Two week in, not eating (armatus)

[MichaelE]

I just wanted to run something by you guys: I picked up two 8/10cm armatus two weeks ago and I'm having some problem with getting them to accept dead food. The first night they got here they managed to chow down two balas that I was going to use as teacher fish but nothing since then.
Would you say that this is a cause for concern or should I just stick at it? The "eat or die" method has always worked for me when it came to tats/scombs and ATFs but they all broke much earlier than this.
The foods that I've tried includes, shrimp, mysis, krill, cut up smelt and small frozen climbing perch (they did show some interest in the perch)+ a assortment of pellets. I keep them with some tinfoil barbs that happily gorge them selfs on everything but it's not triggering the armys as of yet.

Should I just bite the bullet and get some feeders or would you stick at it?

Regards

 

[Wailua Boy]

I probably would hold off a little longer but depends on the condition of the fish prior to your receiving, i.e. if they were very skinny to begin with.

 

[MichaelE]

I probably would hold off a little longer but depends on the condition of the fish prior to your receiving, i.e. if they were very skinny to begin with.

I would say that they arrived in fairly good condition, they still don't look all that skinny to be honest.
What bugs me is that they generally show no interest in food what so ever.

 

[HumanBean]

I probably would hold off a little longer but depends on the condition of the fish prior to your receiving, i.e. if they were very skinny to begin with.

Carrot and stick policy. But if starving for long and weak do offer live food.

 

[The Deep]

I just wanted to run something by you guys: I picked up two 8/10cm armatus two weeks ago and I'm having some problem with getting them to accept dead food. The first night they got here they managed to chow down two balas that I was going to use as teacher fish but nothing since then.
Would you say that this is a cause for concern or should I just stick at it? The "eat or die" method has always worked for me when it came to tats/scombs and ATFs but they all broke much earlier than this.
The foods that I've tried includes, shrimp, mysis, krill, cut up smelt and small frozen climbing perch (they did show some interest in the perch)+ a assortment of pellets. I keep them with some tinfoil barbs that happily gorge them selfs on everything but it's not triggering the armys as of yet.

Should I just bite the bullet and get some feeders or would you stick at it?

Regards

I'm in the same situation only mine are a bit bigger ,after a month of feeders they're are now 10 days without food and no interest at all, Im going to starve them more.

 

[furcifer158]

Maybe stick to one kind of food. Seeing so many different foods could be confusing them.

 

[MichaelE]

Maybe stick to one kind of food. Seeing so many different foods could be confusing them.

Good point, I've never thought of that.

 

[MichaelE]

Ok, so...I got some good news, last night they both gobbled down a pice of smelt. Hopefully this means that they're accepting dead food and it's not a one off.

 

[kno4te]

Great to hear!

 

[sashimimaster]

yeah, don't give in. They can go a long time without eating. Mine took about 2 weeks too. I actually had them eating pellets which they grew to love until they got too big and I had to change them to bigger food.