Question about Bumblebee Catfish

[Abbeys_Mom]

Congrats on the new fish :)

[Drumachine09]

They are the fastest fish i have every kept! You gotta lovem though

[Sasquatch]

They are the fastest fish i have every kept! You gotta lovem though

Fastest how? They move fast?

What do you feed them to make them go so fast?

We can't wait to get him into the quarantine and eventually into the 10g. I'll keep you posted about how things are coming along.

[Fishguy2727]

They usually dart around eratically when disturbed from their hides, probably pretty stressful so try to avoid it.

[Sasquatch]

Well, I'm just back from the LFS, with the bumblebee in tow. He's acclimating to the quarantine and seems to be fine.

We couldn't find Hikari Carnivore Pellets, so I bought the Hikari Sinking Wafers and some Nutrafin Sinking Shrimp Pellets. It should to until we get him into the 10g and then we'll feed him some earthworms as a treat.

[Severus]

Congratulations! Good luck with him

[Fishguy2727]

I would hold off on the earthworms and all live foods. If you can't find the Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets you should get a varied diet of prepared foods such as those you have now as well as frozen things like beefheart, squid, and the like.

[Sasquatch]

I'll look around some of the other fish stores for the carnivore pellets. I looked at the foods in stock where I bought the fish and there wasn't really anything specifically for carnivores or fish with a penchant for meat. The closest I could find were the shrimp pellets. The Hikari pellets are marketed for catfish, but I more for corys and plecos.

As for frozen food, I'll probably get some shrimp and try to find some beef hearts (though I was cautioned against hearts by the guys at Planet Catfish).

Why shouldn't I use live foods? Is it a parasite thing, or to keep agression down?

In any case, thanks for all the help and encouragement.

[jeffs99dime]

with live food disease can be spread very easily, can create unwanted aggression, and can ween your fish away from accepting anything else. i know i'm forgetting something else here.

[Fishguy2727]

Live foods are the best way to introduce a vast number of parasites and diseases, are not even close to nutritionally complete, can increase aggression, are totally unnecessary if they will accept prepared foods, and don't really have any benefits that I can think of. You will get a much healthier fish and tank, better colors, better growth, and easier feeding if you stick with just prepared foods. You can use beefheart as long as you use it in moderation.