My new fish - Spectracanthicus zuanoni

[MarcW]

They ate more of the flesh last night!

The courgette was resting on its side, I had no idea that removing the seeds would make such a big difference!

[Jobro]

Good thing they eat well

If you add it at morning, it will be way softer at night and they might chew away even more. But there is a time limit with zucchini, if it stays too long it goes really ugly

going with something more powerfull, like the sweet potato or some fruits might be an option now that they start chewing at what you toss in. My pleco fry actually ate half grapes or a slice of kiwi or kaki(persimmon) lately. As long as it's soft and sweet, most stuff except for the banana seem to work for me. Just always start with small portions.

[MarcW]

I was always worried about leaving the courgette in for too long, as it can be soft in the morning, especially in warmer tanks. I might start by putting a small bit in at lunch then work back to the morning if it goes well .

I've run out of courgette until I go shopping tomorrow, so I am going to try sweet potato tonight, I've not heard of feeding grapes, or kiwi before, one to try in future. I think it would be tricky to get persimmons here, I don't remember seeing one for a long time.

[Jobro]

I just feed whatever fruits I eat my self seasonally

Update, here is what my fry does to persimon slices during nightshift.

[MarcW]

Wow they love the Persimmon! I'll have to keep an eye out for it when I'm shopping.

I added a couple bits of raw sweet potato last night, they seemed to take to it right away. It's still firm so I'm going to leave it in overnight tonight too. Each piece was smooth from peeling and cutting before it went into the tank.

I have also been feeding a couple 1x1x0.5 cm pieces of repashy each night in addition to the courgette and sweet potato, as I was concerned about the concave stomachs on a couple of them. The larger 4 have fat round bellies now, and only one of the smaller fish has a slightly sunken stomach, but much better than it was.

I'm hopeful they are settled in now and they will condition well.

[MarcW]

I've just been reading about persimmon, and apparently they are know for causing phytobezoar or trapped masses of indigestible plant matter in the intestines, especially if eaten before they are ripe. It seems they contain a tannin which polymerises on contact with weak acid which sticks food together occasionally causing a blockage.

Jobro, do you feed yours un-ripened or wait a while until they are ripe?

Apparently this issue is most seen in animals with poor gastric motility, I suppose as these catfish are specialised grazers they have evolved high gastric motility to ensure that plant fibres are processed and passed through without issue?

I was thinking this could be a cause of unexplained deaths, especially with young fry, have you experienced any after feeding with persimmon?

[Jobro]

I have not experienced any fry death for months. but I'm only feeding it for a few weeks now, occasionally.

I don't even know how I would tell whether they are ripe or not?
This is how they look like:

I am eating quite some of these lately... They are sweet and tasty, I guess they are ripe then? I hope I won't get any troubles xD
Quite contrary I was in the believe they are good for diggestation and have lots of Vitamin A + C

[synolover]

What kind of persimmons are they?

[Jobro]

Diospyros kaki is the scientific name.

I just read, that the tannins are within the skin. My plecos seem to avoid the skin.

I eat the skin.

Still, we are all fine up till now

Anyhow, I would be shocked if plecos had trouble with tannins, as they are in woods, alder cones and most of the leaves (e.g. Catappa) they feed upon in hobbyists' aquariums.

[MarcW]

Ahh I didn't realise they were just in the skin, I guess if they are sweet then they are ripe!

I would agree that it would seem strange if tannins in persimmon affect catfish, when they graze on so many similar things without issue .

[MarcW]

They enjoyed the sweet potato again last night!

It's true what they say, it is the colour of what they eat!

I've noticed a few more of them are caving now, does anyone know if that is normal for Spectracanthicus? Could it be just males which cave, are they just looking for shelter?

Thanks everyone.

[MarcW]

I tried them back on courgette last night, they seemed to eat plenty of it again. As before I scooped out the seeds and presented it on its side, so the fish had access to both the skin and the flesh.

They did eat the flesh again but appear to show a preference for the skin.

Earlier in the thread I mentioned that I had some problems with the Repashy food painted onto pieces of slate drying out and peeling off, I've now discovered the reason. They were being dried out in the fridge, I made another batch, and stored them in air tight containers, these remained moist and stuck to the slate for a week, so long as they remained in an air tight container in the fridge.

I think I'll try making some larger pieces, maybe an inch wide by six inches long, and leave them in the fridge to dry out, and then feed them like a long lasting jerky. This is mentioned on the packaging, but it states to use an oven at low temperature to dry it out, as our fridge is on the whole time anyway it may be a cheaper/more efficient way of drying the Repashy. I'll put the results up here, I guess it will take a few days to dry out in the fridge.

[jac]

Hi Marc, I own a group of

Spectracanthicus sp(l354)

. I feed them Repashy every day as I find that the ingredients of the food is the best option for (wild caught) fish. I have yet to come across a fish that rejected Repashy, even newly imported fish take to Repashy instantly. The greens you feed are a nice supplement but don't hold much nutrition. I would just make a portion of Repashy in a glas bowl, let it set and then slice it into cubes. They will eat it just as well as setting it all on a piece of slate or wood, it just takes less effort
Mine hide in caves and it is both the males and females that do this. They are a shy species that only come out at night. Best to keep the lighting a minimum during the day, to keep them happy.
Good luck with your group, they are nice fish

[MarcW]

Thanks for the information Jac.

Other than the vegetables I've been feeding them Soilent Green and Fruut Luups varieties of Repashy food, which ones do you feed to your group of Spectracanthicus sp(l354)?

My other fish get cubes of Repashy, I mainly put it on a piece of slate so it would stay in one place to allow me to film them, so I could check they were feeding. Some were a bit thin, but as you said they went for the Repashy the first night I had them!

I do have a light above the tank, but it is usually only on during water changes so I can see what I'm doing, the rest of the time it's just ambient light getting into the tank.

Thanks again for the information.

[jac]

I feed mine all sorts of formulas. I make up a tub of carnivore mix using Bottom scratcher, Grub Pie and sometimes add some Spawn&Grow to it. And I make a tub of herbivore mix using Morning Wood as a base, then add either Soilent Green or Super Green to it. It makes a nice solid feed if you use Morning Wood. The fibers in the foods stimulate the gut and give you happy, non bloating, fish I feed both mixes to my Spectracanthicus.

[MarcW]

Cool, I'll start mixing some up! I recently got some morning wood to try out, I will also add in a bit of bottom scratcher for them too.

[MarcW]

On the 1st December, I mentioned I'd mix up some Repashy and attempt to dry it out in the fridge, as a more economical way of making a longer lasting version of the food, as opposed to slowly drying it in the oven.

It seems to have worked, it's not quick, 5 days later it's almost dry, slightly spongy in the middle but I think another 24 hours and it will be completely dry.

These pieces started off 3-4 mm thick, 15cm long and about 3-4cm wide.

[Jobro]

I always mix the different flavors as well. Sometimes I add a good dose of Chlorella algae to the mix