Switching Sunfish On To Pellets

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Brewster320

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2010
172
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31
Mass, USA
I've had my longear for about 3 months now. All he will eat though for me are worms, mealworms, bloodworms, and other feeder insects. He refuses to eat pellets though. Best I fan get is him biting it then spitting it out. Do any of you know any tricks to getting him onto pellets. I'd make things so much easier. Thanks
 
He'll eat them when he's hungry. He's refusing to eat his veggies because he knows if he holds out long enough you'll give him cookies.

If he's really recalcitrant, soak the pellets in water with some garlic powder dissolved in it.
 
They are used to eating soft things, flake food can be slurped in. Try just softening a pellet or two in a glass of water for a few minutes then feed them.
 
They will give in. IMO sunfish are the easiest fish for me to pellet train.
 
Yea, what studd said. Sunfishes like warmouths, bluegills, redears, greenies, longear are easy to pellet train. What i would do is just keep trying pellets over and over, and dont feed them any feeders, worms, mealworms, bloodworms, and other feeder insects.
 
I got sunfish onto pellets by scenting. I put a few pellets in a container of freeze dried bloodworms, and left it over night. Next morning, I took the sticks out and offered them to the fish, and they gobbled them up immediately. After that, they took unscented pellets(actually cichlid sticks) with no problem and have had no problems ever since.
 
All good ideas...scenting, softening, and fasting. I would combine all three. You shouldnt have a problem with these guys, they will eat almost anything.
 
I used to use cod liver oil or tuna juice to soak Hikari gold cichlid pellets for my Green Sunnies; you soak them just long enough to get soft ...not dissolve.
 
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