# Honeycomb catfish issues!



## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

So a little while ago I bought 5 honeycomb catfish. I threw them into my 55 gallon tank, with dwarf cichlids, tetras, cory cats etc, and they got badly picked on by my dicrossus maculatus. I moved them to a cycled 20 gallon tank by themselves, with a large sponge filter, two smaller filters, black estes sand and some wood. They seemed a little better, coming out at night like they should (they're nocturnal), but they wouldn't eat. I've tried cobalt flake food, shrimp pellets, bottom feeder pellets, frozen mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, crushed flake, walter worms, white worms, even shrimp food, nothing will eat it. I know they're surface feeders, so I was feeding them in the dark (about an hour after lights went out) by flashlight light the white worms right next to their faces, they wouldn't even touch them. I don't know what to do as three now have died. I should also add every third day I've done a 30% waterchange. Anybody have any thoughts as to what I should do to save the last two? :/


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

They go crazy for frozen blood worms.


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

Going off what you said, I went out, bought some frozen bloodworms, and would ya guess, they went nuts for them. Now at least they're eating, though I can't feed them constantly bloodworms, any other suggestions?


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

Sorry that's all mine ever ate. Hopefully the person that breeds them will offer some suggestions.


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## KeyLime (May 4, 2014)

You can use a red light when feeding them after dark, so they don't see you
Maybe that'll help in getting them to take other food


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

My corys also will eat sinking wafers 
I use the Hikari brand - sinking wafers 
The package is a foil pouch and has a picture of corys and a clown loach on the front 
You can break them in half too 
Send me a PM with your address and I will mail you a few to try


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## KeyLime (May 4, 2014)

Fishlover02 said:


> Going off what you said, I went out, bought some frozen bloodworms, and would ya guess, they went nuts for them. Now at least they're eating, though I can't feed them constantly bloodworms, any other suggestions?


I don't think main diet of bloodworms is bad. If too expensive, you can also try soaking FDB (freeze-dried bloodworm) in the frozen bloodworm juice and try substituting when they are hungry. If that works, then you can wean them off the frozen bloodworm and get them onto plain FDB.


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

KeyLime said:


> I don't think main diet of bloodworms is bad. If too expensive, you can also try soaking FDB (freeze-dried bloodworm) in the frozen bloodworm juice and try substituting when they are hungry. If that works, then you can wean them off the frozen bloodworm and get them onto plain FDB.


Well, good news is, they came out of their shyness. They're out and about eating anything I put into the tank now (though they still get frozen/freeze dried bloodworms), So they're on a northfin pellet/daphnia diet mainly  thanks for the tips though ladies/gents


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

Bullet said:


> My corys also will eat sinking wafers
> I use the Hikari brand - sinking wafers
> The package is a foil pouch and has a picture of corys and a clown loach on the front
> You can break them in half too
> Send me a PM with your address and I will mail you a few to try


Thanks for the offer, but it is no longer necessary  Perhaps in the future if I have a bottom feeder which is struggling to eat, I'll take you up on that  haha


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

Andddd as of today the very same fish I was having issues feeding have bred. 50+ eggs with no fungusing over yet


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

High quality food can trigger spawning activity 
Congratulations !


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

Very nice!


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

Bullet said:


> High quality food can trigger spawning activity
> Congratulations !


That's ironic that you say that actually... As I had just added seven betta brownorum to the tank, which were having issues eating the regular food, and so for the past few days since I added them in all that's been added has been crushed up tetracolor flake food (ran out of my other flake food, got that in a large buyout bin I got, figured it couldn't hurt for a few days until I replaced the cobalt), so they haven't been getting as great of food as usual... But! No complaints here


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Well that is indeed interesting about your recent feeding habits
Whatever you are doing is working because in my experience, the only time that spawning will occur is when conditions are optimum. 
Keep us posted ...


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## KeyLime (May 4, 2014)

Yay! 
If you can raise the babies they will be super cute.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

Bailey,, congrats on that,, i don't beleive many people have bred these, let alone have them.... hopefully things will progress positively.,,,

keep us posted


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## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

I have been keeping and breeding the Tatia perugiae for many years. They have a preference for frozen blood worms but will also eat any live food such as mosquito larva, daphnia and black worms.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

Bwhiskered said:


> I have been keeping and breeding the Tatia perugiae for many years. They have a preference for frozen blood worms but will also eat any live food such as mosquito larva, daphnia and black worms.


that is awesome... bailey, there is someone that can help.. congrats on that then,, When i researched them awhile back from what i saw not to many have bred them ..

Good stuff...
cheers!!!


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

Bwhiskered said:


> I have been keeping and breeding the Tatia perugiae for many years. They have a preference for frozen blood worms but will also eat any live food such as mosquito larva, daphnia and black worms.


Good stuff good stuff... I'll be sure to have a chat with you in the future when I try to intentionally breed them ... As for the current eggs..... they were eaten by the next day. I'm not too down about though as 1) I can try to breed them again and 2) I was away for the week anyways, so any eggs that hatched would've been on it's own...


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