I got my fish now what to feed it?

[BHBowhunter]

I got a bluegill / rockbass mix. Crazy thing is it is the only one i have ever seen and i have caught thousands of bluegill in my life.

i bought some chiclid flakes and he eats them, i feed him a few nightcrawlers today, he is very aggressive. any time i open the lid he swims right up, he also jumps out of the water and nails any food on the surface it is really neat.

im worried that the flakes might not be enough, i might get some of the pellets they feed pond fish?

any ideas on how often i should feed him?

i know it is a bunch of ?'s but you guys and gals are all the best!

ps. i have the right paper work to keep a "wild fish"

 

[Guest]

I got a bluegill / rockbass mix.

I'd LOVE to see a picture of this, sounds cool! I'd also like to hear how you got him, and where a hybrid like that comes from.

i bought some chiclid flakes and he eats them, i feed him a few nightcrawlers today, he is very aggressive.

I think you'd be alright with that, generally chiclid food is made for meat eaters.

I dont think i'd go with the pond food, it's mostly for goldfish/koi, which like more veggie matter in their diet. I think they make pellets for Oscars, I think that would be the best, oscars/bass/blegill have very similar diet in the wild. Prolly nightcrawlers once or twice a week would be a real treat for the boy. Feed once a day, whatever he can eat in 3-5 minutes. Skip a day once in a while, no big deal.

 

[BHBowhunter]

i caught him in the lake i live on, the only thing i can figure out happened is a rock bass shot in and fertilized a bluegills eggs or visa versa. pretty neat though!

only once a day? from what i have been reading and doing thus far was 3 times a day, and all 3 times he is very agressive and eats everything, most bass are pigs thouugh so he probably does not need that much.

 

[Guest]

Actually, if you want to feed more than once a day, you can. However, if you feed 3 times a day, he's gonna generate a lot of waste, so I'd do water canges twice a week, maybe 25-30% each time. That will likely get old real fast, so maybe feed less. I'm kinda outta my laegue with native game fish so the feeding issue is guess work on my part. The cleaning will be necessary with that much fish waste, that much I do know.

 

[nugrad2005]

I would say go to the LFS and buy a bunch of feeder fish (small - medium sized goldfish) and feed him them. That way not only do you get to watch him eat, but you get to see the thrill of the chase. I know it sounds sick or whatever, but thats what we do in our cichlid tank and we can literally sit there for hours just throwing feeders in. I would also say try beef hearts and blood worms. If they are too big, melt them down a little in a net in the kitchen sink, that way he can eat them easier.

Without a doubt feed him twice a day if not three times. The added waste and waster changes is just a byproduct of a great looking fish(in more ways than one).

Good luck with this! Let us know how it turns out.

-Dan

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

You could feed him cucumbers or corn, but I'm not sure about the nutritional value of that. For this type of fish, I'd just say make sure you feed him somthing a bit more hardy and substantial than flake food or pellets, like what nugrad has suggested. The beef hearts and blood worms are good ideas.

 

[mulron]

I would suggest this stuff, It is really good food.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=4298

You don't have to buy it from there but your LFS should have it. Might have a picture of a KOI on it also. I fed it to my oscars all the time when I had them.