feeding my jag

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Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jun 30, 2006
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San Diego, CA
my jag has always been finicky. he doesn't like pellets or beefheart too much but i just found out today that he loves crickets. he'll gobble up feeders readily but i've tried to stay away from that.

my question is, any cons against feeding your jag crickets?

i've yet to try shrimp.

thanks.
 
No, feeding jags crickets is totally fine, mine absolutely love them. They are a much better food then feeder. But you should try to get him on pellets as its much healthier for him if he has a pellet staple diet with the crickets and whatever else as treats.
 
he doesn't like his hikari gold or staple. i've tried it w/ the seachem garlic too. he'll wait until he's starving to eat that stuff whereas i can hear him hitting the crickets at the surface as i type.
 
My Jag is super picky, the only pellet he'll eat is New Life Spectrum extra large fish formula. I swear he'd rather starve than eat any other pellet. Give it a try, crickets don't have all the necessary nutrients a fish needs.
 
my jag will eat some pellets, it just takes him a while because it becomes mush in his mouth and falls out. then the pleco goes for it.

im going to try beef heart again as well. i discontinued it because the water was getting bad, now i have a bottom feeder to take care of whatever isn't eaten.
 
yesssssssssssssss. he loves beef heart again. im going to give a cube every other day along w/ his other food. do you think he'll get constipated? jag is now a little less than 5''. he swallowed the cube whole!
 
I'd advise against feeding beefheart as a staple food. Even with a bottom feeder in the tank it is tough on your water chemistry IMO. It's fine for an occasional treat. I used to feed BH and chunks of fish filets regularly, but hardly use these anymore.
For my jag I feed raw uncooked shrimp for the main staple, supplemented with krill, earthworms, and occasional flakes and pellets. He prefers the shrimp and earthworms over the other foods.
The shrimp is fairly cheap when compared to the other food. I pay 8-10$ for 2 lbs. of raw frozen shell on shrimp at Wal-Mart. Just thaw, peel and serve. My fish eat abot a pound a month.
Earthworms I buy at a local bait shop. They breed their own worms, and are packaged in foam containers with newspaper and some gray soil rather than regular dirt. Much cleaner and less messy IMO. Just squeeze the worm from tip to tail to squirt out the junk inside and feed. Very clean and easy!
I buy my krill frozen from the pet shop. Around $11 for the large flat pack.
The pellets I use I buy from a dispenser at the pet store. Save the original container and re-fill it when you run out. Don't know what brand, just labeled as cichlid pellets. The flakes I feed are Wardley's cichlid flakes.
There are lots of different foods your jag can eat. These are just the methods I use because I find them easy, cost effective, and the fish seem happy and healthy.
Good luck with whatever you decide:D
 
I have to agree that bh should not be used as a staple. I also think you should wait him out... and by that I mean choose a good staple pellet, and put only that in his tank for a week or two. Mine got stuck on feeders and super worms for a while, but I was able to get him back on pellets. Every day I'd put three or four in, and every day I'd have to scoop them out. It took about 9 days, and finally he started eating. I know its not fun, but you should really try to get him on pellets, it will be better for your fish in the long run.
 
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