[Wheely34]

I'm running into some trouble as to how to get food, whether it's flakes, bloodworms, vegitation, down to my red tail shark. He lives in a Barb community tank and as many know, barbs are like little pirhana when it's feeding time. They won't let one flake past them. I did just start holding the food in my fingers and keeping it under water until it becomes water-logged and sinks, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out...have only tried it once, so I'll have to see how it goes.

The shark has been doing fine and it's been a few days now since I've put him in the tank. I do see him picking bits of algae off plants and picking at the gravel, so it seems he's finding food elsewhere. Does anyone have any techniques they use for getting food to catfish or other bottom dwellers before the other fish eat it all up?

 

[fresh.salty]

Sinking pellets that are big enough the fish can eat them in one bite.

 

[astrosag]

Either use sinking pellets or use a baster to deliver food straight to him. I use a baster to get food to my african dwarf frogs and bumblebee gobys to avoid the large school of rasboras and tetras from taking their food away....works perfectly. You deliver to the food straight to them. Over time, it'll probably come to recognize the baster as food and may even swim to it like my fish do.

Not sure why people don't recommend it more often. Of course, if your barbs are huge then maybe you don't want to stick your hand into the tank

 

[Wheely34]

Either use sinking pellets or use a baster to deliver food straight to him. I use a baster to get food to my african dwarf frogs and bumblebee gobys to avoid the large school of rasboras and tetras from taking their food away....works perfectly. You deliver to the food straight to them. Over time, it'll probably come to recognize the baster as food and may even swim to it like my fish do.

Not sure why people don't recommend it more often. Of course, if your barbs are huge then maybe you don't want to stick your hand into the tank

I have tried the baster before with a sick fish since he wasn't coming up to the top to eat. He seemed to just get scared whenever i'd shoot some food out and swim away. Maybe it was because something was wrong and he was skittish. I'll give it another try.

It's funny you should say that. I had my hand in there a few days ago moving some plants around, and one of the barbs did in fact nip me. Definitely did not expect that. They are about 1.5" now. Thanks for the input

 

[astrosag]

Yea those barbs are fiesty.

My fish were indeed skiddish in the beginning. After a week of using it though, they learned to recognize it. My gobys, badis badis and rams all come straight to it once its in the water (especially the badis badis). You do have to be careful and sort of let the food sink out...a jet of water will freak them out.

Give it a try, worth a shot.

The other option, which depends on the character/behavior of the fish, is leaving food (with a baster) where it normally stays. I had a dwarf puffer that, if feed in the open water, would have his food stripped out of his mouth by the rasboras and tetras (I think the tetras made the rasboras a bit more aggressive towards food).

So I would leave blood worms in a moss tree that he would normally sit in (yea he would lay on the moss). It worked out well for months until he grew a backbone and decided he wouldn't be punked around anymore. Then it was back to open water feedings again. But DPs are pretty smart.