finicky jaguars and earthworms

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m8r8j

Candiru
MFK Member
Sep 6, 2008
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Ipswich, MA
so im growing out some jaguars in a 36 x 18 x 24 tank (65 gallon), theres about 7 jaguars in there ranging from 2 inches to about 4 inches. i purchased them from liveaquaria about 2 months ago at 1-1.5", and ive never had anything this finicky... ive tried nls cichlid formula, crushed hikari sinking cichlid gold, crushed hikari floating cichlid bio-gold, frozen krill, frozen mysis shrimp, frozen beefheart, frozen bloodworms, and cut up live earthworms. i dont have the heart to starve them on to anything when they are this little, and the only thing they take to is frozen bloodworms and cut up live earthworms. everything ive read says that frozen bloodworms are total crap in nutrients as well as protein.. i read a good article on earthworms and it says they are packed with raw protein (over 60%) and these little guys absolutely gorge themselves on them until their bellys are bulging, and they wont do that on any other food. so my plan is to feed them live earthworms and frozen bloodworms until they hit about 7" then starve them onto a nice big pellet like massivore... does this sound ok?


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Might try some flake food, I like the Ocean Nutrition Prime reef flake for predatory micro predators. and I would just feed the earthworms vs the bloodworms personally. or make sure your feeding a mix to much bloodworms at one time can cause bloating issues ime with other species. you may also try the method of soaking pellets in the bloodworm/earthworm mush a few minutes before feeding. there are plenty of other good options for introducing new foods besides just starvation methods.
 
yea i was going to try to stuff some massivore pieces into the earthworms and see how that goes... i think the worms should bulk the fish up quick since they seem to be a nice meaty source of protein...


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What happens after they hit 7" and they refuse to eat anything else than the Earthworms...isnt it better that you try now and give them a blanced nutrition....well that said...Its me thinking here
 
vinod_uthaiah said:
What happens after they hit 7" and they refuse to eat anything else than the Earthworms...isnt it better that you try now and give them a blanced nutrition....well that said...Its me thinking here
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like he said before he just dosent want to starve them just yet, and i get what your saying as well, but some people like to get some size on their fish before starving them to accept pellets
 
+1 on the flake & drop the bloodworms - sometimes fish will get hooked on them and not accept anything else. I had a group of growout angels do that to me & I was never able to get them off the bloodworm crack!

You could also try raising the temp to 81-82. The heat increases metabolic function and appetite. Starving doesn't have to last along time, I've had fussy eaters go for pellets after a 24-36 hour fast. Give it a shot.
 
decoy50 said:
Starving doesn't have to last along time, I've had fussy eaters go for pellets after a 24-36 hour fast. Give it a shot.
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This is exactly what I was going to say. Just skip a day of feeding and only offer them a pellet type food the next day and see if they go for it. Once you get them to take the new food, they should be eager to take it from then on. For the most part, at least.
 
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