Re: NANFA-- brook stickleback?

DasArm_at_aol.com
Sat, 23 Sep 2000 00:02:52 EDT

In a message dated 9/22/00 9:41:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
chateaustripmin_at_mcn.net writes:

<< Since sticklebacks are now believed to be related to seahorses, is it also
possible that they need more calcium than can be provided by brine shrimp or
worms? Also, according to Becker, algae is also a large part of their
stomach contents. I'm wondering if this might be an important missing part
of their captive diet.
>>

That's possible, that they just need more algae. But what I was thinking, and
that's good that you mentioned the relationship between sticklebacksand
seahorses, because it gave me this idea; is I had read a Seascope article
called "Raising Mysid Shrimp as a Home Aquarium Food" ; and it said
seadragons, seahorses, and pipefishes, which are in the same group together,
are fed mysid shrimps by people who culture them. Of course they were writing
about marine mysids, but freshwater mysids also exist. I don't know how big
freshwater mysid srimp get to be; they may be too small for sticklebacks to
eat as a regular part of their diet when they become adults, but I would
think that there is a freshwater mysid shrimp species that exists that is
big enough for an adult stickleback especially since brook sticklebacks
(don't know if this is a characteristic of other species) seem to have small
mouths for their size.

The article said that they elicit a bigger feeding response from the
aforementioned types of fishes when compared to the feeding response
generated by brine shrimp. They are supposed to be vastly superior in
nutritional value to brine shrimp ( I only fed brine shrimp to my
sticklebacks after I found them dying with bloated bellies after being
continously fed blackworms only) ;I figure it should help keep the
sticklebacks' intestines clear of any obstructions that may result from
eating such fatty food. It also said that a group of seahorses that had
been fed brine shrimp nauplii for the 1st 6 weeks were gradally wasting away.
Mortality ceased once small mysids were the sole food. Since sticklebacks are
related to seahorses (not super-closely I'm thinking, but in the same order
or something like that) I think that these feeding methods may work well
when dealing with sticklebacks that are wasting away.

I was thinking that people unable to culture mysids for any reason may do
well enough in the amount of calcium they supply to their sticklebacks if
they have a good supply of baby snails which are constantly being produced in
sufficient numbers for the sticklebacks.

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