how to train fish to eat pellets???
- Thread starter The.Kid9
- Start date
One method i've used in the past is to soak the pellets in your fish's favorite food before feeding...
So lets say for example your fish loves bloodworms only, then what you would do is take a few pellets and let them sit in the bloodworm juices for a little while (not so long that they just mush up and fall apart), then try dropping it in your tank and see if the fish take the bait...
IF at first they don't eat it, don't fret (but don't give up and feed them their regular food either), and try again the next day... keep doing this for about say a week and see if you can get them to eat the pellets...
Once they do start taking the pellets, then you can soak the pellets less and less each time in the juices of their favorite food until your feeding them pellets straight without soaking...
All in all, its about knowing your fish, they shouldn't technically starve themselves to death, but if after a week they still won't take the pellets, then its up to you if you want to keep starving them in hopes they take it (if they are healthy enough to do so) or if you just want to keep feeding them their favorite food and be done with it...
Hope that helps...
So lets say for example your fish loves bloodworms only, then what you would do is take a few pellets and let them sit in the bloodworm juices for a little while (not so long that they just mush up and fall apart), then try dropping it in your tank and see if the fish take the bait...
IF at first they don't eat it, don't fret (but don't give up and feed them their regular food either), and try again the next day... keep doing this for about say a week and see if you can get them to eat the pellets...
Once they do start taking the pellets, then you can soak the pellets less and less each time in the juices of their favorite food until your feeding them pellets straight without soaking...
All in all, its about knowing your fish, they shouldn't technically starve themselves to death, but if after a week they still won't take the pellets, then its up to you if you want to keep starving them in hopes they take it (if they are healthy enough to do so) or if you just want to keep feeding them their favorite food and be done with it...
Hope that helps...
Thanks....i now have a clearer idea as to it can be done...bc im concern about my rtc....bout it for 3 weeks now and seems like its not eatting at all...throw in a small night crawler but he puked it back out...i got him pellets but hes not interested and im bout done with it..thinking about forcing food down its throat...
Lol @ force feeding him..... My RTC loves shrimp pellets, and cichlid pellets (more like balls)..
I find I'm more stubborn than my fish.....I generally keep feeding until they take them, but if it's a real problem I use other fish that are pellet trained to help. I always qt fish to make sure they can compete well for food once in the communities and sometimes I'll move one of my established fish in with the qt fish and they help train them to eat.
That, and Ive never had one fish refuse the Xtreme brand of foods. All my fish eat it ravenously.....
That, and Ive never had one fish refuse the Xtreme brand of foods. All my fish eat it ravenously.....
My approach to getting my fish to eat pellets varies depending on what food they are currently eating. For example if the fish are eating krill or shrimp I usually put pellets in them to let the fish acquire a taste for them. If they are eating bloodworms or any other food with "juices" I use the soaking method mentioned above. I have in the past found that soaking in garlic will draw some attention to the pellets as well. I usually don't go over a week and half without letting the fish eat but thats a personal preference.
Easiest way is if you have one fish that eats pellets. I have gar and African pike n almost every fish you can imagine eating pellets all because when one eats, the others will learn
my red devil took 3 months until he was 4" or so til he would even think about accepting pellets, he just spit them back out.
For most fish, I simply just don't offer anything else. Only fish I've ever not gotten to accept pellets is a fire eel. Other than that, I've pellet trained black ghost knives, elephant nose, etc, all of which the Internet will usually tell you won't accept pellets.