Out competed

[koltsixx]

Any way around Poly's getting out competed for food? I have CA/SA cichlids and I have a hard time making sure my Poly's get enough to eat. The only exception for me is my small Endli who beast modes food almost as aggressively as the cichlids.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I usually just watch the greedier fish and feed until they get full to the point of not eating lol. Then throw enough in for the polys.

 

[koltsixx]

Thanks for the suggestion, it's appreciated. Unfortunately my cichlids will eat till they throw up, stuffing their face all the way till the Poly's only food is what they spit out.

I used to use bigger food for the Poly's since their bigger mouths let them swallow what the others would have to pick apart. How ever I now also have Creni's/Pikes who beast mode even the biggest of morsels.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Thanks for the suggestion, it's appreciated. Unfortunately my cichlids will eat till they throw up, stuffing their face all the way till the Poly's only food is what they spit out.
I used to use bigger food for the Poly's since their bigger mouths let them swallow what the others would have to pick apart. How ever I now also have Creni's/Pikes who beast mode even the biggest of morsels.

haha ya I have some native fish that will eat until they die too...
Could try feeding after lights out. Most of my polys won't even eat when I throw their food in anyhow but its always gone in the AM.

 

[Galasca]

Have you tried physically putting your hand in and dropping it next to poky'so?

 

[kno4te]

I use a long 2 pronged grabber and directly get it by their mouth and feed that way. I do it for my retro.

 

[convict360]

The grabber idea kind of works, another option could be waiting for the opportunity for the Poly's to congregate at one side of the tank, then move a divider in for the purposes of feeding, then simply remove once done

Probably easier said than done on that one though

 

[HumanBean]

Chopped tilapia bowl full goes in and spread out due to water floe and then sinks. Good to entice ploy clan then throw in some pellets so greedy sa and ca go in that direction

 

[Woefulrelic]

I've used a couple of options with my SA cichlids and rays. The first option I tried was using a length of 3/4 pvc and dropping sinking food down the center, I used earthworms and it was effective although somewhat annoying. I've found that when conditioned my SA cichlids prefer the food towards the top, so when I drop food where the cichlids weren't they'd prefer to hang out at the source of the food than chase after a stray pellet. My fish hang out in a big school when it comes to feeding time, they group up and bully me with the care bear stare. The pvc option might be the easier option, because extremely heavy feeding a might be the only other one. Ideally the poly will become accustomed to the notion that pvc/grabber equals food before the cichlids do.

 

[isde02]

I have the same issue in my tank so I feed at separate times and its been working fine for me. I feed the polys at 4am when I get up for work(with the tank and room lights still off), and my other fish are usually half sleep and uninterested. I feed the rest of the fish when I get back home after work.