grow in. Change water occasionally, feed greens or any stale food u dont want to give the fishes.

Good luck

Romi,
The article I think talks about how high nutrition etc are present in tubifex which is not good for the fishes in long run. Our concern is different, tubifex collected from polluted water source inevitably contain parasites that will infect the fishes almost instantaneously. So for me tubifex is a strict No No.......although could try it if I culture them or clean them very well