How do I get my jar off crickets?

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C

Crustman

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 20, 2006
618
14
18
Mobile, Alabama
I am tired of buying live crickets, putting them in the tank and having some grab on to the pumps, heater, etc and trying to escape or even escaping. I never knew a cricket could swim so fast when a jar is after them. Some die in the little tank I keep them in and smell nasty. My Wife has found them in her bath tub and around the house. My small jar won't eat anything that sinks to the bottom; tried shrimp, krill, scallops. He looks at aro pellets and licks them every now and then but won't eat them. He was about 3 inches long when I got him at the end of January. Now he is bigger but just a finnicky little jar. I was thinking of stuffing the cricket with a pellet but this seems so cruel since there is only one way in. Any ideas?
 
I never done this and dont have Jar but i would assume it would work the same for any food conversion.. COLD turkey , just stop and start feeding pellets or feeders untill he takes them i've heard jars can as stubborn as oscars so be patient .
 
I toss my crickets in the freezer,and take them out as i need them. The fish dont seem to mind them frozen. I had the same problem here,crickets running the house etc..
 
I do not claim to be an expert at this but what i did with my big Jaquar and my baby CK was just feed the live then let a few days go by and introduce the pellets.. did not eat any pellets ..gave one thing live..{not the usual amount} then let a couple days go by and introduce the pellet..and you just keep doing this until they eat the pellet ..then absolutely do not feed the live again..because if you did you may have to start process all over.. with in a couple of weeks i had both doing great .. and believe me i was soooo happy.. dry pellets etc..much healthier then anything live... and disease free.. i do not believe in the starvation method.. too risky.. their stomach shrinks and after awhile have no hunger.. just a small amount of live keeps their appetite up..and then because their hungary they eat the pellet.. Liz
 
You have to starve it.....only way, I 'm afraid.

Funny thing is I found out that I am not the only one with a herd of crickets running amok in the house....:)
 
As mentioned above, frozen crickets work just fine. I've also had success sticking small pieces of shrimp flesh to the glass above the water line. The bonus of this type of feeding is that you can see your aro jumping and the food also doesn't foul up the water if left for a long time. Have you tried mealworms?
 
Miguel;753010; said:
You have to starve it.....only way, I 'm afraid.

Funny thing is I found out that I am not the only one with a herd of crickets running amok in the house....:)
Click to expand...

I agree with starving... I have never heard a fish die of starvation... a varied diet is good to use... mealworms, dry shrimp, frozen bloodworms, market shrimp and pellets is what I fed my Jar when I had him... I would feed him dry shrimp on a daily basis tho'... then alternate the other foods... that market shrimp tho... that stuff blows em' up quick...
 
Try tying hikari tropical carnivorous food sticks to the crickets with dental floss:ROFL: . It will have no choice but to try the food!


No seriously sometimes you just have to learn the fish. COLD TURKEY is the best way. If that does not suit you, freeze the crickets for no movement. Then, you can try adding 2 or 3 pellets/sticks and 1 cricket per day at a time for the first week...then no crickets at all. Eventually, the arow will begin to eat the pellets. Also, if it will not eat the round pellets, the sticks work very well for my arows. All of my fish are converted off of live except for my wee tiny pbass, they still chow on guppies.
Hikari tropical food sticks work great and my arows love it.
 
Crickets are highly addictive to aros. Once they are hooked on it, starving is the only way to ween them off it.
 
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