Re: What type of food do catfish eat?

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 15 Apr 2010, 07:31

We bought a new Catfish yesterday. But today we are worried about it's foods and atmosphere. So can anyone tell me about food type of Catfish. Thanks in advanced for reply me.

What sort of catfish is it? the correct food & conditions is directly related to what species it is.

Many catfish are quite unfussy but conversely some have incredibly specialist needs, so we really need to know what it is first - if you are unsure, you can post a pic so we can id it.

I'd recommend researching the needs of a fish before buying it to avoid mistakes.....

[Mod edit: Added quote of the original post, as it was deleted due to containing adverts --Mats]

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 15 Apr 2010, 09:09

yeah, it's a bit tricky. there's no universal 'catfish food' .......

if you have a Vandellia; a live fish to suck the blood from will do fine

if you have a Pangasius sanitwongsei the carcasses of dead dogs are really appreciated

the rest of the 2300 catfish species are somewhat in the middle of those 2 extremes

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Apr 2010, 09:47

Sorry if this discussion looks a bit disconnected. The original poster asked about "Catfish food" in very generic terms, but was also advertising in the signature (for a UK company, whilst claiming to live in the US and actually posting from India - clear sign of spam).

I didn't want to remove the whole thread, as the replies are sensible for the generic question.

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Mats

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 15 Apr 2010, 17:15

I generically recommend feeding catfish earthworm and Spirulina Sticks. So far those two foods have sufficed as the staple diet of all my catfish and even my Discus like earth worm sticks as do many other fish. These are bulk aquaculture breeder conditioning foods so they are really nutritious yet the unit costs are lower than any name brand foods.

2wheelsx2 · Post by **2wheelsx2** » 15 Apr 2010, 18:13

Is there a general advantage in using spirulina sticks vs veggie type sticks? I have lots of Spirulina wafers of various types, and was going to try some veggie wafers/sticks, but I also feed a lot of fresh veggies, so if there is not advantage in getting veggie sticks I won't waste my time/money.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Apr 2010, 19:03

I would suspect to a large extent "veggie sticks" are the same as "spirulina sticks" - they are foods for non-carnivorous fish that eat either plant-matter or algae.

When talking food with Mike Hardman at the CSG conference, he said that it makes little difference what the protein source actually is - as long as the fish gets the essential amino acids (most of which are present in ALL forms of protein), it's not particularly important what the protein origin is - fish meal, earth worms, warm-blooded animal meat or beans... Fish will eat stuff if it "smells right". Mike said that liver is a "magic" ingredient that makes the food tasty to many fish. I have a feeling that earth worms are similar in this respect.

In my opinion, the main difference for herbivore/aufwuchs feeders vs. carnivores is the amount of fiber in the diet (in proportion to the protein). Carnivore fish don't need much fibre, and will need a lot of protein in their diet. Herbivore fish needs a lot of fibre, and not too much protein.

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Mats