I give the live foods to the topminnows too, but they don't visibly lose
weight if they're only on flakefood for a week.
This observation was largely inspired by talking to Charlie Grimes about
keeping and conditioning rainbow shiners, Notropis chrosomus. They also are
happy to take flakefood, but mine look much better after sustained feedings
of various worms and bugs (it's a greenhouse, I got bugs...). Charlie's
rainbows, from the same location in Collinsville, AL, didn't look nearly as
colorful on a flake-only diet.
None of this is new, that natives will do better with more live foods. But
it's easy to fall into a rut and let things slide from day to day, I know I
do!
--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A
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