Hello!
I recently picked up a really gorgeous lenticulata pike, and I was told it has been eating feeders by its seller. I tried feeding it just about everything else before I found this out, and not surprisingly it wouldn't accept anything. Hilariously, it was terrified of the live earthworm that I tried putting in its quarantine tank. I've never seen a predatory fish, especially one 7-8'' long, afraid of an earthworm.
I gave it some minnows yesterday and it gobbled them right up.
Point is, I want to train it to eat pelleted food before I put it into my main tank, as I don't want any feeders in there. I've never actually had to do this before with any of my fish, so I was looking for some advice.
How much longer should I keep it on feeders before attempting the switch? I want to make sure it's healthy and comfortable before potentially starving it.
Should I switch from live to frozen and then to pelleted foods? Or should I simply go right from the feeders to pellets?
Or is it unrealistic to think that this fish will eat pellets at all?
Also, if anybody has any suggestions on how to make this fish less generally nervous, I'd love to hear them. I'm afraid that when I put him into my main tank, the more aggressive eaters will out-compete him for food and he'll just hide all the time. He's a gorgeous fish and I'd love to see him come out.
Thank you so much for your knowledge and expertise! I'm kinda a n00b.
I recently picked up a really gorgeous lenticulata pike, and I was told it has been eating feeders by its seller. I tried feeding it just about everything else before I found this out, and not surprisingly it wouldn't accept anything. Hilariously, it was terrified of the live earthworm that I tried putting in its quarantine tank. I've never seen a predatory fish, especially one 7-8'' long, afraid of an earthworm.
I gave it some minnows yesterday and it gobbled them right up.
Point is, I want to train it to eat pelleted food before I put it into my main tank, as I don't want any feeders in there. I've never actually had to do this before with any of my fish, so I was looking for some advice.
How much longer should I keep it on feeders before attempting the switch? I want to make sure it's healthy and comfortable before potentially starving it.
Should I switch from live to frozen and then to pelleted foods? Or should I simply go right from the feeders to pellets?
Or is it unrealistic to think that this fish will eat pellets at all?
Also, if anybody has any suggestions on how to make this fish less generally nervous, I'd love to hear them. I'm afraid that when I put him into my main tank, the more aggressive eaters will out-compete him for food and he'll just hide all the time. He's a gorgeous fish and I'd love to see him come out.
Thank you so much for your knowledge and expertise! I'm kinda a n00b.
