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I got my Pandas around 36hrs ago, and was wondering how long it is likely to take to adjust to the tank and start becoming more animated/silly/playful?

Also, other than bloodworms, what other fresh food do they like? What about commercial flakes pellets etc - what sort does your Panda love?

Panda diet in the Panda Fun Palace™:

[1] Live foods : Bloodworm, Daphnia, adult Brine Shrimp. All taken eagerly, though the Bloodworm is definitely the favourite.

[2] Flake Foods. I'm a Tetra man through and through, and no, they're not paying me to say this. It's just that I've used Tetra foods since I was a teenager and they've always delivered the goods. They've recently added a brace of new ones to the range too. Mine receive TetraMin, TetraRuby ColorPride, TetraPro.

[3] Freeze Dried Tubifex. They like this a lot. Trouble is, I need a tubifex feeding bell to do it properly and I've never ever seen one on sale in the UK.

[4] Hikari ALgae Wafers. My Pandas go utterly berserk over them. Indeeed, they are still playing the Panda version of ice hockey with the tablet pieces as pucks as I type this.

They can take a bit of time to liven up when first introduced to a new aquarium. Giving the aquarium a water change before their arrival helps. If yours are listless, check water parameters urgently. Also, did you gravel vac your substrate? Remember Pandas absolutely loathe gunky gravel beds.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for the quick reply Cali! I vacuumed and tested the water the day before I put them in. All a-ok. They are a little listless however, which is why I was wondering.

If this doens't seem normal, I'll do some more testing now to confirm all is still good. Stay tuned

All values seem okay...
PH: 7.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm

Hopefully this means that they're just still getting used to the new enviroment.

What sort of aquarium are they in Gromit? Tankmates?

Do you have decent thickets of live plants? Bogwood/rock caves?

Post a pic of your setup sometime & let me see ...

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

They are MUCH more active and animated this evening - YAH

They are buzzing around having a great time tonight :%)

You are right Cali - they are very entertaining.

I shall try & post some pics in the next couple of days.

Glad to hear it Gromit ... and I'll wait for the pics - eagerly!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I got mine yesterday (25/3/05) and they are still just sitting and barely moving. They have eaten the tetra tablet that I put in I have tetra tablets and tetra plankton tablets and from bloodworm and brine shrimp and freeze dried tubifex. I only know htye finished the food because it is gone. They are about 2cm(very tiny) soo cute!!!!!!! but they very rarely move. I floated them for 30 minutes addinf water every 5 miutes and the water at the lfs wash 7 gh 10 mine is ph 7 gh 9. so they should be ok. maybe they just take a while to aclimatize.

Panda's take some time to settle & Bloodworms & Brine Shrimps are their favoured food.



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When they wake up labrakitty, let me know.

Oh, quick question. LIghting. Is yours bright? Do the Pandas have caves and hiding places to shelter from any overly bright lights? Do you have floating plants providing some shade?

If they have shady spots to hang out in, they'll settle in a lot quicker.

Also, what other species occupy their aquarium? If you have principally SA Characins like Lemons & Cardinals, they should settline in fine.

If you can get live Bloodworm for them to eat, this should liven them up no end. Take a look at my pics in the Photo Booth and see what live Bloodworm does for Pandas!

Hang on, link coming up ...

Here You Go!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

My Panda's seem happy now. They fluctuate between being widly active and just sitting doing nothing.

Just one questions on the bloodworms....seems as though my Zebras enjoy the bloodworms immensely, so much so that they will stuff themselves stupid and consequently my Panda's get short changed. Same in my other tank. The platies are absolute guts and try to eat everything I put in the tank. Anyone have any neat tricks on how to help the less voracious eaters get some of the good stuff?

My trick is to mix Daphnia, Bloodworm and adult Brine Shrimp all in the one mix. Then dump the lot in and swirl it about a bit.

The Danios, Platies and mid-upper fishes will suddenly find themselves surrounded by a blizzard of Daphnia, tuck into those, and the Pandas will get chance to eat the Bloodworm.

In any case, mine have learned to sit on top of the Bloodworm in order to mmke sure they get a decent helping. Yours will probably adopt the same trick in time!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002