Rope Fish Feeding

So I have a tank with several different pairs of fish. Rainbow, iridescent, molly, aceI cichlid, pleco, a goldfish, and my lonely rope fish. I feed them all flakes, shrimp pellets, algae wafers every 3 days and frozen blood worms every 2 days. Lately all my fish have grown appetites for blood worms and I haven't seen my rope fish get much. He's still kicking like usual but I'm worried this carnivore may starve. Anyone notice if they eat the pellets or flakes? I haven't seen him do it. Its been like this for weeks so if he was gonna starve to death it should've happened. Any ideas for other foods? BTW I'm not here to be criticized by my choice of fish stocking or pairing, I'm only here about my rope fish question, that seems to be a trend fish lore has.

 

Do you know your water parameters? You could likely deposit food in different areas of the tank. Goldfish do best with the "Goldfish flakes/pellets". Goldfish shouldn't be kept with the rest of your stocking (They produce ammonia harmful to the other fish and need cooler water). Iridescent Sharks and Ropefish also need huge tanks. I don't mean to upset you by criticizing your stocking, I just feel the need to bring up what's in the best interest of the fish. Fishlore is a site to help people with their fish. With all do respect, why join a site designated to help fish/aquatic life and aquarists if you know you're going to ignore/write off the advice given to you?

 

I personally wouldnt of mentioned my stocking if I didnt want it 2 be critiqued ...have u tried using a syringe or turkey baster 2 feed him directly? that may help

 

To answer the question that was posted, they will eat pellets. Mysis shrimp, krill, chopped fish and chopped shrimp are good frozen foods for it. A good quality sinking pellet on top of the shrimp pellets should be it's main diet. They will also eat algae wafers. Ignore those who want to critique stocking instead of answering the question that was asked, far too many people want to critique peoples stocking and not answer the question at hand.

 

I have a ropefish too, and have noticed something similar. I have worried that he's not getting enough of the bloodworms because my tetras do get in there as well, but when I feed them to him too frequently (every day), there is lots of waste. He seems happy and ok, so I'm not too worried.

One strategy I heard somewhere that I do use is to feed the flakes and pellets to my other fishies first, then add the bloodworms and immediately turn off the aquarium light. Apparently, ropefish have a better sense of smell than most others, and this will allow them to navigate to the bloodworms more quickly, disadvantaging other fish who rely more on sight.

I don't know how accurate it is, but it works for me!

Just an edit to add: It may also be that your ropefish is finding other dietary supplements. I noticed awhile back that mine does a pretty thorough job of keeping my snail population under control

 

I wouldn't ignore the people who critique the stocking. The people here only want to educate aquarists and ensure fish have good lives. They will say what is best for the fish, regardless of whether the person wants to hear it. This is not a problem, it's why the site is so trustworthy.

Although the fact that you specifically said "don't critique my stocking" means that you already know you have poor stocking. So I'm going to assume you are planning other homes for most of your fish.

The rope fish should eat brine shrimp, blood worms, night crawlers, meat, worms, sinking pellets, etc. They're not picky eaters. I don't think food choice is going to help though. The only way to be sure he's getting food in your current setup is to use a turkey baster and some finesse, or remove him.

 

Thanks you all. I do the light trick and have seen that help so I will keep that up.

 

I just want to say blood worm are not the best food for rope fish, they don't have a lot of nutrition in them. Flakes on the other hand don't have enough protien for ropefish since they are carnivore fish.

I would suggest fillet frozen tilapia, its cheap and really good for carnivore fish. Rope fish are noctural fish so they like to hunt at night, I would cut the tilapia into bite size and feed the rope lduring night when lights off, rope have a good sense of smell so locating the tilapia won't be a problem.

For pellets I wouls suggest hikarI sinking carnivore pellet, samething try to feed at night.

I hope this would help.

 

I'm considering getting a brine shrimp hatchery for mine, but I have seen it eat flake. Being a carnivore it's going to prefer to catch something if it has the opportunity.