How do you feed your poly?

[jvin85]

My Ornate when it was in its 10G grow tank was feeding fine on shrimp, shrimp pellets, guppies and hakiri carnivor pellets.

This week I moved my Ornate to the much larger community chichlid tank. So far no problems with the other fish. The Ornate is 7-8 inches now, but I can't figure out how to get food safely to him.

The cichlids grab everything I try to feed him. They don't just grab... they grab and run. Little thieves.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to make sure he gets fed?

p.s. I've tried feeding the cichlids to distract them while i drop the Hakiri sinking pellets down near him... no dice the cichlids still find the food before he does.

 

[mike_sema]

I use a 2 foot plant grabbers to feed my rck and a few others in my tank, this way you can feed him directly and not have to worried about the other fish, now my rck will not eat with out it

 

[Jayzao]

I have the same set up and I wait about an hour after lights out and drop some massivore in the tank.
For the most part it is ignored while the others rest and he is able to find it and eat.

 

[Loves severums]

i use a claw type thing when feeding them...

 

[NCStateFisher]

i feed my bichirs either frozen bloodworms or beef heart depending on the day, i have a small cup from when i got my beta which i use to thaw the food in tank water - when it's bloodworms there are enough that when i pour it in everything has a chance to get food, and when it's beef heart i typically pour it in with enough momentum that it shoots to the bottom before my firemouth and gourami have time to react to it

 

[foldem]

I use plant tongs like the one below to feed em prawns and fish fillets, they will usually eat massivore off the bottom as well but i find the tongs the best way to feed.

You can also use a small pvp pipe to drop food to the bottom.

 

[angryinsect]

also try feeding after the light go out, bichirs are nocturnal anyways

 

[AllFishAdrian]

My polys come out in the day to get black worms, hikari carnivore pellets, and nls.

 

[Cholly]

Only things with my senegals are an African Knife and an immortal cherry barb. Yeah, the barb is quick, but he can only eat so much. Knife pretty much eats at the same pace as the sens, maybe slower, so it's not a problem. Maybe when the gourami goes in it'll be a problem, but I figure one feeding with the lights on and one after lights out should do it.