Loaches Online Forum

I just got 4 vailantella maassi last Wed & I'm not sure they're eating. I've offered (thawed) frozen baby brine shrimp, spirulina loaded brine, bloodworms & NLS pellets & flakes. 3 kinds of snails are also in the tank. I'll try frozen daphnia tonight.

They don't seem as shy as I thought they'd be, 2 are out most of the time, 1 adventerously exploring, 2 mostly hidden. It's only a 10g (US) quarrantine with 2 quite small pangio kuhlis to show them the ropes. The 2 "extroverts" move quite slowly around, 1 checking out the floating plants but all in a slow-motion kind of way.

What else can I do or offer them to help them adjust? Or does this seem normal for them?

Hi Nancy,

It may just be that your V. maassi are still settling in. Mine are all very shy and stay hidden a lot of the time. I got mine interested in feeding by using Interpet Liquifry No 3 powdered fry food (it's a very fine yellow powder). All fish with small mouths seem to enjoy this. I would add this Interpet powder when feeding other foods such as the Tetra Prima Fine granules and small frozen foods such as baby brineshrimp, daphnia & cyclops. The presence of the Interpet powder seems to make them realise food is on offer. Tetra also produce a similar powdered fry food called TetraMin Baby, which is a dark yellow colour. I alternate between using the Interpet and the Tetra in conjunction with all my feeds on that tank. Mine also seem to prefer coming out for food under dim lighting or when the lights are off, so you may want to try this too.

Emma

Thanks Emma, I'll see if I can find the Tetra baby, I don't think interpet is available here.

I tried broken up Hikari carnivore pellet last night. I didn't see them actually eating but 2 pieces each had a maassi & a pangio nose to nose by them.

Not many Interpet products are available in the US. Hikari makes a fry food that you could try. I use it for fry, never thought of offering it to the older fish with small mouths.

Thanks Diana, I see what I can find.