feeding south american leaf fish
- Thread starter Jlorenzo
- Start date
I need some ideas. He doesn't go for the earthworm even when I hold it by the surface and let it wriggle. It does catch his eye but he loses interest then I drop it and my bichir takes it. I'm not putting petsmart feeders in my tank. I may end up putting him in his own tank if I can't get him to eat something soon. It been about 4 days since I've had him and I haven't seen him eat yet. He does seem to be getting comfortable with the tank today.
This is one of the very few fish I would recommend a diet of "feeders" with. I would not recommend the "feeder fish" from a petsmart though. Try feeding a healthy small tropical species--livebearers like guppies and small tetras work.
I tried a lot of different techniques to get them on prepared food at my old job where we regularly kept a couple dozen. I was able to get them to eat live blackworms at one point, but any prepared food was always rejected no matter what I tried (and I tried a lot of stuff, TRUST ME, including practically starving them).
I tried a lot of different techniques to get them on prepared food at my old job where we regularly kept a couple dozen. I was able to get them to eat live blackworms at one point, but any prepared food was always rejected no matter what I tried (and I tried a lot of stuff, TRUST ME, including practically starving them).
He actually just took a cichlid flake and he looked like he wanted to go for the bloodworms, maybe he will be hungry enough to take em tomorrow. I have a african knife and leopard cntenopoma that love the cichlid flakes and pellets now. They didn't at first but eventually they started eating them and now they go crazy. We will see. I think I may have to put him in his own tank. I think if I do put feeders in they will be eaten by other fish first.
They do best in species only tanks in a group. The fish I always tried to ween on prepared foods were freshly wild caught and imported, that might have been part of it. I've seen quite a few individual fish that are species that supposedly NEVER take to prepared food eating stuff like flakes and pellets. Good luck! 
got one not eating right now. the two others ate the feeders. He is acting like he wants to hunt but won't engage anything. weird. I'm going to do a methylene blue bath. This usually helps with getting fish free of whatever health concern I have. Any suggestions from anyone else?
