bass pellets

Does anyone know what the best pellets to feed bass are? I have cichlid pellets and they just dont seem to like them. They will eat them every once in a while but mostly spit them out. Does anyone know another type of pellet food would be better suited for bass?

I have had good success with tetra Jumbo min live food alternative pellets. Some times it is called the carnivore mix or the hearty mix. I have seen it in slightly different packaging depending on the store. I use this for the vast majority of my sunfish and that includes 4 bass currently and has in the past included 3 other species of bass as well.

I tried feeding my Bluegill Cichlid pellets and they floated around and then sank after two days.

I think it was because I spoiled them by using live food first and then I didn't have the heart to starve them into eating the pellets.

FWIW, they won't eat frozen brine shrimp either. Some of them will eat small pieces of cheese (sharp, cheddar) and small kernels of corn (off the cob, of course). I'm going to try peas and small pieces of cooked carrots next. I've also heard that many native fish will nibble on zucchini or cucumbers slices.

They all love crickets and when I find the occasional gnat they eat them too.

Dry food? The only way I will try anymore is if I can get a small sample first.

Brian,

I am curious, did you ever feed live food to your fish, or was that the only kind your fish have had?

Feeding them live foods won't break them of eating pellets. They simply don't understand that pellets are food as it isn't what they are used to. I've had good luck with getting picky killifish to eat pellets by adding other fish that already ate them. The feeding frenzy aspect seems to let the killies know that they are missing out on food. Though of course having some tetras to add to a killi tank is easier than having something large enough to add in with some adult blue gill.

Honestly though feeding bluegill really isn't difficult. Just give them a few days of prompting by only feeding pellets. Bluegills seem to eat just about anything, but as with just about any fish will always prefer live foods.

I have had good success with tetra Jumbo min live food alternative pellets. Some times it is called the carnivore mix or the hearty mix. I have seen it in slightly different packaging depending on the store. I use this for the vast majority of my sunfish and that includes 4 bass currently and has in the past included 3 other species of bass as well.

As far as dry food go I also have had the greatest success with the JumboMin. That and HBH SuperSoft but those pellets are a bit small for larger bass. I think they like the soft texture, perhaps soaking the cichlid pellets would help. Mine will take any pellet, even veggie rounds.

Edited by sandtiger, 05 September 2008 - 11:05 PM.

As far as dry food go I also have had the greatest success with the JumboMin. That and HBH SuperSoft but those pellets are a bit small for larger bass. I think they like the soft texture, perhaps soaking the cichlid pellets would help. Mine will take any pellet, even veggie rounds.

I squish the HBH SuperSoft pellets as I drop them in. They can be squished down to a nice fry sized powder if needed.

cichlid gold has always worked fine for me.. try tossing them in the air or throwing them at the water if they dont take it at first..

yea thanks guys. the next time i go to the store ill try to pick some of those up. but yea it just takes a little time to get them adjusted to it. they do seem to like when you throw it at the water so it makes a ripple.

I realize this is an older post but the title was perfect.

I have largemouth bass at approx. 4-4 and a half inches in length. I feed him the typical garden worms and he/she seems to be doing fine.
But I'm now at the crossroads of introducing small baitfish. I guess I'm just looking for your opinions on whether to introduce the baitfish
or using pellets instead. Is it hard to convert them over? Such as going from live worms to pellet food.

I realize this is an older post but the title was perfect.

I have largemouth bass at approx. 4-4 and a half inches in length. I feed him the typical garden worms and he/she seems to be doing fine.
But I'm now at the crossroads of introducing small baitfish. I guess I'm just looking for your opinions on whether to introduce the baitfish
or using pellets instead. Is it hard to convert them over? Such as going from live worms to pellet food.

It would probably be an easy transition now, as the size of the bass is smaller. As they get larger it will be much harder to get them to eat pellets. Pellets are safer than live fish, due to the risk of introducing disease with baitfish.

It would probably be an easy transition now, as the size of the bass is smaller. As they get larger it will be much harder to get them to eat pellets. Pellets are safer than live fish, due to the risk of introducing disease with baitfish.

Aquamax makes a special bass pellet now for largemouth bass. However they are huge! But since they are so high in proteinm they break apart easily, and when I had bass the smaller bluegills would knock the pellets around like a head butting a soccer ball and eat pieces off it as it crumbles. It's sopposed to be similar in composition to if you feed your bass small rainbow trout minus the water.

Thank you guys for the info.,its much appreciated.

Is Aquamax available in most pet stores or online?
Where I'm located,their just doesn't seemed to be any good petstores. I'm afraid to ask anyone at Petco..Usually they go crosseyed
and then follow with a severe nosebleed when asked questions about native species. haha

Thanks again

Thank you guys for the info.,its much appreciated.

Is Aquamax available in most pet stores or online?
Where I'm located,their just doesn't seemed to be any good petstores. I'm afraid to ask anyone at Petco..Usually they go crosseyed
and then follow with a severe nosebleed when asked questions about native species. haha

Thanks again

You should be able to order it anywhere Purina Land of Lakes products are sold. I get my Aquamax feed at a feed mill. However we're talking 50 lb. bags for pond and aquaculture use. I'll get the number of the product if you want it. It will last a year if you keep it dry and cool. And you could freeze it too.

Edit: The number of the product is 5DA1.

Edited by az9, 14 December 2008 - 10:32 AM.

Kevinb,

I recommend the use of any pellet formulated for carnivorous cichlids as a feed for largemouth bass (black bass in general) held in aquariums. When housing animals for display my personal preference is Hikari brand but others will do. Ideally LMB should be feed pellets that have a diameter 1/8 to 1/4 the bass' gap size as measured in terms of width when the mouth is closed. Same size as bass' eye approximately the same as lower end of range.

Even if you get food fish growth rates for largemouth bass, you will be lucky to get the bass to 1.5 lbs in a year. Assuming a very very poor food conversion ratio of 2 pounds of feed for every pound of growth, you will only use about 3 pounds of feed. Unless you have several fish to from the the bag, you can expect most of the feed to be out of date before it is consumed even if you follow Az9's very long shelf life expectations. Also, your shelf life starts with the run date printed on most bags of feed. If your local retailer or wholesaler is not on their game the feed you buy may have a good part of its shelf life already used up.

I would purchase smaller allotments of feed at 3 to 4 month intervals. Will cost more (not a lot when a 44 pound bag of commericial diet will run at least 15 dollars) but waste will be reduced and you will be able adjust pellet size with increases in bass size. Also you will not be tempting mice to get into your bulk storage bin holding the bags in a cool dry place.

After using using several commericial diets as a feed for black basses in ponds, cages and water resuse systems (research purposes) as well as fed same to fish in display tanks, I strongly recommend not using bulk formulations intended for pond / cage / raceway use. Otherwse be prepared to increase investment in water quality maintenance.

Thank you guys for the info., I'm going to try getting my bass on pellets but he's a spoiled brat,haha