Fishy Feeding Behavior

[Alesha]

We've only been back in the hobby of fish keeping for the past year or so. We had lots of different kinds of fish over the years, but I don't really remember too much about them.

What I've been fascinated with this time is how they eat. And by eat, I really mean EEEEEEEEAAAAAAT!!! because we have a 55-gallon FULL of hundreds of guppies...mostly juvenile...and continually ravenous!

4 weeks ago, though, we brought some new fish home to quarantine and just added them to our tanks last weekend. 

The first were Siamese Algae Eaters. I think. We bought the ones whose black stripe continues into their tails. Well, 2 of them, anyway. The third one, the smallest one, has a black stripe that is more jagged and that's the one that eats the most algae, so now I'm not sure if they are all SAEs or if one is a Flying Fox Fish.

What's interesting about them is that I tried feeding them Hikari algae wafers during quarantine. For the most part, they just weren't interested. But when I dropped in the Xtreme nano pellets, they went nuts! Jumping right into fray with barbs to get those little yummy bites. So cool to watch.

And that brings us to the Green Tiger Barbs. They are gorgeous and fascinating...and hilarious. At least, when it comes to eating those pellets. They chipmunk them!!! Most of them can actually pull THREE pellets into their tiny mouths. Then they carry them around for a while (I guess until they soften) and then you see them munching away. 

Here's my feeble attempt to capture it. Blurry, but you can see their mouths stuffed with pellets. It's like they're playing the "Chubby Bunny" game!!!

What are the feeding behaviors you've observed that were surprising? Or hilarious? Or at least very interesting???

Alesha

[Wel-Don Tanks]

18 minutes ago, akconklin said:

We've only been back in the hobby of fish keeping for the past year or so. We had lots of different kinds of fish over the years, but I don't really remember too much about them.

What I've been fascinated with this time is how they eat. And by eat, I really mean EEEEEEEEAAAAAAT!!! because we have a 55-gallon FULL of hundreds of guppies...mostly juvenile...and continually ravenous!

4 weeks ago, though, we brought some new fish home to quarantine and just added them to our tanks last weekend. 

The first were Siamese Algae Eaters. I think. We bought the ones whose black stripe continues into their tails. Well, 2 of them, anyway. The third one, the smallest one, has a black stripe that is more jagged and that's the one that eats the most algae, so now I'm not sure if they are all SAEs or if one is a Flying Fox Fish.

What's interesting about them is that I tried feeding them Hikari algae wafers during quarantine. For the most part, they just weren't interested. But when I dropped in the Xtreme nano pellets, they went nuts! Jumping right into fray with barbs to get those little yummy bites. So cool to watch.

And that brings us to the Green Tiger Barbs. They are gorgeous and fascinating...and hilarious. At least, when it comes to eating those pellets. They chipmunk them!!! Most of them can actually pull THREE pellets into their tiny mouths. Then they carry them around for a while (I guess until they soften) and then you see them munching away. 

Here's my feeble attempt to capture it. Blurry, but you can see their mouths stuffed with pellets. It's like they're playing the "Chubby Bunny" game!!!

What are the feeding behaviors you've observed that were surprising? Or hilarious? Or at least very interesting???

Alesha

You have an amazing school of Tiger Barbs there!  For me it was watching my Yellow Zebra Plecos rush out of their caves for the xtreme krill flake, I have never seen a pleco rush for flake food before that.

[shkote]

My Amazon Puffer carries snails around for a few minutes and keeps coming back to check if I'm going to give him blood worms or krill. If I do it too early, he will drop the snails and eat those instead. He checks several times before he finally just eats the snails. 

And my Convict, who is usually a little pig, inhales everything the second it hits the water and splashes around when eating, will carefully take Vibra bites to her cave and eats them in there. She only does it with Vibra bites. I think it's her favorite and she doesn't want there to be a chance for anything to take it from her. Which is fine, but she's in the tank by herself. 

[Alesha]

18 minutes ago, Wel-Don Tanks said:

You have an amazing school of Tiger Barbs there!  For me it was watching my Yellow Zebra Plecos rush out of their caves for the xtreme krill flake, I have never seen a pleco rush for flake food before that.

Thanks, @Wel-Don Tanks! I have to give credit where it's due: they are from Imperial Tropicals in Lakeland, FL. Mike has incredible fish there! And even during this time of quarantine, he worked out a no-contact pick-up system for locals, so we wouldn't have to pay shipping. His shipping is also excellent, from the reviews I've read.

That's awesome about your plecos! It makes me feel so good that I know I'm feeding them something they love. ❤️ 

[Alesha]

3 minutes ago, Lynze said:

My Amazon Puffer carries snails around for a few minutes and keeps coming back to check if I'm going to give him blood worms or krill. If I do it too early, he will drop the snails and eat those instead. He checks several times before he finally just eats the snails. 

And my Convict, who is usually a little pig, inhales everything the second it hits the water and splashes around when eating, will carefully take Vibra bites to her cave and eats them in there. She only does it with Vibra bites. I think it's her favorite and she doesn't want there to be a chance for anything to take it from her. Which is fine, but she's in the tank by herself. 

 

LoL! That's so awesome about the Convict...so funny! I love that when you have fewer fish, you are able to better see their personalities. Or maybe...we have to keep some fish in smaller groups (or alone) because their personalities are just too big for others to fit with them. 😉 Either way, the interactions seem to be richer...more personal. ❤️ 

[Wel-Don Tanks]

6 minutes ago, akconklin said:

Thanks, @Wel-Don Tanks! I have to give credit where it's due: they are from Imperial Tropicals in Lakeland, FL. Mike has incredible fish there! And even during this time of quarantine, he worked out a no-contact pick-up system for locals, so we wouldn't have to pay shipping. His shipping is also excellent, from the reviews I've read.

That's awesome about your plecos! It makes me feel so good that I know I'm feeding them something they love. ❤️ 

I have some Mouthbrooding Severums that I am growing out from them.  Been very happy with the fish.

[shkote]

😄 Yeahhh she does not play well with others.