He doesn't seem to come to the top very much, so I'm thinking he's a strict bottom feeder. Yeah, the brine shrimp die fast, but there are 2 ghost shrimp in there and some baby guppies that keep eating the dead ones, so that hasn't become a problem yet. I was only worried about the salt.. So I took a turkey baster, squirted some through a fish net, then put the brine shrimp back into some spring water, then sucked them back up again and tried to squirt them right near his face. He didn't really care about them when I did that though.. I didn't catch him eating them until a few mins later, when one would randomly pass by his mouth. Maybe he's just not extremely hunger. I assume if he was desperate, he would be much more likely to go after the stuff I'm putting in front of him. I just want to make sure he is at least eating SOMETHING. I got him like 2 and a half weeks ago, I dun want to kill him already. Once I get past this period of, "Ahhh! Is he eating???" I'll stop obsessing and be ok... I didn't have to worry so much about my other salamander, cause I KNEW he was eating.. Oye, what a fatty, hehe.

The head and mouth configuration on this reminds me of a South American lungfish I used to have. It was strictly a bottom feeder.
Have you tried something like shrimp pellets that will sink near it?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I haven't tried anything pellet-like yet. I saw people using salmon pellets for bottom feeders.. maybe i'll have to look into where I can buy those...

you should be able to get sinking fishfood pellets at any aquarium shop.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

nah, i read about this stuff, i'll have to find the link, salmon pellets, they have the right stuff in it, and it's been used by the "axolotl colony" for feeding for a long time (i think that's at axolotl.org)

a lot of the pellets I find in stores have stuff they wouldn't be naturally eating in the wild.. like corn.. why would a salamander be eating corn? or wheat? probably not.. i try to be careful with what I feed my animals. i don't want to be responsible for a defficiency down the line, i'd feel horrible if I wasn't feeding them the right stuff to the best of my knowledge. however, if I can't get my siren to eat any of this other stuff, i might have to try the pellets in the store.. i think it'll be ok tho.

Oh, ya, btw:



Awwwwww!

I have a bottle of HBH brand "Newt & Salamander Bites" that came from my local pet shop. There is some "wheat flour" in it, but it's very far down the list, after anchovy meal, krill meal, dried squid, fish oil and blood meal. Not perfect but possibly something to have on hand if all ealse runs out/fails?

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Amy

I'll have to see what brands we have at my local pet store. I looked at something today that had corn meal as the 2nd or 3rd ingredient... But yeah, wouldn't be bad to have on hand, to feed occasionally if I can't find anything live to feed out..

Its been a number of years since I was into fish but check into the Tetra Tetramin Tablets as well as the Aquarian. Both were quality foods at the time.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Well, remember, I'm not looking for food for fish. A lot of these pellets float, also. I need stuff that sinks.