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Greater Siren Help

Snakeguy101

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Hello, I recently acted on impulse and picked up a large greater siren (roughly 3'). I currently have him in a 135 gallon tank with sand substrate and he seems to be doing well except I have not seen him eat. I have offered live minnows and pellets but he either does not show himself when eating or he is not eating the food quick enough before it is sucked up by other fish or the filter. What are some ways I could get him to eat? what is recommended for him to eat?

He otherwise seems healthy and is very active. Could he just be settling in?

thanks,
~Chris~
 

Nathan

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My lesser siren can't resist a nice nightcrawler. I usually dangle it in the tank and let him take it from my fingers.
 

froggy

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It will need time to settle in. Make sure that the water temperature and quality are ok, particularly if there is uneaten food in the tank. There is a caresheet for lesser sirens (Siren intermedia) here; Caudata Culture Species Entry - Siren intermedia - I suspect the general care is similar, but others might comment on this.

Earthworms are a good bet, as caudates rarely refuse them, particularly aquatic animals. Either use small worms or chop larger ones up. If you chop worms, I find wiping the chunks on kitchen paper or similar to remove the thick mucus makes them more palatable for the salamander.

Good luck

Chris
 

Kaysie

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I have to agree with the earthworm suggestions.

Try to catch your siren when it's out and about. Drop a fat nightcrawler in front of it, and see if it will eat. Mine would eat a dozen a day if I could afford it!

If it's three feet long, I don't think you need to worry about chopping earthworms. Also, at that size, I cannot recommend hand-feeding it. Sirens can inflict a nasty bite, and at 3 feet, can easily draw blood. Use tongs.

As for live minnows, I purchased some guppies recently to feed another animal, and dropped the leftover 3 in the siren tank. As far as I can tell, there's still one guppy left, although the others may easily be hiding. I don't think they really prefer the fish. I've also fed mine pinkies, red wigglers, and am slowly introducing pellets.
 

Jennewt

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... either does not show himself when eating or he is not eating the food quick enough before it is sucked up by other fish or the filter.

If there are any large fish living in the tank, this could be a significant problem. They are generally quicker to grab food. I would recommend keeping the siren by itself, at least until it is eating well.
 

Bettae

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Hi, this is my first post. Over the past 30 years have had various Axoytls, Water Dogs/Tiger Salamanders, Sirens, Newts and several generations of tadpoles/toads/frogs and turtles.

Recently acquired a 20" Greater Siren. Provided lots of plants and rocks for it to hide in. Offered ghost shrimp, feeder fish and bits of raw fish. Had not seen our baby feeding but same eventually disappear from tank. A couple of days ago started adding red wigglers and our creature immediately comes out of hiding and slurps them down like spaghetti - so this seems to be its preferred food.
 

Jake

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Assuming the water quality is OK, you should be able to get the siren to eat nightcrawler (as previously suggested). I find the new arrivals feed more readily as it's getting dark, but once they get settled in they'll eat any time! To make the animal feel more comfortable, it might help to keep the lights above the tank (if any) off for the first week or so.
 

ryanscroggins

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I've had my lacertina for three years now. when I got her she was around 9 inches long, now she is a whopping 33 inches and way bigger around than my wrist. When she first arrived she wouldn't eat for about a week, then she started sucking up frozen/thawed bloodworms and fish flakes like a vaccum. As she grew so did the food. I've offered fish flakes, bloodworms, blackworms, guppies, ghost ship, bamboo shrimp, chopped calf liver, red wigglers, small crawfish and her favorite Canadian nightcrawlers. It seems like once you get them eating there's no stopping them. She is totally one of my favoritse in my collection. People freak when they see how massive she is! I think sirens are great captives. At the present time she is on a schedule of 6 nightcrawlers, three days a week. I keep guppies in the tank and she will occasionally pick one off here and there. I also see her eating fish flakes every now and then when they are offered to the guppies. She also gets a handfull of bloodworms once a week.
 
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