silver sides????

[Mr Pleco]

I just acquired another P Bass about 2 weeks ago. He was only fed live food for the most part by his previous owner and he's a good 10-11".

So far he has refused any pellet thrown in the tank, he'll hit it . But then spit it out.

I was hoping his P bass tank mate would help train him as he will attack anything throw in the tank including pellets.

My question is do you think a diet exclusively made up of silver sides would keep this P bass healthy. He will strike and eat those with no problem, as just tonight he ate four large ones.

Going to keep trying him on new foods in a few days when he's hungry again . I'm gonna try krill...

here's ingredient listing for Hikari product.

Ingredients
Silversides (Pseudohemiculter dispar), Water, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Stabilized Vitamin C), Riboflavin, Thiamine Mono-Nitrate, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, Inositol, and Niacin.
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 13.9% min.
Crude Fat 2.8% min.
Crude Fiber 0.2% max.
Moisture 78.5% max.

 

[gangster]

Silver sides are good for cichla and you can stuff pellets in them

 

[The True Guapote]

I like gangster's idea, I wouldn't give up on the pellets though, he might pick it up in from time from your other pbass,, in the meantime stuff away!

 

[sazhar]

Being that he's 10"+, I would just keep feeding him pellets. It may take some time but eventually he'll eat them. It is not going to starve to death, especially when it sees the other pbass eating the pellets. At least he's striking at pellets, he just needs to get used to them. Not that there is anything wrong with silversides. They are fine as a staple and even better if you stuff a pellet as mentioned above. Pellets are much easier to feed imo, so I find myself feeding them more often. Which leads to bigger fish.

 

[Morledzep]

actually large peacock bass WILL starve themselves to death when you try to get them off live.

it's VERY good that your guy will eat silversides.. dead frozen food is better by far than refusing anything but live. i prefer to feed real food to pellets, but pellets make feeding cichla affordable. and if he is hitting on the pellets now he will eventually eat them.

my cichla get some kinda meat (tilapia fillets, shrimp, mini scallops, chicken breast, catfish fillets) a couple times a week and pellets on the days inbetween. hope your guy makes the transition quickly, believe me i know how stressful it can be while you're working at it.

 

[Mr Pleco]

Silver sides are good for cichla and you can stuff pellets in them

How do you get your pellets into the 1.5" dead fish?

I like gangster's idea, I wouldn't give up on the pellets though, he might pick it up in from time from your other pbass,, in the meantime stuff away!

I'm going to try the pellet stuffing if I can find a way to keep them attached to the silver side? Right now the thawed silver fish is soaked with Kent's Zoe and Boyd's vita chem.

Being that he's 10"+, I would just keep feeding him pellets. It may take some time but eventually he'll eat them. It is not going to starve to death, especially when it sees the other pbass eating the pellets. At least he's striking at pellets, he just needs to get used to them. Not that there is anything wrong with silversides. They are fine as a staple and even better if you stuff a pellet as mentioned above. Pellets are much easier to feed imo, so I find myself feeding them more often. Which leads to bigger fish.

Tnx

actually large peacock bass WILL starve themselves to death when you try to get them off live.

it's VERY good that your guy will eat silversides.. dead frozen food is better by far than refusing anything but live. i prefer to feed real food to pellets, but pellets make feeding cichla affordable. and if he is hitting on the pellets now he will eventually eat them.

my cichla get some kinda meat (tilapia fillets, shrimp, mini scallops, chicken breast, catfish fillets) a couple times a week and pellets on the days inbetween. hope your guy makes the transition quickly, believe me i know how stressful it can be while you're working at it.

They do have large appetites thats for sure, my other fish in other tanks eat market shrimp, tilapia, catfish nuggets, crayfish tails. Tried those no go spit right out I even cut the tilapia fillet with a scissors to mimic a silver sides shape.. no luck... Next one I get it will be 3-4" they seem more flexible and easier to train at this size

 

[Houdini89]

If he's hitting on pellets, that's a very good sign...........Don't give up.

 

[DaxD]

I agree with keep trying the pellets, but I do believe that silver sides are also good as an additional food for your fish. Good luck and do not give up. Please share some photos also.

 

[bridgefisher]

So take said frozen silver side and split him down the belly without cutting him in half while heis semi frozen. then fill up the organ cavity with pellets and refreeze if necessary. I usually close them back up and feed. Also, break into carnivore sized chunks of silverside (12mm) and intorduce big carnivore foodsticks together with chunked silversides. he might grab them with more tenacity. you are close if he mouths the pellets. Good luck Bro.

One last thing, pack him full of silvers, feed heavy so he is used to being well fed and then introduce foodsticks or massivore. they get used to pounding stuff and usually will eat faster.

 

[Mr Pleco]

So take said frozen silver side and split him down the belly without cutting him in half while heis semi frozen. then fill up the organ cavity with pellets and refreeze if necessary. I usually close them back up and feed. Also, break into carnivore sized chunks of silverside (12mm) and intorduce big carnivore foodsticks together with chunked silversides. he might grab them with more tenacity. you are close if he mouths the pellets. Good luck Bro.

One last thing, pack him full of silvers, feed heavy so he is used to being well fed and then introduce foodsticks or massivore. they get used to pounding stuff and usually will eat faster.

Thanks