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i know people are going to hate me 4 this, but i have a large clown knife, that hasn't had live food for around 5 years. it is something i won't do. she is around 1 foot and eats algae wafers.( i know) she has been eating this for around 2 years. but lately she has been slowing down. i hand feed her, but lately she has been eatting it and spitting it out. i today try feeding her favorite blood worms and she won't eat that. i am running out of ideas. i no it is wrong to feed her that, now i need so ideas with out live fishes please.


also i have a dead goldfish that doesn't look sick or open wounds. how ever it is very large and idk if the clown knife can eat it. should i give it that.

Last edited by bettachris at 14-May-2005 19:13

I am not sure how to feed the ghost knife, but i would definitley not feed another fish a dead fish. You do not know how that fish died and what happened to it, so i would not think it would be safe.

how about brine shrimp? live blood worms? throw in some ghost shrimp? I know those are all live, but not necessarily "fish" and he might find them tasty...

And no don't feed him the dead goldfish you don't know why he died and it could kill him...heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

ok, the clown knife is around 1 foot, so shrimp wont work. i might pick up around 20 ghost shrimp and try that

Buy a tin of tuna in brine, wash it thoroughly, and see if your Clown Knife will eat that out of your hand. Should make for an interesting exercise ...

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

That fish is stunted, probably a result of the poor diet. A five year old clown knife should be around 2.5 feet long with good care. Clown knives, along with nearly all predatory fish, require live, meaty foods to thrive. You fish is only eating algae wafers as a last resort, and I can guarantee that if live fish were available it would not give a second glance at the wafers.

You are asking how to help your fish, as it is now showing the consequences of an inappropriate diet, and yet you are still unwilling to give the fish what it needs. In the wild, N. chitala pretty much only eats other fish (especially once they surpass 6" in length), and that diet should be replicated in captivity to the best of the owner's ability.

If you are not willing to give this fish what it ultimately needs to survive, then perhaps it's time to find the fish a better home.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

any huge fish can eat brine shrimp... what do you think whale sharks eat?

Anyways, I dont think it is necessarly stunted, because my dads fish are fine, and he hasnt been feeding them live food for 4+ years (they get it from me maby 1 time a month) which i would say is NOT adiquate to their diet.

Vic we've kinda gone round and round on the arguments about your dad's fish. Lets just say what works for one tank is not going to work for every tank. and escpecially for this fish.

Your fish does need a carnivorous diet. Just part of being what it is, it sure can't help that. It is good that you recognize the need to talk about how you can help it, and the best advice we can give is in the fish's best interest. Your fish does need a new home. If you have a large enough tank there are many, many fish which do not require a live diet that grow to be huge and have great personalities.

koi

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

well it worked. i got around 20 feeder rosi and he ate it. i also got a few daino and he ate that also. looks like a reg diet of danios and rosie.

Might be a good idea to set up a breeding program for feeders I think. Not only will this reduce the risk of passing on illness to your knifefish but it will also mean that you can control quality with good foods aswell. Will be less expensive too.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

i had tried this b4 but couldn't get it working, some1 told me that all i have to do is throw a few of them into a clay pot outside with plants and wait.