Chinese perch-HOW TO GET OFF LIVE-PLEASE HELP

[Damascus]

I am at my wits end with this fish

6-8" perch and I cannot get it off live
It's in a 90g cube right now until I can get it off live
It will eat feeders from tongs, but not frozen feeders from tongs. I have gotten it to snag a piece of tilapia and shrimp once or twice since it was 3" but will not eat other foods other than live

I added two SB PACU to see if other fish can "teach" it that other items are food, it still doesn't care. I've tried starving for weeks and it snagged a shrimp from tongs a few weeks ago but nothing since.

Any help from people who have broken this fish off live?

 

[Damascus]

Anyone?

Is this a fish I can continue to push or is this a species that will starve itself to its own detriment/death before adjusting?

Got it to eat a 1/4 of a shrimp on a string the other night but again, nothing since.

 

[Kilograms]

I have never kept Chinese perch before ( banned where I am) , but I have had success weaning payara and tigerfish onto prepared foods. Individuals of the same species can show varying degrees of willingness to take dead food.

I think Chinese perch are notorious for being difficult to break from live so you may just have an extremely stubborn one. I would personally try the fishing line and needle/ hook method to try simulate live movement. Feed from the same place every time and slowly reduce the number of feeders while trying this and it may eventually be curious enough to take it .

Hopefully someone with more experience with Chinese perch can chime in. Best of luck!

 

[M075]

Try some fishing line to make it move and each time u feed try to give it less movement. Also if ur water is a bit rougher at the top the dead fish or shrimp will move up and down a bit with waves making it more likely that your predators will find it attractive enough to eat.

My hujeta's kinda tried to stop taking frozen since i have them live guppys every other feeding so i do that a lot less now and created some extra waves so the dead food looks alive.

However these crazy bastards will eat a algea wafer from the ground every damn time

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

I found they'll take dying feeders pretty well, and after a point just start slamming them indiscriminately If they look vaguely like said feeders regardless of whether they're alive or not. At which point they'll take dead feeders or things like slivered silversides.
I also have had them just go after thin strips of slowly-falling shrimp after tossing a piece in every day for over a week regardless if they eat it or not; they'll take interest as it falls and sometimes make motions to strike without doing so until they have a proper go once not given any alternatives for food.

 

[Damascus]

Is this a fish that will starve itself if not given live? As long I continue to offer tilapia, shrimp, etc. , will it eventually do enough damage to itself being stubborn?

 

[Fishburner]

I have a friend that used to have one. He couldn't get it off live. The only time he was able to get it to take a piece of shrimp was to "go fishing" by loosely tying a piece of shrimp to a string and jerking it around the tank.

 

[latapy10]

I am at my wits end with this fish

6-8" perch and I cannot get it off live
It's in a 90g cube right now until I can get it off live
It will eat feeders from tongs, but not frozen feeders from tongs. I have gotten it to snag a piece of tilapia and shrimp once or twice since it was 3" but will not eat other foods other than live

I added two SB PACU to see if other fish can "teach" it that other items are food, it still doesn't care. I've tried starving for weeks and it snagged a shrimp from tongs a few weeks ago but nothing since.

Any help from people who have broken this fish off live?

Not every predatory fish will eat non live food. In difficult cases, I helped myself with collected earthworms.

 

[jjohnwm]

Disclaimer: I've never had one of these fish, nor in fact any Dats either.

But I've raised a lot of predatory species over the years, and I'll flat out state that it's a matter of training and willpower. Unfortunately, it's often the fish that succeeds in training the owner rather than vice versa.

When it comes to weaning a predator off live foods there are absolutely tougher and easier species, as well as tougher and easier individuals within a species. When you come up against a tough one, you must think like a fish. Dropping a pellet into the tank day after day after day and then standing there staring at the fish actually works with some fish, but generally speaking if the fish is shy and retiring, then constantly going in with a net or tongs to pick up uneaten food ain't working to your benefit.

Wiggling a chunk of frozen food on a string works nicely, but it requires caution. The food needs to be lightly tied to the string or skewered onto it, just enough that motion can be imparted but not so much that it requires too much effort to pull the string away after the fish grabs the food. If you have a shy or stubborn feeder that requires this tactic it's quite possible to do more harm than good by yanking and tugging too hard to free the string; you've got to keep in mind that you are finessing a stubborn fish into eating, not fighting a marlin.

The surefire method for me requires the fish to be eating live foods enthusiastically. Use feeders small enough that a meal consists of multiple small ones rather than one big one. Toss the small feeders in one at a time. When the fish reaches the point where it is waiting for the food and smashes it the moment it hits the water, start throwing them in as hard as possible, make a commotion, and don't feed so much at any one sitting that the fish is satiated. Keep it always a bit hungry. When the feeding response is instantaneous, throw in a live one, then another live one, and then follow up with a dead feeder thrown the same way. The fish will likely hit it. Reduce the number of live ones for the next couple feedings until the fish is eating 100% dead feeders. At that point it's just a natural step to start throwing in frozen ones, strips of fillet, pellets, etc.

It goes without saying that all water parameters need to be excellent and the fish is in a low-stress environment, with sufficient hiding places, etc. for it to feel comfortable. A shy ambush predator kept in a brightly-lit tank in a high-traffic area, in front of a stereo speaker, and with no decor or substrate, is not going to easily trainable. Temperatures close to the upper comfort range for the species will increase metabolism and perhaps speed the process.

You are outwitting an animal with a brain the size of a sesame seed and an IQ in the single digit range. It should be easy.