Paratilapia Polleni doesn't eat?

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KathiSharpe

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 15, 2008
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NC
We've had a 6-inch paratilapia polleni for about 3 months now. He's a good fish, personable (but not necessarily nice)...

We've never seen him eat. Not once. Food that goes in the tank is devoured by the Jack Dempsey.

Aquamains says he MUST be eating something... that leaves Jack Dempsey Poop :WHOA:

Any thoughts? Should we be concerned?
 
Does he try to eat? Or is the JD just too quick? If he is trying to eat, then you aren't feeding right. Try dropping some food right in front of him.
 
FSM;1793892; said:
Does he try to eat? Or is the JD just too quick? If he is trying to eat, then you aren't feeding right. Try dropping some food right in front of him.
Click to expand...

I agree. Mine is a bit shy when it comes to eating. I usually try to put some food in his hiding spot. He also seems to enjoy looking around for his food. Nipping around here and there.
 
thanks for the fast response but Nope... he'll pop his lower jaw (it actually looks like it should make a POP! noise!) and he'll sit there looking at whatever we've tried to feed...

which includes flakes, cichlid stix, frozen peas, zucchini, an orange bit, frozen cichlid delite, krill, tubifex worms, an earthworm, a guppy, and - in desperation - a cricket (the only thing the JD *didn't* eat)

I've even tried keeping the JD at bay and drop food right in front of the PP... he just pops his jaw and sits there.


Generally the PP is aggressive, will sometimes run roughshod over the JD, so I don't think it' sthat the JD is bullying him out of food. (The poor Jack Dempsey is afraid of his own shadow anyway, never seen such a neurotic fish!!)

Any other ideas?
 
Well... now he's doing something that I've never seen him do before!

We feed an assortment of stuff - cichlid stix, peas, shrimp, frozen pasty yummies - which the other fish in the tank devour. Pete (the PP) just sits there and pops his jaw.

However, now we're seeing him go around after the other fish have eaten, picking up bits of leftover food and fish poop off the bottom. In fact he practically dove for the string of poop the JD left after eating yesterday.

So he IS eating something.

I think I heard somewhere that tilapia eat poop, they're used in fish farming for that purpose, or something. So since Pete is a paratilapia, maybe that's just what he prefers? ::shrugs::

So long as he eats something... I suppose!
 
That is strange, mine devours everything I feed him (or her?); pellets, foodsticks, krill, flakes, and mysis shrimp are the 5 most common things I feed him. He is a very greedy feeder, but he is competing with some Caquetaia spectabiles that share the same aquarium, and they are just as greedy. I guess individual fish have different feeding habbits sometimes.

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Wow, never heard of a fish eating poop, I thought just dogs did that LOL. He couldn't have reached a healthy 6 inches on it, anyway. Mine never has---his fave is frozen bloodworms. I'll hold them right below the surface of the water and as they thaw, I wiggle it around. Falls for it every time.
You could always try a baster or something similar to direct the food right at him--get him used to it first. Good luck!!!

*nice fish pic, lostnight
 
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