Originally Posted By: Shorty
Originally Posted By: brook wilson
The RES casually slurp it from the surface. They also swim in an undulating, porpoise fashion, taking one pellet after another until full.


I have started seeing a little bit of that type of pellet eating behavior in my pond over the last few days with AM500, I think they might be RES but can't tell for sure. It is just outside of where I have been feeding the other fish in my pond but in a shallower area.

Just an update on the training, quite a few of the RES in my larger tank are now taking pellets off the surface. I have a several RES that are approaching the 4" mark. smile

I am serioulsy thinking of putting them back in the pond in two weeks. One of the issues I have with the insulated tanks out in my shop are relatively low water temps, with the cooler weather here and 20% daily water changes my water temps have been consistantly in the upper 60's and low 70's. I think getting them back in the pond with higher water temps will help them grow better. My options are to either cage them or put them behind a blocking net and continue their pellet training for a few more weeks, or simply turn them loose. Right now I have huge numbers of fry and 1" GSH for them to dine on but pellets should be much easier for them to chase down.


Shorty,

Why so much of a water change and so often? You should be able to get by with 10 percent or less and not for several days if your fish load is not too high.

What are you using for mechanical filtration and biofiltration again? How large is tbe tank and what is the fish load?

Another option is to make it a ras/flow through hybrid to reduce water changes if you have a drain. Clamp a garden hose and nozzle to the fish tank and adjust the nozzle to add a light spray. This can add gallons of fresh water over time but at a low enough flow not to cause problems with D.O. or Ph.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.