How much live food to feed sunfish.

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R

redchaser

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 23, 2008
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louisiana
www.redchaser.com
I've been feeding my warmouth earthworms, nightcrawlers, superworms and crickets. He'll always take as many earthworms or nightcrawlers as I dare drop in the tank, he's gotten pretty consistent on taking superworms as long as I cut off the head, and he'll take crickets about 50% of the time. I've tried feeding market shrimp and pellets, he won't take either, and I don't want to feed live fish because of the potential for introducing disease. I feed him twice a day and he will greedily eat all I offer him of the foods he likes. He's 4-5 inches long.

For those of you that will feed your sunfish similar live foods. What quantities do you give them per feeding i.e. how many worms/superworms per feeding? I don't want to over-feed, but I think he's willing to overeat.

Thanks,

Ron
 
i converted my bluegill and bass to pellets because its less costly and is better nutrition. i sincerely recommend taking the time to convert him to prepared foods. i feed my bluegill a few earthworms once a month as a treat
 
i fed my blugill (thats what i think he was he had blue gill looks and colorings on a bass body shape by that i mean he wasnt round he was bass shaped) anyway i fed him both pellets and live food he ate both readily any way about 3 good sized night crawlers spread out a little should do whats better is to get soft crayfish leeches and feeder shrimp put a couple in at a time that way he has to work for them and you dont have to worry about over feeding but yes it is even better to convert to pellets
 
Thanks guys,

I'm trying to convert him to pellets, but he's not cooperating. This weekend I'll probably go through another phase of offering just pellets so it will be eat them or be hungry.
 
I've never personally converted a fish from live food to pellets, but I plan on starting a native tank as soon as i can get my hands on a few natives. I've been reading up and it seems to me that you will need more than just a weekend to get your fish off live food. Fish can go for more than two or three days without feeding. I'd say starve them for 4 or 5 days than give them pellets, if they still don't eat, just continue to starve. I'd say go a week to a week and a half at least before worrying about the health of the fish concerning hunger.
 
seriously...your sunfish are WILD fish...they are used to not eating for days/weeks. I used to feed my sunfish 2-3times-monthly when i was feeding him minnows (i'd drop about a dozen to a dozen and a half in) and he did fine..actually, better than fine. he was growing the whole time and is huge now.

feeding live started getting costly so i'd start dropping in pellets. he didn't know what they were at first and would spit them out but after a few feedings, he started expecting and would come up to the surface for feedings when i enter the room.
 
Natives become like any other cichlid and learn to recoginize their owners.
 
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