He'll eat certain pellets. Just not NLS. Anyone had/have any experience in this? How long did you starve him for before he finally cracked? How long should I go before I crack? And I'm sure it's not the size of the pellet. He'll take similar size Omega1 and Grand Sumo. But the NLS, he takes in for a few seconds then spits out.
Training a FH to eat NLS pellets
- Thread starter IrnGynt
- Start date
I've trained FH from Thailand to eat it that had never seen any type of food other than bloodworms. I lightly soak the pellets with bloodworm juice for a few minutes using a small pipette. Just enough to cover the pellets to slightly soften them up. Within 7-10 days no more need to pre-soak. You can do the same thing using tank water.
RD.;4854528; said:
Yep, i do the same thing too. FH can't resist bloodworm. i feed my fh pure spirulina pellets and they hate it. Soak it in bloodworm and they love it.
It took my FH about a 5 days of not eating and watching the female eat before he cracked. The female took the pellets right away.
RD.;4854528; said:
Interesting. Havent been able to get mine to eat anything but bloodworms for as long as I've had him. Definitely going to give this a try.
You either train the fish, or allow the fish to train you.
It's really that simple.
It's not rocket science, but there is some skill involved, and in some cases you need to have great patience, and be smarter than the fish.
Using bloodworm juice is a natural for FH, the smell triggers a feed response, the pellet becomes more palatable because it is softer,
and the taste is very familiar to the fish. Even if the FH resists it initially, usually they will start picking at the pieces of pellet at the bottom of the tank. Once they start even eating small pieces off the bottom, you are on the road to success.
I've lost count as to how many wild caught fish I have trained to eat NLS over the years. Some take to it straight away, others are more stubborn and require some serious effort.
Discus are known as being very picky eaters, yet even those raised as fry & small juveniles on a diet of beefheart can be converted with a bit of effort. The discus below were raised in Germany on beefheart, and converted to NLS when they were imported as juveniles. This is what they look like after eating NLS exclusively for over a year. (photos taken at a local breeders fishroom)
It's really that simple.
It's not rocket science, but there is some skill involved, and in some cases you need to have great patience, and be smarter than the fish.
Using bloodworm juice is a natural for FH, the smell triggers a feed response, the pellet becomes more palatable because it is softer,
and the taste is very familiar to the fish. Even if the FH resists it initially, usually they will start picking at the pieces of pellet at the bottom of the tank. Once they start even eating small pieces off the bottom, you are on the road to success.
I've lost count as to how many wild caught fish I have trained to eat NLS over the years. Some take to it straight away, others are more stubborn and require some serious effort.
Discus are known as being very picky eaters, yet even those raised as fry & small juveniles on a diet of beefheart can be converted with a bit of effort. The discus below were raised in Germany on beefheart, and converted to NLS when they were imported as juveniles. This is what they look like after eating NLS exclusively for over a year. (photos taken at a local breeders fishroom)