A more natural diet?

[Buphy]

So I've been working for a while trying to get my 55 gallon tank to eat pellets. When I first got them I spoiled them and now they like meat only it seems (blood worms, brine shrimp and beef heart). I've tried "starving" them out but give in every few days and get little to no results.

This weekend I'm going on a vacation for 4 days and I'm considering trying to actually starve them out while I can't feel sorry for them. Do yall think that will work? If it doesn't I have another plan I'd like to try...

To the title of this thread, my idea is a diet you would more likely find in the wild. Put in live plants every week and let them munch on that and then every few days also give them feeders/crickets/snails/live shrimp and so on. What do y'all think of this idea? Bad for the fish? Good alternative to pellets if they still won't take them? Also if you think it'd work, what plants do y'all recommend?

P.S. The fish are an EBJD, JD and paratilopia bleekeri (or Polleni).

 

[jamntoast]

I think for a lot of fish meat (of sorts) is their main diet and any sorts of vitamins and vegetable matter they would get would come as a by-product of them munching on something to get at something else or in the guy of the animal they ate. there is a great video I found on ivan mikoliji's channel on youtube which is an interview with marc Weiss and he discusses the diet of his fish and shows how he makes his own food. I would post it but i'm at work and can't access youtube from here. I would think crickets and stuff would be a good idea especially because you can feed them what you want and then the fish will get that too when they eat em. if you want to feed them pellets though, I would just do that. they will come around or stay hungry right.

 

[tomojsg]

feeding a wide variety of food is the best imo. but if its not taking pellets
i would starve for couple days and try garlic soaked pellets. also if your
going away for 4 days i recommend doing a light feeding and then a wc
before you leave and when u get back you can try garlic soaked pellets.

 

[Buphy]

Ya, 10 gallon wc before I leave and giving them something I know they'll eat

 

[tomojsg]

i would do about 50% wc after a light feeding. changing 10g is pointless.

 

[Buphy]

10 gallons is a 20% change and in no way pointless.

 

[tomojsg]

well thats just my opinion to each their own but we do wc to remove build up of
ammonia, n0 & etc. a 50% would be more beneficial maintaining a higher quality
water condition especially since you will be gone for 4 days. better safe then sorry.
just my 2cents.

 

[ahud]

I think the benefit to a pellet is consistency and convenience. I would not try a sole live food diet personally. Not only will that be labor intensive and potentially expensive, but the most aggressive eater will get most of the food when feeding things like crickets. With feeders, there is always the risk of disease. I suppose it could work, but I don't know if there would be any sort of benefit.

I can not count how many times my fish have not been fed over the weekend (2-3 days). I don't think two days is anywhere near the starving point. I don't worry about feeding my fish when I go on vacation either, usually they spawn while I am gone! I think you are overly concerned with starving them. Most people have fat fish. The only exception in my experience is fry, they don't do well missing meals.

 

[duanes]

I leave for at least 10 days at a time at least 3 times per year, with no feeding during those periods. I try to do a large water changes (40-50%) every day for maybe 3 days in row before leaving.

 

[Buphy]

Sounds like my version of starving isn't what it needs to be. Thanks guys!