Training a FH to eat NLS pellets

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
He's now refused 4 separate feedings and it's been about 36 hours. I tried mixing some pellets with some cut salmon (one of his favorites) for a few minutes last night. Didn't work. He took them in, swished them around, and spit them out. He's definitely hungry. Frantically follows me around when I'm within sight. I have to imagine he's thinking "WTF?!".

Beautiful Discus BTW. I have to keep reminding myself that's why I'm doing this.
 
fishfanatic46;4860163; said:
i've never had a problem getting a flowerhorn to take pellets mine will eat anything and everything like its there first or last meal
Click to expand...

Not mine. Not by a long shot. Went through a period where he totally refused any and all pellets. Was feeding him Tilapia, Salmon, and Shrimp at that point.

Still no success with the NLS pellets. Tried soaking them in salmon juice, water, and a GVH vitamin additive I used on his fresh food. I try a pellet or two in the morning and evening. His normal feeding times. And he's still either spitting them out or totally refusing them.
 
He has FINALLY started eating the NLS. :headbang2

I embedded a few pellets in some market shrimp last night and let them sit for around 20 minutes. Dropped them in one at a time and he ate them without spitting them out.

This morning he was eating unadulterated pellets like a champ. My only gripe is that these pellets are messy. I'm seeing a cloud of chewed pellet coming out of his gills as he eats. Didn't see that with the Omega 1 nor the Grand Sumo.
 
What size of pellet, and how big is your FH? Do you toss a bunch of pellets in at once, or just a couple at a time?

NLS pellets are fairly hard (not much starch in them) but he should start chewing less once he gets used to the texture of these pellets. None of my fish make a mess when eating.
 
RD.;4875650; said:
What size of pellet, and how big is your FH? Do you toss a bunch of pellets in at once, or just a couple at a time?

NLS pellets are fairly hard (not much starch in them) but he should start chewing less once he gets used to the texture of these pellets. None of my fish make a mess when eating.
Click to expand...

They're the jumbo 6mm sinking formula. I feed him one at a time. He's kind of a wonky eater when it comes to any pellet. If the pellet isn't right in front of his face, he tends to ignore it. He's not one to go into feeding frenzy unless you're dropping fresh food in there (worms,tilapia, salmon, etc.)

He's a good size. About a year and a half old and 10+ inches.
 
The 6mm Jumbo TherA are waaaaay too big (and hard) for a flowerhorns mouth. The pellets are messy due to the pellet size, and their firmness. Those 6mm are like small stones, and your fish has to chew & chew & chew, hence the reason they are messy.

My 10" FH eats the 3mm, a few at a time, and nothing blows out of his gills. Ideally the pellet should be able to be swallowed whole, with little to no chewing involved. Quite frankly I'm amazed that your fish would even attempt to eat them. :)
 
my flowerhorn wolfs down the 6mm sinking and the extra large floating pellets with no waste and much haste . at first he had to kind of figure it out , but i wasn't about to not feed him the food i had , and he got it down soon enough ...
 
The 7.5 mm floating I can understand, as being a floating pellet it has tiny honeycomb voids in the pellet which makes it much easier for most large cichlids to crush up & swallow. The 6mm are hard as rocks. lol

But I guess if a fish gets hungry enough they figure it out.
Personally I wouldn't feed the 6mm TherA to my FH, but that's just me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom