Training Pond Fish To Pellets

Would putting a goldfish, fancy or not, in a pond with sunfish help to get them trained to pellets? It would be much easier to feed them pellets than to go buy 50 feeders every week.

First you need some "quality" pellets. I like Hikari floating carnivore pellets, atleast that is what they were called, maybe floating food sticks now. They have an arrowana on the bag. Also Tetra bits work good. Usually anything that is reccomended for feeding "carnivore fish" or discus seem to work. I am sure there are several other types that work too.

Having fish that feed on the food help, so you are on the right track. Golden shiners too big to be food for the sunfish work well. Those can usually be bought at a bait shop.

Scenting the pellets can help too. This can be done in a number of ways. One way is to get night crawlers, and the slime that gets on your fingers from handling them, wipe that on the pellets.

First you need some "quality" pellets. I like Hikari floating carnivore pellets, atleast that is what they were called, maybe floating food sticks now. They have an arrowana on the bag. Also Tetra bits work good. Usually anything that is reccomended for feeding "carnivore fish" or discus seem to work. I am sure there are several other types that work too.

Having fish that feed on the food help, so you are on the right track. Golden shiners too big to be food for the sunfish work well. Those can usually be bought at a bait shop.

Scenting the pellets can help too. This can be done in a number of ways. One way is to get night crawlers, and the slime that gets on your fingers from handling them, wipe that on the pellets.

Thanks. I already have some golden shiners, so I'll use those instead of nasty old goldfish.

I've never had trouble converting sunfish on pellets.

If you put a goldfish in there, the sunfish will kill it

Never had a problem with sunfish indoors or out getting them onto pellets. I've slowly integrated it into their diets but also shut them off from everything else but pellets. If there is nothing else to eat they'll pick up the hint.