I started trying to pellet train my dat a couple days ago ( I know that's not long) and I'm just wondering if there are any better methods. Right now I'm soaking the pellets in water used to unthaw shrimp. But he's not taking them. It's honestly heart breaking watching the little guy beg for food. He sits at the surface and watches me with his puppy dog eyes expecting me to put shrimp in the tank. I just want to get him trained before I give in.
Questions about pellets training.
- Thread starter Vanica
- Start date
Stuff the shrimp with sinking hikari pellets. Then gradually just give him pellets. How big is he?
thats a pretty decent size already, if he attacks the food as soon as it hits the water try feeding shrimp at first and then surprise him with a pellet. mine at first would spit it back out but eventually started taking the pellets. once you have one that takes pellets and you get more it helps with the training since they get watch your first one take pellets
He doesn't hit food as it hits the water. Usually finds it on the bottom. Maybe I will try getting him doing that.
Any luck yet? I think it helps to have a trainer fish with them. Try like a convict or some other type of non aggressive cichlid with him.
I find the easiest way is to feed him the usual food that he eats and slowly mixing it with pellets
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I think what he is currently eating plays into it a little. I trained a 9 inch one i use to have by holding the bag of feeder fish in front of his tank to the point where he was snapping at them through the glass. Then id bring him up to the top of the tank by moving the bag, then throwing a massivore pellet in. I think shrimp/krill is a luxury diet with a really great taste to it, and if i get another I'm not going to start feeding him that if i have the choice. Another one i had i got onto floating freeze dried krill, but no matter how many times i tried he wouldn't take to anything else, and i think it was because of the sweet taste of krill. However if he's already eating shrimp, stuffing it is the way i would go. I must say my datnoid, the first one i mentioned, didn't eat anything for about 3-4 weeks while i was trying to get him on pellets. If he's of decent size like you said 5-6 inches, don't be afraid to starve him a little. I also had a group of 6-7 frontosas in with him, and they were active eaters, eating pellets.
Mine is in with a peacock bass that slams massivore the second it hits the water. I'm still stuffing the shrimp with pellets. I think I'll start weening him soon though. He was a rescue and I didn't want to starve him until I knew he was good and healthy.
