How to feed new elephant nose fish?

[petur170]

I'm having trouble letting my new enose know he is being fed, i dont know if he knows there are bloodworms at the top, and if I try to bring my hand close to him with food, he runs away. What do I do?

 

[gemach7]

I'm having trouble letting my new enose know he is being fed, i dont know if he knows there are bloodworms at the top, and if I try to bring my hand close to him with food, he runs away. What do I do?

If this is his first day or two in your tank maybe stressed from moving, make sure he has hiding spaces (driftwood created works best to mimic nature but anything would do) as these guys can be timid. Also try leaving the lights off for 24 hours to help him get used to his surroundings.

How large is the tank if i may ask?

 

[petur170]

50 gals

 

[pip walters]

The fish ate nocturnal and require dim lighting. Feed bloodworm, tubifex, small earthworms etc to begin with. They will take most foods once setrled. They need sand as a substrate to root about for food and lots of hiding places. They don't compete easily with fish that can get to the food quicker than them.... do you have other fish in the tank?

 

[shellyx]

Hi I've had my elephant nose for over two years and keep him on his own they are species only. What other fish do you have? You can target feed with a turkey baster. Mine eats live bloodworm and brine shrimp he'll also eat frozen bloodworm, brine and glassworms the food has to be on the substrate for him to eat add feed when the lights are out. Do you have sand? A pipe for him to hide in? These guy's get big mine is in a 55g and by the size of him I'll probably need to get a bigger tank he's 8 inches at the moment. If he's in with other fish you'll need to watch for aggression issues i had to re home all my fish as when he started to mature he attacked everything. Give him time to settle if you've just bought him. How long has the tank been running for? These guy's need a mature tank.



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[petur170]

The tank and furniture is good, but I do have some small fish like guppies and barbs,

 

[shellyx]

These guy's are species only tanks they don't do well with others. Have you tried Live or frozen food? What is your parameters? They are very sensitive to high nitrate and ammonia. I clean mine out every 4-5 days 50 % clean.

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[petur170]

My nitrate and ammonia levels are good according to my LFS, and I am feeding him (or attempting to) dried bloodwords and a flake food.

 

[Fresh2o]

My nitrate and ammonia levels are good according to my LFS, and I am feeding him (or attempting to) dried bloodwords and a flake food.

An API FW Master Test kit is money well spent (cheaper online). Much more convenient because you can test before and after water changes (to see how effective your WC regimen is). The LFS folks may simple give you an "OK" or non-quantitative answer. Your own testing will provide absolute numbers that will be helpful in this hobby.
I know nothing about this species but I understand that keeping it can be a challenge, especially when it comes to feeding.

 

[petur170]

So I tried using the turkey baster, however the bloodworms I had would simply float up to the top before he could see them (He's spending a lot of time at the bottom). Then I went out to buy some tubifex worms in a block form, and I stuck it in his hiding place, in an obscure spot (It kept floating up so I had to put it under an overhang) (He can smell/ detect it if he cant see it directly right?)

 

[shellyx]

Make sure the food is frozen or even better live. A elephant nose will not accept dried food or flake. Mine gets live worm so he can root through the sand day and night to eat.

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[petur170]

hm. they wont even touch the freeze dried tubifex?

 

[shellyx]

No it has to be live or frozen or the fish will starve. This is the reason why they're species only tanks as they're difficult to feed and look after.

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[petur170]

So if I buy the frozen worms is they a certain way I should feed him? Or should I just drop the food the bottom of the tank?

 

[shellyx]

I put a frozen cube in a cup of his tank water then when it is thawed out i add it to the tank or sit it in my hand and he'll feed straight from there. You will have to target feed him if he's in his pipe squirt it in there, but your other fish will probably steal some so you'll need to watch, feed him with the lights out i also get up early in the morning to feed my guy brine shrimp and give him a couple of hours before the lights go on. That's why 4 days a week i feed mine live as it buries in the sand and he can feed all night and day.

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[petur170]

Just wondering where do you buy live food at? Cant find it in any of the big stores in my area.

 

[shellyx]

I get mine at my lfs or online. I'm in the UK. Go with frozen if you can't get live.

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[petur170]

Looked at my local fish stores and cant seem to find any, I'll just see what I can do with the frozen foods for now. Thanks for the fast responses by the way.

 

[shellyx]

No problem.

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[petur170]

How do I get the cube to sink? It floats to the top where the other fish eat it.

Edit: Nevermind