Just got my first aro, now how to get it eating?
- Thread starter jgentry
- Start date
Aros will usually refuse to eat for a few days (in my experience) and then later just give up and eat what you give them.
good to hear everything is going good now. I got a baby silver and he still had his yolk sac still on and he even started eating a few days after so your in good shape
My baby silver started eating as soon as he went into the tank, he didn't refuse food until he got beat up by another fish. I liked that aro. 
ettfettbranamn;3040509; said:
Still coming along well I think. It eats every day. Not a lot, but it is eating. I try feeding it sticks and pellets first and it will usually eat 2 and then rufuse to eat anymore. Then I break out the freezedried krill and it will eat 2-3 pieces of them as well in one feeding. It's still pretty skittish and not an aggressive eater. I've not issues with it's tankmates so I think everything is going to be fine. I just have to feed everything else in one spot and then try to drop food next to the aro so the others don't grab it first. But every day it seems a little more settled in.
Thanks for everyones help with my first aro
. I'm really enjoying watching him at the top of the tank. My cichlids all stay halfway down the tank so it gives the tank a lot more to look at.
With baby Aros, I have always found that segregating them from any semi-aggressive species is very key in getting them to flourish. Once they are at least 4 to 4.5 inches long then introduction to a community tank with smaller (but not bite size, unless of course they are a food source) fishes. After they hit 8 inches they pretty much are safe except from the largest predators.
For Baby Blacks especially, treat your tank with Black Water Extract they need the tannins and the slightly acidic water condition. I don't think it's a great idea putting Aros in with African Cichlids because the two fishes thrive in different water qualities. Sure it can be done, but an Aro won't do as well in the high pH that a Cichlid likes and AC won't care for the acidity the Aro needs.
With regards to getting them to eat...well I think a good drip acclimation over 45 minutes to an hour is key. Like I posted earlier today, the 3 Blacks and 2 Silvers I got today (well yesterday, wow time flies when your having fun) were eating FD Blood Worms within 5 minutes of release. But maybe they got hungry flying in from California, I hear they don't serve meals on flights anymore. All-in-all, they ate 3 times today, 2 offerings of FDBW and one of minced freshwater prawn.
For Baby Blacks especially, treat your tank with Black Water Extract they need the tannins and the slightly acidic water condition. I don't think it's a great idea putting Aros in with African Cichlids because the two fishes thrive in different water qualities. Sure it can be done, but an Aro won't do as well in the high pH that a Cichlid likes and AC won't care for the acidity the Aro needs.
With regards to getting them to eat...well I think a good drip acclimation over 45 minutes to an hour is key. Like I posted earlier today, the 3 Blacks and 2 Silvers I got today (well yesterday, wow time flies when your having fun) were eating FD Blood Worms within 5 minutes of release. But maybe they got hungry flying in from California, I hear they don't serve meals on flights anymore
. All-in-all, they ate 3 times today, 2 offerings of FDBW and one of minced freshwater prawn.