handfeeding cichlids
- Thread starter large_cichlids
- Start date
you get food and put in you your hand and put ur hand in the tank and hope they dont bite you. Hand feeding cichlids is pretty easy cuz they will eat anything at anytime.
No I dont hand feed any of my cichlids and never have before. Getting bit by Rds, Midas, Jags, Trimacs, and Butticofferi actually hurts. My old RD drew blood the last time I tried this.
And no chance in he.ll I could get this guy to eat out of my hands. It's hard enough to get him to eat as it is. Dunno why, He's just skittish about taking food from the surface. I'm hoping he'll get over this fairly soon.
And no chance in he.ll I could get this guy to eat out of my hands. It's hard enough to get him to eat as it is. Dunno why, He's just skittish about taking food from the surface. I'm hoping he'll get over this fairly soon.
large_cichlids;517683; said:
My flowerhorn was unsure at first when i started handfeeding him
over time though he grew more bold as he was seeing that the arowana was getting food and he wasnt, so one day he became so eager, he pushed the 2ft fish out of his way to get the food
he's been the first fish to be handfed since then
I started with a worm held by a very still hand and my RD/Midas would just look at it. I would let him look at the worm and then would let it drop to the bottom of the tank and he would grab it. I think if you let them see your hand and food together they will start to associate your hand to be the giver of food. Eventually he would grab the worm out of my hand. Now I can feed him krill etc. from my hand, heck he will even try to eat my hand so be careful 
Burt
Burt
The younger you start them the easier it is. You first need them to not be scared of opening the tank, and not be scared of your hand. Then get em real hungry, don't feed em for a day or two. Then dangle their favorite treat in the water.
My 3" GT and 1.5" convict eat from my hand. So do my angel fish, midas, severum, bettas, and african spotted leaf fish. It takes time, but its worth it.
I'm trying to train my GT to jump to get food, but he doesnt seem able to see out of the water for some reason.
My 3" GT and 1.5" convict eat from my hand. So do my angel fish, midas, severum, bettas, and african spotted leaf fish. It takes time, but its worth it.
I'm trying to train my GT to jump to get food, but he doesnt seem able to see out of the water for some reason.
i cut raw fish into thin strips like a worm and dangle it, a few months ago my 10"+ oscar jumped and landed on the ledge, flipped back in and lost a lot of scales, not to mention put a gallon of water on my floor, no more hand feeding since then, i would probably do it with smaller fish though
