Thailand green texas not eating pellets

[ryansmith83]

Bump the heat in the tank to get his metabolism going. Keep soaking the pellets in the bloodworm juice. This is how I got my Saxatilis pike to eat pellets. It took him a couple weeks but he eventually caved when he realized I wouldn't be feeding him anything else.

 

[Osca]

if you are not squirmish and the fish wont eat pellets, then i would try beefheart, market prawn...both cheap and easy alternative...the fish needs to feel something meaty in their mouths (that made me giggle)....i tried that with my crenicichla strigata juvies...now they finally accept pellets

Just starving fish is not the key..it will only weaken the fish...try to get the fish to eat something first....and then starve if necessary...

 

[RD.]

The OP isn't starving the fish, the fish is being offered food every day. What he is doing is called training a fish, and this is a very successful method used by many hobbyists/breeders when importing Thai bred fish, as most are fed large quantities of bloodworms in Thailand, many juvenile flowerhorn/cichlids are fed bloodworm exclusively and have never seen a pellet.

What the OP is doing is exactly how I have trained cichlids imported from Bangkok, even small juveniles. Step one, deworm the fish as many fish from SE Asia have worms due to the live foods such a BW they are fed. Step two, feed a few pellets that have been pre-soaked in FBW juice once each morning until fish realizes this is the only food that will be offered. I have yet to have a cichlid starve itself to death when food is offered.

 

[Osca]

The OP isn't starving the fish, the fish is being offered food every day. What he is doing is called training a fish, and this is a very successful method used by many hobbyists/breeders when importing Thai bred fish, as most are fed large quantities of bloodworms in Thailand, many juvenile flowerhorn/cichlids are fed bloodworm exclusively and have never seen a pellet.

What the OP is doing is exactly how I have trained cichlids imported from Bangkok, even small juveniles. Step one, deworm the fish as many fish from SE Asia have worms due to the live foods such a BW they are fed. Step two, feed a few pellets that have been pre-soaked in FBW juice once each morning until fish realizes this is the only food that will be offered. I have yet to have a cichlid starve itself to death when food is offered.

sorry, i stand corrected...i did not mean to say the OP is starving the fish, i mentioned it as a general practice that most fish keepers do...fish dont starve themselves to death, if they dont eat they get weak and in a community setting its possible for the weak fish to get picked on...or if kept singly could lead to a weak immune system since the fish does not have the energy because its not been eating and possibly more susceptible for disease...

i also suggested alternative methods to get the fish eating if you did not notice

i have never kept flower horns or taiwan texas....so i dont know if these hybrids are any different than your normal fish...but thats just my thought...

 

[RD.]

i have never kept flower horns or taiwan texas....

Exactly. Those that have no what I'm talking about. Exchanging one form of candy for another isn't going to help pellet train this fish.

A healthy adult male fish such as the OP's specimen can easily go several weaks without eating, with no issue. Mouthbrooding cichlids go weeks with eating little to no food on a regular basis, without issue. And by the looks of the OP's tank this fish is in qt, not in a community setting, so no worries about the fish getting picked on by stronger/larger fish.


Stay the course Rift ......