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does anyone know thats the best food for pandas?? im still looking for sinking pellets but i dont know what brand is good?? any tip??

You could always try my feeding régime. And since my Pandas have now spawned 73 times in under 2 years, you can assume that it works

Variety is the spice of life wiht any fish, but it seems to liven Pandas up particularly. My feeding pattern is as follows. Select one of six different Tetra foods on a 'random' basis (so that the fish don't know which one they're getting at any one time) from the following list:

TetraMin flake
TetraRuby ColourPride flake
Tetra Pro original
Tetra Pro Colour
Tetra pro Vegetable
Tetra Prima granules

Intersperse with broken pieces of Hikari algae wafer distributed around the tank to ensure everyone gets a share including the Oticinclus that live with my Pandas (I use a spare piece of undergravel filter uplift tube to place the pieces on the gravel). At least 3 times a week, my Pandas are also given a liberal live food smorgasbord consisting of live Daphnia, live Bloodworm and live Brine Shrimp all mixed together (partly so that everyone gets a share, and partly so that the fish can all pick out their favourites from the teeming mass).

Occasionally (it would be more often, but I can't find a feeding bell) they also get freeze dried Tubifex.

Even if your details differ from the above with regard to flake brand (I've been a committed Tetra fan since I was a teenager) make sure they get variety. If you can get live food, so much the better: live food boosts immune systems and conditions fish for spawning to an astonishing extent. It's not just the fact that live food contains nutrients missing in other foods either: the act of pursuing food and pouncing on it seems to be integral to the enhanced well being of a lot of fish species too.

Flake feedings follow the old Innes book maxim: small amounts often. My fish are fed 5-6 times per day, but small amounts each time (enough for them to eat in about 2 minutes). Remember that in the wild, fish don't have set mealtimes, and don't normally eat large amounts of food at one sitting. Several smaller meals are also likely to be better than fewer large ones because the fish will digest completely a smaller meal, while too large a large meal might end up being squirted out of the back end only partly digested, adding to filter load problems. This is particularly problematic with fishes such as large Barbs, which are basically pigs with fins when it comes to eating, and whose appetites need to be satisfied with due care and attention. Corydoras catfishes will also gorge given half a chance, which is why small amounts often is better for them too.

Hope this helps!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

thanks..thats a lot of info..will consider..
i tried to leave shrimp pellets on the substrate but the other fish ate it?? how should i leave food to ensure that my pandas get to it??

Mine used to eat Bloodworms & Brine Shrimp, but most of them accept sinking Algae wafers & flakes aswell.


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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

thanks...just bought bloodworms and sinking pellets...hope they have diverse enuf fud not to get bored.