Another feeding question

I have a total of 7 Bluegill in three tanks. 4 in a 100 gallon, 2 in a 40 and a tiny one in a 20 with some Sculpin.

I'll be doing a routine water change today so I decided I'd try feeding something new to them. I cut raw bacon (no fat) into tiny pieces about 1/4 the size of a kernel of corn. One of them ate all 4 pieces that I threw in and I'm not sure but I think it wanted more. Kept staring at me through the side of the tank.

Based on what I've seen here the one that ate it was a "green" Sunfish, I believe. I'll try to post photos soon. I've tried different things like peas that were shelled and split in half, tiny bits of cooked carrot and tiny bits of cheese. Some of them eat one thing and others eat another.

Rather than buying more expensive Krill at the LFS (which some eat and others don't) I was going to try tiny cooked shrimp from the market, probably chopped into small pieces.

Is there anything I need to stay away from? Anything that might be dangerous to feed to them?

I have a total of 7 Bluegill in three tanks. 4 in a 100 gallon, 2 in a 40 and a tiny one in a 20 with some Sculpin.

I'll be doing a routine water change today so I decided I'd try feeding something new to them. I cut raw bacon (no fat) into tiny pieces about 1/4 the size of a kernel of corn. One of them ate all 4 pieces that I threw in and I'm not sure but I think it wanted more. Kept staring at me through the side of the tank.

Based on what I've seen here the one that ate it was a "green" Sunfish, I believe. I'll try to post photos soon. I've tried different things like peas that were shelled and split in half, tiny bits of cooked carrot and tiny bits of cheese. Some of them eat one thing and others eat another.

Rather than buying more expensive Krill at the LFS (which some eat and others don't) I was going to try tiny cooked shrimp from the market, probably chopped into small pieces.

Is there anything I need to stay away from? Anything that might be dangerous to feed to them?

wow!! dont know about that bacon, (Lot of salt usually) But i guess if they aint dead yet you better check their coloesterol, and blood pressure . I have never tried feeding anything but freeze dried, mysis, brine shrimp and blood worms which all are pretty expensive, I do however feed them worms of different kinds that i get as bait from Gandermountain, I surely dont think if you can get them to eat vegetables that would do any harm and ive heard friends say they use canned corn as bait with lots of luck.

My sunfish love worms. I usually just buy red worms or red wigglers, but you could dig your own. Mealworms are greedily taken, also. Squashed ramshorn snails are also good. The shrimp may be a hit. I'd make sure it's shelled.

Edited by schambers, 01 November 2008 - 08:08 PM.

Try the smallest size of uncooked, shelled cocktail shrimp. My orangespots would kill their mother for it. (Black darters like it too.)

I was going to try some tiny shrimp. Has to cheaper from the market than the LFS ($16/lb, ouch!)

The pieces of bacon were tiny. And just a few were tossed in. I was also going to try a few specks of hamburger.

I'm no expert but I'm guessing that in the wild, they eat all kinds of nasty things. I'm just looking for some alternatives to the rather expensive aquarium store supplied food. Not looking to replace that stuff completely, just add a little variety to my kid's diet.

I know you have bluegill and I havent had those since I was a kid but my green sunfish was easy to convert to sinking wafers and pellets..he loved them both the algea and the carnivorous fish ones. i would recommend gut loading crickets before feeding them if you are buying them at a petstore, typically the are shipped with a small piece of potatoe for moisture and no food and most stores dont feed them anything so basically they have no real nutrional content when you get them.

I was always told that corn clogs up their digestive track and kills fish...I know it is illegal to use as bait in some places, not sure how true that is though.

Edited by brian1973, 02 November 2008 - 04:30 PM.

I have to agree with Brian here. Why not convert pellets and use expensive foods as more of an occasional treat. You could buy expensive shrimp to feed yourself rather than your fish. By all means, still feed crickets/worms/shrimp, but maybe have a cheaper staple diet. There are numerous posts on feeding sunfish on pellets.

I have to agree with Brian here. Why not convert pellets and use expensive foods as more of an occasional treat. You could buy expensive shrimp to feed yourself rather than your fish. By all means, still feed crickets/worms/shrimp, but maybe have a cheaper staple diet. There are numerous posts on feeding sunfish on pellets.

As someone who grows out fish in pond vs. tanks (for now) why now get a bag of commericial dry floating feed and hydrate it a little at a time? I use a feed known as Aquamax by Purina Mills that comes in a 50 lb. bag for $29.00. You can store it up to a year. I feed my trophy size bluegills the 5D05 size and simply put some in a zip lock bag and add water. Shake it around a little and in a couple of hours the pellets are soft like moist dog food. To get them to sink you simply pinch the pellet (to get the air out) and drop them in and watch them slowly sink. My big gills and yellow perch love the hydrated version so much they turn their noses up at the dry floating version.

I'm taking notes here.

I'll look for the Aquamax and definitely give it a try.

I'm taking notes here.

I'll look for the Aquamax and definitely give it a try.

Here's the link to their website.

http://www.aquamaxfishfeed.com/


I do know they make special feeds for large public aquariums etc. Dr. Griffin would be happy to answer any emails you have.

On another note I was delighted to find this year they made a trout feed that has astaxithan (sp?) added to it. It really brings out the reds in my brook trout in the pond. It didn't cost much more than the feed I normally use.

If you're really unlucky you may find a testimonial by me on the website. I'm afraid to look as I don't like to see myself on camera.

I was going to try some tiny shrimp. Has to cheaper from the market than the LFS ($16/lb, ouch!)

The pieces of bacon were tiny. And just a few were tossed in. I was also going to try a few specks of hamburger.

I'm no expert but I'm guessing that in the wild, they eat all kinds of nasty things. I'm just looking for some alternatives to the rather expensive aquarium store supplied food. Not looking to replace that stuff completely, just add a little variety to my kid's diet.

Are you in a area were you can set a minnow trap?
any empty 2litter bottle will work with bread.
here is a link to show you a cheep way to get fish food and they will love it.

http://www.survivalt...lastic-bottles/

Here's the link to their website.

Thank you. There's a dealer near my house that I will check with. Hopefully I can get less than 50 lbs at a time...

So I bought a 50 lb bag of Aquamax fish food, 5DO5. A little over $30. I figured 4 packages of quality frozen worms cost the same. 2 pounds of frozen Krill cost the same too. And I'm sure this food is more nutritious as well.

It may take some getting used to but I think most of the fish in my big tank ate it. The smaller tank is less competitive with regards to food so they are a bit pickier and it may take a little longer before they start eating it. But if they get hungry enough I think they'll go for it.

I figure the Catfish will get any that are laying on the bottom (I squeeze a few to make them drop) and I'm thinking the Sculpin will eat them too if they drop.

I'll keep them all on it for a while and see how things go.

So, I've been feeding my Bluegills nothing but the Aquamax pellets. These are little round pellets about 3/16 inch diameter.

The four fish in the 100 gallon tank have always been a bit more competitive and eat more and different things than the two in the 40 do. They seem pickier.

I soften it up a bit in water and then they eat some, spit some out, eat more etc. I've taken to dropping in a few at a time in order to not over feed them. I'm having to vacuum more often as the stuff they spit out lands on the bottom. The two crays may be eating off the bottom but there seems to be more waste in the tank when feeding them this product.

Again, it's been about a week with nothing but Aquamax. Am I feeding them this stuff correctly? Is it normal for this type of food to foul the water more than blood worms and crickets?