Vieja Guttulatum info?

[Kaliedoscope]

I recently picked up a large (~10 in) Vieja Guttulatum (I believe) from an LFS that was closing down. George, as I named him, looks like all the pictures i've found of V. Guttulatum except he has a brilliant red head with lots of worming patterns.

I haven't found much info on this species, and I haven't kept Vieja before (except synspillum parrots, which are essentially just parrots), so if anyone out there has any info on this species I would be much indebted to you, especially any info you have on tank/water conditions, compatibility and especially -->what do they eat<-- as he hasn't been eating anything very enthusiastically since I brought him home.

He didn't eat for the first 3 days, now he's eating goldfish, ghost shrimp, and worms, and I think he ate some lettuce, but He won't eat in front of me so I'm not sure he's eating everything on that list. I'm also trying brine shrimp and pellets, but IDk about that either. The only thing I've seen him chasing/eating are the ghost shrimp so far.

So what do you guys feed yours? Does anybody know what they eat in the wild? I can't really afford hundreds of ghost shrimp a week, so I need to find something more readily available to feed him.

But of course, any info on this species would be much appreciated, as I haven't been able to find anything so far on the internet.

Thanks

 

[Gruff Master]

You need to get him on a good quality pellet. That should be the staple food to make sure that it has a balanced diet. Avoid goldfish all together. They have no significant nutritional value and depending the source, they could be carriers of disease and parasites. Pellets are your best bet at keeping your fish fed and healthy. Frozen foods, fresh shrimp, and vegetables can also be added to the diet. Stay away from goldfish and feeders.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Hey, I've got a 7.5" guttalatum myself, and mine eats a mix of hikari pellets (staple, bio-gold, and massivore), but he was already pellet trained when I got him. I highly recommend you get yours on pellets too, its definitely the best food source for cichlids. It may take a while but after a while, especially if hes hungry enough, he"ll most likely take them. A good idea is to get some krill spray and saturate the pellets with it, that may help him accept them. Garlic also works as an appetite stimulant.
Good luck, they're awesome fish!

 

[Kaliedoscope]

OK Thanks, But as far as I know he doesn't eat pellets; He came from the store very skinny, but they said he had been eating pellets. He hasn't eaten them here, and thats my problem. How can I get him to eat them? Also, how is Garlic used for appetite?

 

[Gruff Master]

You can buy pellets that have garlic as a main ingredient or you can soak your own pellets in garlic. You can try feeding him the same brand of pellets that he was fed at the store. If it is a bad brand, ween him off of it by slowly adding a better food to the mix.