9 replies to this topic

[Betta132]

I have a 65g that currently houses 6 longear sunfish (one adult, four juvies, and one baby), and three blacktail shiners. Yes, I know I need more shiners. I have five smaller ones, but the biggest sunny was eating them, so I've temporarily moved them to another tank to grow out. I'll also grab a few more large ones from the river near here. 

My shiners will eat everything. I feed them a small food for tiny fish, and they happily gobble it up. However, they also eat the scraps from the sunfish, and I don't want to overfeed them. 

The biggest sunfish eats cichlid pellets, and the shiners will sometimes grab pieces of those, though I try to avoid putting small enough pieces in because I'm worried it'll get stuck in their tiny throats. The other sunfish bite the pellets and then spit them out, no matter what I try- apparently they aren't fans. I can't try another pellet because anything with gluten isn't allowed in the house due to severe allergies in the family, and I can't find another gluten-free pellet. If anybody knows of a brand of pellet other than the cichlid pellets from yourfishstuff.com, I'll take that suggestion quite happily. Unfortunately, without them eating the pellets, I don't have a way to feed the sunnies some sort of veggie. 

I also feed the sunnies bloodworms and/or table shrimp, and I plan to get some crayfish and mussels to offer them. I'm just worried that they aren't getting enough veggie-type stuff, since they won't eat the pellets. I'm also worried that the shiners won't get enough veggies, since they mostly eat the scraps from the sunfish. 

I tried giving them nori, but they didn't seem interested. What veggies do sunnies and shiners like, especially the sunnies? Peas? I'm looking for suggestions on what to add to the grocery list. Do they like cucumbers? Broccoli? I know they don't like apple, I tried offering a bit. I've seen wild sunnies eat canned corn, but I don't know if that's very good for them. 

 

In short: My picky sunfish won't eat pellets, what vegetables can I drop in so I'm not just feeding them random bits of meat? 

 

On a side note, what vegetables should I absolutely never offer? I know peppers and onions are a bad plan due to irritants, is there anything that's toxic to fish or otherwise bad for them? If not, can I just offer bits of fruit and veggies until I find something they like?

[smbass]

Sunfish are predators and are unlikely to eat any kind of vegetables. The shiners might eat them though, I also would not be concerned about over feeding the shiners. I like my Cyprinella shiners really big and fat, think they look their best then.

[Matt DeLaVega]

If there is a hatchery near you that sells fish for pond stocking, go buy a single bluegill similar in size to your other fish. This bluegill will be pellet trained, and you other sunfish will quickly follow. Otherwise just work with them. Withhold food for several days and try dropping in a couple pellets. If they do not show interest, drop in pieces of chopped earthworms or night crawlers. Get them to associate your hand with food. Slowly over a week or two, start dropping in a few pellets. They will catch on. I guarantee that if I went to a local lake and threw in floating pellets every day at the same time in the same spot that within 10 days I would have a feeding frenzy. This is not hard you just need to be consistent and patient.

 

 And like Brian said forget the veggies. Just because sunfish will eat canned sweet corn, does not make it a valuable food for them. Their digestive systems are designed primarily for prey items, and most likely will not process vegetables very well.

[Michael Wolfe]

I also feed the sunnies bloodworms and/or table shrimp, and I plan to get some crayfish and mussels to offer them.

This is your problem. Feed the tank only flake and pellets for a week straight and they will figure it out.

[Riffledace]

My banded sunfish will eat peas but just regurgitate them after a few hours.

[Betta132]

On a note unrelated to the food- a bluegill would work in this tank? We have bluegills around here, and I like how they look, but I didn't think one would be happy in my 65g once it grew to full size. Granted, the biggest I've seen there was 6", but their full size is supposed to be at least 10". Also, since they're plate-shaped, that's a lot of bio-load once one gets that big.

 

One of the sunfish (the biggest one) is eating pellets. The others try to eat the pellets and apparently don't like them. The issue isn't making them bite, it's getting them to swallow the food. But, if they don't need veggies, I'm fine with feeding them frozen food. I was just under the impression that it might be a good plan to give them something plant-related now and then, as it's recommended for most fish, including bettas. Supposed to help prevent constipation and other gut issues. Is that not a problem with sunfish?

[gerald]

I feed veggies to sunnies and other carnivores - most fish will eat peas.  In nature they're eating algae-grazing invertebrates and tadpoles, getting their B-vitamins and other plant nutrients indirectly.  If they will eat it, I think it's more likely to help than hurt.  Try soaking pellets in thawed brine shimp, mysis, or bloodworm "juice" until they soften - fish will be more likely to swallow them.  

[mattknepley]

"Try soaking pellets in thawed brine shimp, mysis, or bloodworm "juice" until they soften - fish will be more likely to swallow them."

Great idea! I have shrimp pellets for my blueheads that my darters so want to eat as well, but the pellets are too big. These big pellets don't break down even when soaked overnight (at least not enough for the darters to rip up). I love it when the blueheads inhale a few of them (pellets, not darters); they retreat to their rocks and I can actually hear them crush them up! I feed some darter sized pellets at the same time, but the dang Etheostomas won't even look at 'em. Maybe soaking those tiny ones will get their attention.

[Betta132]

I tried the soaking, and it didn't work. The sunnies mouthed them a bit more than usual, then spit them out. 

[Matt DeLaVega]

Just offer pellets and nothing else for a week or more. If they are mouthing them, they will eventually eat them.