I don't think he looks like a western.
I don't know if you can see the pattern very well in this photo (below) but mine is a western.

Try some live whole minnows, they're packed with calcium, that'll stave off a soft shell.. and keep in mind when hatchlings are small the shell isn't extremely hard until they get closer to a year old.
Mine is 12 years old, he was raised on live fish, live crickets, several types of worms and some pellet. Painteds in general don't care as much for veggies as RES do. I make a food for mine with veggies hidden in it, that's the only way I can get him to eat them.
Give him lots of sunlight, a wide variety of foods, he should do well for you.



-----
PHRatz

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]