They will get about 3-4cm long (body). I feed my mom's frog frozen brine and mysis shrimp. They are pretty much carnivores, so any meaty food is fine. Pelleted food for community fish may have too much plant matter in it. It won't hurt them, but I'd make sure they get some frozen brine shrimp or the like as well. They WILL eat anything that fits in their mouth and is not quick enough to get away, that includes endler and guppy fry, so keep that in mind.

 

Meaty foods frozen and live with a pipette is a great way! And they'll love you for it.

 

Oh fry are not a problem, i hope they nab a few!
As i said, mine are 1cm and slightly bigger, so im glad theyll from a bit! even 2 cm would be better! They are just so damned tiny! I keep searching the tank for them!
Is there any specific brands of food you feed? preferably ones you dont have to refrigerate or freeze..my roommate would have a hissy if i put the food in the fridge!
Also, ill be getting two more, as i read they like to be in groups..is this correct?

 

Hey, I have a question. How do these guys do with smaller bottom dwelling fish, such as pygmy cories?

 

I have otos and two CPO in the same tank and the only confrontation I notice is when they have to share a food source. Otherwise they mind their own IME.

 

I have four in a 20l they started in a five gallon with a betta when they were about an inch head to toes. I haven't noticed blatant socializing but they do tussle a lot among each other and tend to not bother their tank mates unless provoked. They'll eat most things in my experience, I've seen them tear up algae sheets I feed my otos, and I also feed them pellets heavy in protein. Not sure if that's good or bad but they're healthy and happy.

 

Those guys are so cute, I loved keeping them.

I'd suggest putting some pantyhose over the filter intake. ADFs have such tiny feet and you don't want anyone getting their toes sucked in.

 

freeze dried food or pellets for carnivores would work well too. Only problem with freeze dried worms and such is that they float. You'd have to soak them in water for a while until they sank a bit.

Another option is the Repashy gel foods. They make one called "Meat pie" for carnivores. It is a powder that doesn't need refrigerated, that you just mix with hot water and let sit for a bit, it turns into a gel that you can cut into small chunks and feed. You do however need to refrigerate any leftovers, they last about a week or two in the fridge.

 

Taari - is that what the food is actually labeled? my favorite lps carries repashy. I wonder if i could feed the mixture before it turns to gel? or would going that cause it to harm the little guys insides?
Cause i dont have real long tweezers, and the ones i have are really pointed at the end, and i dont want to use them cause im scared that theyll stab themselves! They flee from my hand, and i have a very planted tank, so its really hard to follow them. Thats why i use the pipette, cause its stem is really long, and can get into the stems and stalks where my and would tear up the scape.

Cavedweller- i do have to get a pre filter...now that i have nano fish, i really need it! Right now, i took a floating water sprite with big roots, and let the intake suck that to it. The flow lessened a bit, but until i get a prefilter, it works. lol

How fast do these guys grow? I had ACF before, labeled as ADF, but the two i bought never grew. They were both females, and stayed 2 inches long for the next two years, when i rehomed them. is size a good indicator for age? I know with some fish species, temperature, feeding, and tank conditions has alot to do with how fast they grow rather than how old they are. Im not sure if ADF are the same way.

 

How fast do these guys grow? I had ACF before, labeled as ADF, but the two i bought never grew. They were both females, and stayed 2 inches long for the next two years, when i rehomed them. is size a good indicator for age? I know with some fish species, temperature, feeding, and tank conditions has alot to do with how fast they grow rather than how old they are. Im not sure if ADF are the same way.

ADF's shouldn't get over 1.5 inches in their life, when I bought mine they were very small, maybe a half inch.

Are you sure they were ACF's? I have three of those around a year old and mine hit two inches in the first three months. My females is around 5" now, the males both around 4". Females also get larger than the males.

As for food, I fed mine frozen bloodworms on occasion but mostly HBH (or zoomed) frog and tadpole bites, they're cheap and work well. They sink and the frogs have no problem finding them.

 

http://www.store.repashy.com/repashy-superfoods/retail/by-product-name-en/meat-pie-fish-gel/

They also probably have it on amazon or like you said, it might be at your LFS. You might be able to let it gel according to the directions, then kind of chop it up and mix it with a little extra water and suck it up with the pipette. The finished gel does sink, which is helpful as ADF's need sinking food.

Another option is some kind of pellet meant for carnivores, such as betta pellets.

 

I am feeding mine the frozen brine shrimp using a small plastic pipete. Once they "smell" the food they come right up to the pipete so I don't have to search through the tank.