i have had my jack dempsey since he was an inch and he would eat pellets but around the 2.5-3" he all of a sudden stopped eating them. he didn't eat for 2-2.5 weeks then i gave him some blood worms and he ate them. So i have now been giving him a varied diet of mysis and black worms. he now is 5". I have tried everything from starving him again to home made food and pellets. i have tried 3 other different company's pellets but he wont eat pellets. i have even soaked them. so would the black worms and mysis and as a treat krill, would this be good for him for life?
Jack Dempsey is a no pellet diet ok?
- Thread starter honda237
- Start date
While there is a distinct absence of pellets in nature, it would probably be difficult to make up for different types of nutrition at home.
Cichlids are known to go on hunger strikes if they think you will give them goodies. You should let him get hungry and learn to like the Hikari gold. Give the other stuff as a treat once the fish is eating his pellets.
Cichlids are known to go on hunger strikes if they think you will give them goodies. You should let him get hungry and learn to like the Hikari gold. Give the other stuff as a treat once the fish is eating his pellets.
I never gave him anything else but pellets up until he stopped eating. Then I starved him for like 3 weeks or so before I feed him more of the mysis. I even tried tricking him by putting in a pellet and he chewed for like 2 secods and spit it out. I have tried th hunger thing twice with no luck with 3 or 4 different pellets for weeks on end. I have tried hikari, spectrum, homeade and someothet brand
The key is variety, earthworms are also a great food to offer him , as well as crickets, and a variety of freezedried/frozen foods. Gut-loading these food sources can help maintain a quality nutrition for your fish. and Gut-loading your feeders with the pellets you want your fish to eat is a good way to try and re-introduce your fish back on these pellets. My O will "strike" for days at times from eating his pellets. so he gets gets his usual frozen/freeze dried/live foods at night.. and pellets in the AM. He doesn't eat his pellets.. I don't go out of my way to get him something else in the AM. he'll go a few days just getting his evening feed. then decide he wants his pellets again as well.