Spectacle caimen diet?

[Dom]

couple of questions?

First off .. are menows the best type of feeders? (in fish) - I've heard from many, not too use goldfish because of their coloration??? what about rossey reds .. there the same as gold fich except grey? Do you guys think it safe to catch them in the ponds? for bigger caimens are perches good?



Feeder insects??? I've also heard of insect diets for caimens .. - mine is a spectacle caimen - from what I could tell he could not care less about the crickets .. do they actually eat bugs?

I entend on feeding him a rodent / fish diet?? Is that the best choice?


As for growth rate .. My guy is a pig .. I want him to grow big but at a normal rate .. I want a monster .. in a couple of years .. not in under one!

So how many rat / fish per week on what kind of intervals ..

Thanks in advance

[marisa]

I believe Goldfish are higher in fat than rosy red minnows, but both are very close to the same thing, although they are not. There was something else bad about goldies for food but I can't remember it correctly right now,,hahaha yeah i know that doesnt help.

As for catching them wild, one can say no because of contamination. But the thing is that the feeders in the pet store are all swampped with bacteria and contaminents so I don't know if wild ones would be worse off or better off! Feeders in pet stores are often rasied in filthier conditions that i have seen most ponds. Some suggest keeping feeders in a tank at your home and treating them for a few weeks, although I don't know if this is common practice. I probably will be doing this for my turtle just to be on the safe side, as many general fish treatments are quite affordable.

Marisa

[jason h]

actually rosy reds are a minnow variety and are ok fer yer croc but do not use them as a staple food a couple of times a week is fine . the problem with goldfish and all members of the carp family is that they are very fatty and oily fish that contain high amounts of thiaminase that can if used alot be fatal to yer little guy, as fer crickets etc, mine wouldnt eat em either though once in a while i kill large meal worms and place them next to the waters edge and he will eat a few many ppl have also used turtle pellets though i have never tried this,and dont no haw they present it but if you feed a veriety af items and in moderation so he does not eat alot of one item he will be happy.

[jason h]

sorry i forgot to answer some of yer qustions rodents are excellent they are whole prey items therefore contain many vitamins and nutrients as well as whole fish though you will need to clean up hair balls that he will cough up. a little messy but worth it for yer croc. for staple diets rodents are yer best bet but as i mentioned always offer other items for variety (chicken, beef, liver.etc.) i feed mine smaller portions but every night but the general rule of thumb is every other day when small and every 3-4 days as they reach adlut hood. when i first got mine i was measureing him every friday and he would gain roughly a quarter inch or more a week average growth is 1 foot a year but they grow rapidly as babys hope this helps.also as fer catchinng fish that is a question i had at one time also and was told by many keepers that this is common practice for them when fishing they keep the appropriate sized perch sunfish catfish etc.fer there crocs also. so break out the poles and have fun lol.

[Dom]

Tanks a lot - can't tell u how much this helps


One more question ... sex determination??? is there a way I can telll if it is a male or a female?

And wich grows fast er and gets larger

When u said chiken liver beef .. its all un cooked right?

[jason h]

yup uncooked. males grow larger but there is no easy way to tell the sex untill it is much older this is accoplished by popping or by inserting your finger into the cloaca to find the sex organs.

[jason h]

just thought i bettr mention that if yer catching fish for yer croc you should freeze them to eliminate parasites etc before feeding (just for a procationary measure)