Festae Feeding

[Enigmatic96]

Hello, hopefully someone can help me out as I am being to worry.

Long story short (probably won't be that short):
I acquired this pair of Festae around 1.5months ago. The male was around 7 inches and the female around 6-6.5inches. When I first got them I placed them in a 75G. A week later they decided to breed and produced a successful spawn which I have growing out in another tank (but that is a whole different topic). While in this tank they were very shy and would hide whenever the tank was approached and I would have to drop the food right inside their caves for them too eat. (The previous owner told me that they didn't have much human contact so they are very shy)
So after the fry were free swimming for a week I moved Dad, Mum and the fry to my 180G tank where I put them in alone. I was recommended to feed them Northfin Carnivore so I purchased that too try it. I use a pill cutter to cut the food in half as it is slightly too big for it. When I first feed it they went straight for it and ate a few pellets each (I am guessing they were very hungry) but as time has gone on they seem to either accept it one day and not accept it another. Mum is generally a very good eater and will eat a few pellets a day. But dad is not so great and will generally eat max 1-1.5 pellets a day. However, lately dad has been taking the food into his mouth and then spitting it out. I feel this has happened ever since I gave in and feed him some live black worms (I understand this was most likely a mistake on my part and now he doesn't want the pellets) although he has always been an on and off eater. I am starting to worry that he may have an internal parasite as this may be lowering his appetite and preventing weight gain. I tried treating with praziquantel a week ago and will be administering the second does as recommended this week but so far I have seen no change. I perform a 20-25% water change 2-3 times a week. If it is an indicator of anything I believe they are going to spawn again soon, they have been digging a pit next to a cave and have been "dancing" or fan each other with their tails like they did last time.
I am lost for ideas as every other festae I have had have hand feed.
I have included pictures of both the male and female as well as a video. I tried to capture them the best I could. I don't think dad has eaten much more then 1 Northfin Carnivore pellet in around 6-7 days.
Please not the silver dollars have just been added yesterday after I pulled their fry that was a bit over a month old. They seem to bring the festae out more, but as soon as I remove the lid to feed them they go and hide.
Also, if you are recommending a Internal Parasite medication I am located in Australia where most are only available by prescription from a vet.
Apologises for the long post I wanted to make sure that I could give as much information as possible, as well as the dirty back wall in the tank.

 

[Addicted to Cichlids]

My male is super finicky too, I've seen him go up to take a pellet once, in months, however, he loves algae wafers, he will go up and grab a freeze dried shrimp every now and then, but he seems to prefer picking through gravel, he wont even eat bloodworms.

 

[duanes]

Festae are omnivores, with a preference for aquatic and terrestrial insects and crustaceans, also feeding on detritus and algae. A pellet rich in veggies as opposed to one heavy on the carnivorous side may help.
That said most cichlids will hit anything that moves, and then, become picky (to their own detriment) refusing non-moving food, and in so doing miss out on the essential nutrients found in live veggie stuffed insects.
Adult festae do not require as much food as young ones, and in nature may not get to eat every day.
Feeding sparingly may be a ticket to good health, mine were not fed every day, so never appeared fat.



Consider, that birds are some of the most dangerous predators on festae, so any shadow will instinctually create a flight response.
Note this river in northern South America.

.

 

[Enigmatic96]

View attachment 1342992 View attachment 1342994 Festae are omnivores, with a preference for aquatic and terrestrial insects and crustaceans, also feeding on detritus and algae. A pellet rich in veggies as opposed to one heavy on the carnivorous side may help.
That said most cichlids will hit anything that moves, and then, become picky (to their own detriment) refusing non-moving food, and in so doing miss out on the essential nutrients found in live veggie stuffed insects.
Adult festae do not require as much food as young ones, and in nature may not get to eat every day.
Feeding sparingly may be a ticket to good health, mine were not fed every day, so never appeared fat.



Consider, that birds are some of the most dangerous predators on festae, so any shadow will instinctually create a flight response.
Note this river in northern South America.

. View attachment 1342993

What do you recommend to try feeding with a picky Festae? He has never eaten as much as my female and like I said now he just take the pellet In his mouth and then spits it out. I’m guessing I shouldn’t feed stuff like live blackworms as it seems to make him want the pellets less

 

[Enigmatic96]

View attachment 1342992 View attachment 1342994 Festae are omnivores, with a preference for aquatic and terrestrial insects and crustaceans, also feeding on detritus and algae. A pellet rich in veggies as opposed to one heavy on the carnivorous side may help.
That said most cichlids will hit anything that moves, and then, become picky (to their own detriment) refusing non-moving food, and in so doing miss out on the essential nutrients found in live veggie stuffed insects.
Adult festae do not require as much food as young ones, and in nature may not get to eat every day.
Feeding sparingly may be a ticket to good health, mine were not fed every day, so never appeared fat.



Consider, that birds are some of the most dangerous predators on festae, so any shadow will instinctually create a flight response.
Note this river in northern South America.

. View attachment 1342993

When I fed them both tonight my make and female from what I can see both ate 1/2 a pellet then after that both took the pellets in and spat them out. I am worrying about my make due to him looking thin. Would it be a bad idea to feed them live blackworms that I know they will eat?

 

[duanes]

Festae or any cichlids can take weeks without food, so holding back live until they eat pellets, and get used to them, is how I get them to eat what they need (the total nutrient package that is a pellet) as opposed to something they like but is devoid of essentials.
If you give a kid Doritos with a side of broccoli, guess what the kid will fill up on (hell, give me Doritos with broccoli and guess what I'll fill up on, and in theory, I know better).