17 replies to this topic

[AMcCaleb]

Hey guys, I have a 75 gallon tank with 2 green sunfish and 1 warmouth in it. I am currently trying to wean them onto pellets from live food and they are slowly taking to it. The problem is whenever they eat they make a huge mess with the pellets. They spit out a lot of tiny pieces as they "chew" up the pellets. As soon as the pieces fall to the bottom of the tank they don't even realize they are there. Any suggestions on a good native bottom feeder to clean up the leftover food? The green sunfish are about 4 and 6 inches and the warmouth is about 5.

[Betta132]

Those guys are difficult to find small tankmates for, what with their huge mouths. I'd almost suggest a goldfish, but the tank might not have enough space for all 4.

[keepnatives]

How big are they? If not full grown and you have hiding spots for some crayfish too large for them to swallow they might make it and if not the fish will at least get a nice meal.

[mattknepley]

If you don't mind "expendables", a few small crays may work. Before they get big enough to do any damage they will have become lunch.

[mattknepley]

How big are they? If not full grown and you have hiding spots for some crayfish too large for them to swallow they might make it and if not the fish will at least get a nice meal.

Dag! Beat me to it by thirty seconds! No more proof reading for me!

[Michael Wolfe]

Margined Madton

[Evan P]

Michael's got it. Stonecat, Checkered Madtom (maybe a bit too big), but any of the larger Madtoms should do great.

[Sean Phillips]

Yup, madtoms will work nicely. I'd go with a Stonecat myself.

[shaft6977]

Something else that may help with the mess that they make is to go to a smaller pellet. Then you can work up to a larger size once they understand that that's the only food they're gonna get.

[AMcCaleb]

I plan on switching to a different pellet eventually once they get used to it but for right now I'm trying to stick with one specific kind till they get used to eating them.

[AMcCaleb]

Would a lake chubsucker be a good option? I saw Sachs has them available in larger 6"+ sizes.

[Leo1234]

I have kept a lake chubsucker with sunfish in my 150. I would recommend it if the sucker is not harassed. I would say yes. 

[Michael Wolfe]

I agree that it would be worth a try... we saw some living comfortably in the wild with a bunch of sunfish this spring in Florida.  Of course not everything in the wild works in a tank... just saying that it would not be totally unnatural.

[Evan P]

This weekend I saw massive schools of sunfish following Chubsuckers around while snorkeling. I think they would do fine together in a tank.

[az9]

Has anyone tried hydrating pellets? I hydrate all my larger pellets on my fish farm and the fish now refuse dry pellets. I've feed trained fish using hydrated pellets too. 

 

I basically place the dry pellets in a ziplock bag and 1 part water to 3 parts feed. Shake it up and keep turing the bag over for the first 15 minutes. Then allow the water to soak to the center of the pellet. 

 

Once soaked to the center the pellets take on the consistency of clay and pinching them will make them sink. You don't want soggy pellets which will happen if you add to much water. 

[littlen]

az9, what brand/kind of pellets are you using?  I've tried that with some brands and they absorb water very rapidly and become mush before being used or as soon as they hit the tank water.

[Michael Wolfe]

I like the shrimp pellets that turn into mush quickly for feeding jumprocks and such... just throw them in, let them sink to the bottom (hopefully on a sandy bottom) and the suckers are feeding in a very natural way.

[az9]

az9, what brand/kind of pellets are you using?  I've tried that with some brands and they absorb water very rapidly and become mush before being used or as soon as they hit the tank water.

I've been using Aquamax by Purina Mills but will be using Zeiglers soon from another supplier as my local feed mill has discontinued selling fish feed primarily because Purina Mills has indicated they are not ordering enough. My new supplier is fed up with the poor customer relations of Purina Mills and there lack of dependability and is switching over to Zeiglers. I think PM actually wants to get out of the fish feed business or cut back to big volume distributors only. There is also a new kid in town that may be a future big player starting next year that may be shipping door to door at a nominal shipping price. More information coming i understand. I was given a bag and the fish really liked it. Allegedly more nutrients and vitamins than Aquamax. Was told by some it was the only feed they could train a majority of redear sunfish on.

If the feed comes out mushy you are adding too much water. Add less water and give it time to penetrate to the center of the pellets. It may take some experimentation but the 3 parts feed to 1 part water generally holds true with all the brands.