New flowerhorn isn't eating NLS

[swifty]

Need a bit of advice here. I've had him for about a week, and he is refusing to eat NLS. The first day he chewed it and spit it out each time I tried to feed. Second day he just swam near it and didnt even touch it. He's done that for the past week. I caved in and started feeding him bits of freeze dried krill and he loves it. I've been feeding 2-3x a day, a small bit of the krill since he isnt touching his pellets.

Should I keep trying NLS or switch to maybe omega one/hikari?

I should mention it isn't stress, as the second I put him in the tank he was swimming around, and has stayed active 24 hours a day since I've had him.

 

[DDK]

Mine also hate nls, only fish I own that actually eats nls is my blue gill lol. Its WAY to dense for my fh's koi, jardni, and even my jag. All my fish prefer hikari carni sticks cause they can just munch down a hand full and its easy on them.

 

[calichai]

My fh only eats presoaked NLS for some reason. I usually feed him massivore now and assorted osi pellets. Soaking became a hassle. All my other fish love it though, go figure.


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[gamerpond1]

My fish will only take floating nls but with hikari bio gold ,sinking nls has never been a hit with any fish I've owned except small bichirs but they'll eat anything with a strong smell

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[swifty]

Yeah that's pretty weird, I'm actually noticing the same thing. I sat there and watched him for half an hour, and about 10-15 after I dropped the nls in he started nibbling on the pellets. I guess I'll have to presoak them or just check out some of those hikari products.

 

[crash2673]

Hikari pellets for koi is one of the foods I use, it's packed with nutrition and easier for the fish to digest

 

[Oscar Mike]

Mine also hate nls, only fish I own that actually eats nls is my blue gill lol. Its WAY to dense for my fh's koi, jardni, and even my jag. All my fish prefer hikari carni sticks cause they can just munch down a hand full and its easy on them.

Daniel, I've seen u mention this on a few threads now but NLS being dense is actually a good thing... fish are supposed to swallow pellets whole, u don't want them chewing because dust gets expelled from the gills. Dense pellets also remain more stable in the water for longer periods of time. If your fish are eating handfuls at a time u might want to switch to bigger pellets or try feeding slower.

To the OP, which formula are u currently feeding and how big is your fh? My 10" fh prefers floating pellets so I feed him the 4.5mm jumbo fish formula. He makes a mess chewing anything bigger than that but accepts the 3mm sinking lrg fish formula if I feed slowly. If I drop a handful in he picks off a few on the way down and ignores anything that hits the sand.

 

[DDK]

Daniel, I've seen u mention this on a few threads now but NLS being dense is actually a good thing... fish are supposed to swallow pellets whole, u don't want them chewing because dust gets expelled from the gills. Dense pellets also remain more stable in the water for longer periods of time. If your fish are eating handfuls at a time u might want to switch to bigger pellets or try feeding slower.

To the OP, which formula are u currently feeding and how big is your fh? My 10" fh prefers floating pellets so I feed him the 4.5mm jumbo fish formula. He makes a mess chewing anything bigger than that but accepts the 3mm sinking lrg fish formula if I feed slowly. If I drop a handful in he picks off a few on the way down and ignores anything that hits the sand.

Well I from my experiences nls is just too dense for even my larger fish. I feed the 1mm pellets and my 16 inch jag cant even handle it who has a mouth the size of my fist. I have to throw a handful in my jag's tank just cause it sinks. My jag waits for till I drop a handful and then one big motion grabs all the pellets from my hand. With nls it seems my jag has trouble swallowing thus spitting it all out and polluting the tank.

You are correct then you say it being dense is a good thing but it really depends on the type of fish. My fh's cant handle even 1mm pellets which just leads me to believe its a bit too dense for my use. It also tints the water brown which is a con. I tried jumping on the nls band wagon but I saw more cons than pros.

Personally I dont have time to stand there and feed pellet by pellet, in the morning I have 2-3 mins to feed 10 tanks and I just throw it in and get on with my day haha. Hikari carni sticks float and even my baby fh's can rip at it. Nls gets ignored resulting in poor water quality for me. But dont get me wrong nls is great but my fish personally ignore it.

 

[Oscar Mike]

I feed the 1mm pellets

There's your problem! 1mm is way too small for a 16" jag. He should be getting at least 3mm, my 5" fish could barely find the 1mm ultra red. I don't mean to sound like a fanboy or make it seem like you're doing something wrong by feeding hikari, I just don't think the density has anything to do with your fish ignoring nls. If u try one of the larger floating formulas I bet u would have more luck

 

[DDK]

There's your problem! 1mm is way too small for a 16" jag. He should be getting at least 3mm, my 5" fish could barely find the 1mm ultra red. I don't mean to sound like a fanboy or make it seem like you're doing something wrong by feeding hikari, I just don't think the density has anything to do with your fish ignoring nls. If u try one of the larger floating formulas I bet u would have more luck

Hmm I have a bottle of the jumbo with garlic extract, not too sure the size of it but ill give it a try tomorrow morning and see how it works haha. I'll update when I do