Stubborn Scarlet Badis

So last night I had a great run to the LFS, finally bagging my killifish and getting some scarlet badis which I have been anxiously waiting for a few weeks for them to get some in. They have acclimated and gotten comfortable in the tank, and since it was the first night adding new fish in, the whole tank was fasted last night. Today I figured since tomorrow is water change day I would try and feed them some frozen food tonight to see what they liked. I fed my peacock gudgeon her blood worms which they ignored like I figured because the worms were bigger than them! I tried frozen brine shrimp thinking they would eat it but they ignored it. I figured they would FOR SURE eat frozen daphnia, so I tried that. I tried 2 out of 4 badis and neither were interested. I used a pipette and target fed by dropping some of each right in front of them then gave them space to eat. I know they're hungry because I see them hunting about the tank. Is it possible they're just eating copepods? The last gudgeon I had completely sustained herself on my copepod population. It was amazing I never fed her other than bloodworms occasionally. This one isn't as intuitive but I thought since badis are micro predators they would prefer those over frozen food. I don't think I have access to live food around here any thoughts/advice on where to go from here with feeding?

 

You could start up a microworm culture quick and easy, they might take to that! My CPDs love them, but then again, CPDs are not as picky as scarlet badis.

 

You could start up a microworm culture quick and easy, they might take to that! My CPDs love them, but then again, CPDs are not as picky as scarlet badis.

How would I go about doing that? I noticed I can even buy live daphnia cultures online but I'm not open do doing another tank, my boyfriend said 4 is enough (for now!) Lol

 

How would I go about doing that? I noticed I can even buy live daphnia cultures online but I'm not open do doing another tank, my boyfriend said 4 is enough (for now!) Lol

Your LFS should have some microworm starter cultures for sale (if they don't, I'd be shocked), but if need be you can buy a starter culture off of something like ebay for less than $5 total. All you need to do is cook up some instant oatmeal per instructions (the non-flavored Quaker Oats kind that comes in those big cylindrical containers) and put maybe quarter to half an inch of that at the bottom of a clear container, I use old plastic jars that Petsmart sells bettas in, and put a couple drops (more or less, depending on how many containers you have/the size of the container) of the microworm starter culture on top of the cooked oatmeal once it cools. It's not a precise science, they'll do with whatever/however much you end up using. Just make sure to restart the culture before it starts to mold, usually somewhere between two to four weeks later, although mine last longer than that. Voila, in a few days it'll be up and running!

Also, 4 tanks in the apartment is my boyfriend's limit too

 

Your LFS should have some microworm starter cultures for sale (if they don't, I'd be shocked), but if need be you can buy a starter culture off of something like ebay for less than $5 total. All you need to do is cook up some instant oatmeal per instructions (the non-flavored Quaker Oats kind that comes in those big cylindrical containers) and put maybe quarter to half an inch of that at the bottom of a clear container, I use old plastic jars that Petsmart sells bettas in, and put a couple drops (more or less, depending on how many containers you have/the size of the container) of the microworm starter culture on top of the cooked oatmeal once it cools. It's not a precise science, they'll do with whatever/however much you end up using. Just make sure to restart the culture before it starts to mold, usually somewhere between two to four weeks later, although mine last longer than that. Voila, in a few days it'll be up and running!

Also, 4 tanks in the apartment is my boyfriend's limit too

Wow I didnt know it was that simple!! I'll definitely do that, I know my killifish would appreciate live food as well!! Thank you so much for the great advice, I'll call my LFS tomorrow. It's funny you say that about 4 tanks, must be a magic number. My boyfriend picks fun at me because I frequent the fish stores in my area once a week and I'm constantly doing things related to my tanks. I guess I'm a nerd like that, hes an avid hunter and doesn't get my fascination with fish lol

 

