How to get fish to eat in a big tank

[Ryan1783]

whats up mfk, I have a small arapaima in a 300 gallon, about 7 inches, and how would I get him to eat in such a large tank? Should I get more fish for him to follow to ge food? Or what?? What are some tips?

 

[TwoHedWlf]

Fish figure out pretty quick that you walking up to the tank means food and...

Wait....

Did you just say Arapaima in a 300g and such a large tank?

 

[Gourami Swami]

Well for a 7" slender fish, the 300 will seem very big. Won't for long once you get him eating.

Does the arapaima hide? Or does it swim around comfortably, but not eat? Did it ever eat for you?
Adding some other fish can help show him the food, yes. But it's not guaranteed he will respons, and if the other fish are ravenous eaters they may make it even more difficult for the pima to get any. He might be stuck in his predatorial ways at the moment, and only want feeders. I might post this in the Aro subsection, they deal with similar situations with arowanas pretty often. Good luck

 

[Ryan1783]

Fish figure out pretty quick that you walking up to the tank means food and...

Wait....

Did you just say Arapaima in a 300g and such a large tank?

Large tank for his size, like stated he’s only 7 inches, I have a large pond about 10,000 gallons being built at the moment, and will eventually go larger when the time comes

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Throw in crickets

 

[Texas321]

What are you going to do with that giant when he becomes a giant?

 

[Ryan1783]

What are you going to do with that giant when he becomes a giant?

I have a big pond being built right now

 

[robham777]

Ryan1783 How long have you had the fish and what are you trying to feed it? If it is new, can you contact the person who supplied the fish to see what/how they were feeding it?

 

[Ryan1783]

Ryan1783 How long have you had the fish and what are you trying to feed it? If it is new, can you contact the person who supplied the fish to see what/how they were feeding it?

They were feeding live fish, I personally saw them feed him, I’ve had him about 6 days, I know, he needs more time, just that I get paranoid because my last Pima didn’t make it

 

[robham777]

They were feeding live fish, I personally saw them feed him, I’ve had him about 6 days, I know, he needs more time, just that I get paranoid because my last Pima didn’t make it

I get it. I have a florida gar that is giving me some problems transitioning from live food. You probably already know the risk of feeders you did not raise. In that size tank you would probably need to add a dozen or more and let the fish corner and pick them off. I have been feeding my gar crickets which are cheap , available, relatively safe and easy for the fish to catch then offering fd krill, pellets, cut tilapia, and fd crickets for a few days. So far no luck, but I am going to order some garlic guard to soak the dried food in to see if that helps. Best of luck.