Feeding Bumblebee Catfish

[Sasquatch]

I've recently acquired a bumblebee catfish and I'm wondering of the food I bought for him might be too large. He's only about 3" long, and won't get much of any bigger.

The food I bought for him were Nutrafin Sinking Shrimp Pellets and Hikari Sinking Pellets. He seem to like both and jumps on them eagerly when we put them into the tank.

The problem is that both foods swell as they absorb water and become 2-3x larger than when dry. I can't tell if the catfish is having trouble eating them. When he eats he tries to take a piece whole, but usually can't. He'll take a chunk off and swallow it and then "take a breather". You see him just laying there opening and closing his mouth. He also has a habit of writhing on his side after he's eaten.

I've tried breaking the food into smaller bits, but they swell so much that they're still too big.

Is this behaviour normal? Will feeding him these large pieces of food lead to problems?

Thanks for the help.

[kcmt01]

Maybe you could pre-soak the pellets for about a day? Just an idea.

[Marc van Arc]

I've recently acquired a bumblebee catfish and I'm wondering of the food I bought for him might be too large.

I take it you have Batrochoglanis raninus? Then don't worry. They hardly ever have trouble with any food.
But the problem is that there are several catfishes knows as bumble bee, like Microglanis and Pseudomystus, although the latter is an Asian species.
Which species do you have?

[Sasquatch]

I have a Microglanis iheringi, listed as the "South American Bumblebee Catfish" in the Cat-elog.

I tried presoaking the pellets last night and it does make them easier to eat. But they're still very cohesive and when they swell, they're really too big. I'll try cutting them into even smaller pieces tonight, like 6 or 8.

I'd just like to know if there is any danger of him eating something that large or if the writhing behaviour is normal.

[apistomaster]

For small fish I sometimes crush pellets (Tetra Color Granules)between two small sheets of glass and presoak them. I add a few drops of VitaChem for good measure.
I have had discus gulp too many dry pellets then lose their ability to maintain their equilibrium as the pellets swell inside their gut. Upsidedown discus are very disconcerting to watch as they struggle. Presoaking has prevented this. Eventually the discus did regain their balance but they get exhausted in the process.

[Sasquatch]

I pre-soaked half of a Hikari wafer last night and once it had swelled, cut it into 4-5 pieces. He had no problem eating them. I also added some veal heart (nothing but the best for my bumblebee ) and he jumped all over it.

I think it's mostly a question of cutting down on the portions and making sure that they're small enough for him.

Thanks for the help.

[Sasquatch]

Well, things seem to be moving along nicely.

The only glitch so far is that the quarantine tank is cycling and the nitrites are high. But we're doing about 20% daily water changes to keep the levels down. We don't really care about cycling the tank since we'll tear it down as soon as the quarantine is over.

But I was also wondering about how often to feed him. Right now it's once daily, at night soon after lights out.

Should I be feeding him more often? Less?

[Marc van Arc]

Right now it's once daily, at night soon after lights out.

Try to get it used to feeding in the evenings with (less) lights on. It may take a while, but eventually it'll show up. Thus you're able to enjoy it more.
There's nothing wrong with once daily, but I know people who feed 2 or 3 times a day. Of course these portions are much smaller. It's up to you really. As long as there are no left-overs, all should be okay.