Wow I didnt know it was that simple!! I'll definitely do that, I know my killifish would appreciate live food as well!! Thank you so much for the great advice, I'll call my LFS tomorrow. It's funny you say that about 4 tanks, must be a magic number. My boyfriend picks fun at me because I frequent the fish stores in my area once a week and I'm constantly doing things related to my tanks. I guess I'm a nerd like that, hes an avid hunter and doesn't get my fascination with fish lol

A note I forgot to add: you'll want to have lids on these containers, but poke a few small holes in them. And if I wasn't clear (just making sure), you don't need to get a new starter culture every time, just grab a little bit of the microforms from the old culture to transfer to the new - I just gather some microforms from the old culture, set aside, clean the container VERY well, make new oatmeal, then add them back in.

At least my boyfriend has sort of an interest in fish, lol. He comes to my local fish stores with me all the time when he knows I'm going, which is at least once a week, like you! He recently picked out a betta that he fell in love with in the store... I'm slowly getting him to like fish He adores his betta and I've helped him get the right tank, heater, etc. setup for him. Sort of almost counts as a fifth tank, or fourth if my temporary quarantine/breeding tank doesn't count... Does it?

Oof, I almost forgot to add - you'll want to add baker's yeast to the oatmeal by dashing a sprinkle of it on the top of the oatmeal before adding the microworms to the culture each time. It should cost less than a dollar at any grocery store.

 

Oof, I almost forgot to add - you'll want to add baker's yeast to the oatmeal by dashing a sprinkle of it on the top of the oatmeal before adding the microworms to the culture each time. It should cost less than a dollar at any grocery store.

Thanks to you my badis will be nice and fat in no time! The poor things have such tiny mouths I understand why they wouldn't try the brine shrimp but I thought the daphnia would be perfect. I read they can be picky about not having live food...guess I got a batch that falls into this category.

Technically I have 5 if you count the spare 10 gallon I have in the basement I'm trying to fish less cycle for emergency QT/other purposes.... my boyfriend really likes crowntail bettas. He wants a big pirahana tank when I move into his house with him, but I told him with a tank that big you better let me do a community tank instead....my house is the size of a large apartment in which I'm maxed out on space for tanks where he has a big 3 story house. So much room for activites!! Hes worried about me having fish all over the house, but I'm planning to bag myself a fish room downstairs instead

 

Thanks to you my badis will be nice and fat in no time! The poor things have such tiny mouths I understand why they wouldn't try the brine shrimp but I thought the daphnia would be perfect. I read they can be picky about not having live food...guess I got a batch that falls into this category.

Technically I have 5 if you count the spare 10 gallon I have in the basement I'm trying to fish less cycle for emergency QT/other purposes.... my boyfriend really likes crowntail bettas. He wants a big pirahana tank when I move into his house with him, but I told him with a tank that big you better let me do a community tank instead....my house is the size of a large apartment in which I'm maxed out on space for tanks where he has a big 3 story house. So much room for activites!! Hes worried about me having fish all over the house, but I'm planning to bag myself a fish room downstairs instead

I will say I've heard of scarlet badis even rejecting live foods! Picky little guys. I wish you the best luck with culturing up some yummy worms for them! I've really wanted them for a long time but I keep refraining because I know they might end up not eating and then I'd be more worried about them than they are about themselves, just how it goes with pets.

My boyfriend wants a big angel tank. He keeps trying to convince me to convert my 55 community, which I love, into an angel tank, or otherwise add in some angels to the community. He doesn't quite grasp the concept of angels probably eating my endlers, and at least harassing my pearl gourami. Oh well, knowing me I'll probably end up with a 200-something-gallon angel tank down the road when I have the housing for it He liked the idea of breeding bettas as a project with me until he realized I wasn't interested in using HIS betta... Mostly because his betta won't build a bubble nest for his life, even with a female next to him! He's got a heater, live plants, a sizable tank, lots of yummy protein-rich foods, and even a potential girlfriend, but nope, he's not interested, lol.