ok so i got a handful of mini sized hikari cichlid staple pellets from a friend, and i dropped one in, and my bluegill ate it and held onto it for a while, almost a minute, and then spit it out and didn't mess with it any more.
how do i get my sunfish started on a pellet diet after they'd been used to eating live foods?
Getting Sunfish on Pellets
Started by
Guest_dsaavedra_*
, Apr 14 2009 03:42 PM
13 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_basssmaster_*
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Posted 14 April 2009 - 04:33 PM
Don't feed them for a few days and then try it. If there hungry enough they will eat it.
#3
Guest_Jim_*
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Posted 14 April 2009 - 04:37 PM
Agree with above post. it took me about a week to convert my fish, and i still feed frozen and freeze dried as a treat or to color them up, but mainly they are all on pellets now.
#4
Guest_dsaavedra_*
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Posted 14 April 2009 - 04:45 PM
do you just drop them in or soak them up to soften them?
i just let one sit in a glass of water for a few minutes and dropped it in, it still floated but it was softer, and my mid-sized pumpkinseed ate it, and i watched to see if it spit it out and i didn't see it spit it out, but it may have after i left the room. i watched it for over a minute though.
i just let one sit in a glass of water for a few minutes and dropped it in, it still floated but it was softer, and my mid-sized pumpkinseed ate it, and i watched to see if it spit it out and i didn't see it spit it out, but it may have after i left the room. i watched it for over a minute though.
#5
Guest_UncleWillie_*
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Posted 14 April 2009 - 05:47 PM
Yeah, they tend to like them soaked better than hard. Sometimes I will squeeze them to make them sink.
I started training with the baby pellets also. Training was a long tiresome process for me. I took several baby pellets and created a ball with them and bloodworms. Eventually I lowered the amount of worms and I gave only clumped baby pellets. This is a bit messy and time-consuming, but mine were very picky eaters.
I also noticed as my fish grew larger, they did not take single baby pellets - they wanted them mashed into a clump (larger) or the next size pellets. Whew, it was a pain..
I started training with the baby pellets also. Training was a long tiresome process for me. I took several baby pellets and created a ball with them and bloodworms. Eventually I lowered the amount of worms and I gave only clumped baby pellets. This is a bit messy and time-consuming, but mine were very picky eaters.
I also noticed as my fish grew larger, they did not take single baby pellets - they wanted them mashed into a clump (larger) or the next size pellets. Whew, it was a pain..
#6
Guest_basssmaster_*
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Posted 15 April 2009 - 05:55 PM
When you soak them alot of nutrients will leach out of the feed
#7
Guest_dsaavedra_*
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Posted 15 April 2009 - 06:09 PM
When you soak them alot of nutrients will leach out of the feed
really?
how do you know this?
#8
Guest_basssmaster_*
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Posted 15 April 2009 - 07:24 PM
Throw some feed in a cup and you can watch oil concenrate at the top of the water. Some nutreints are water soluble so what do you think happends when you soak them in water?
#9
Guest_Sombunya_*
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Posted 15 April 2009 - 09:31 PM
I rotate between Bloodworms, raw Shrimp and Purina Aquamax pellets. At first they didn't take to the pellets but they will got used to them and did come around, although I will say it's not their favorite food. (Live crickets are)
I soak them just a bit until they are soft but not mushy. The inside of them is still hard. Warm, not hot, water for about five minutes. I can squeeze some of them and although they don't completely flatten out because the center is still hard, they sink. The Crays really like them. As far as losing nutrients, I was told that Aquamax is so high in nutrition that's why the water gets dirtier faster, my filter requires more maintenance and if I don't change the water often enough I'll get a bit of T.O. (tank odor)
I've had a few knowledgeable people comment that pellets make the tank dirty faster than other types of food for carnivorous fish and that pellets are intended for ponds. I have to agree but I still feed it to them on a rotational basis.
I soak them just a bit until they are soft but not mushy. The inside of them is still hard. Warm, not hot, water for about five minutes. I can squeeze some of them and although they don't completely flatten out because the center is still hard, they sink. The Crays really like them. As far as losing nutrients, I was told that Aquamax is so high in nutrition that's why the water gets dirtier faster, my filter requires more maintenance and if I don't change the water often enough I'll get a bit of T.O. (tank odor)
I've had a few knowledgeable people comment that pellets make the tank dirty faster than other types of food for carnivorous fish and that pellets are intended for ponds. I have to agree but I still feed it to them on a rotational basis.
#10
Guest_dsaavedra_*
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Posted 16 April 2009 - 05:01 PM
is it the uneaten pellets that make the tank dirty or does it get dirty faster if they eat all of the pellets.
the bag of hikari says the pellets "improve water clarity" but, then again, they're the ones trying to sell me food for 9 bucks a bag
the bag of hikari says the pellets "improve water clarity" but, then again, they're the ones trying to sell me food for 9 bucks a bag
#11
Guest_BenjaminS_*
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Posted 17 April 2009 - 08:29 AM
I think the "improved water clarity" means that the pellets won't break up in the water very quickly thus reducing the chances that they go all over the tank but any organic matter in the tank will break down and be bacteria food. That state ment was probably in reference to flake foods which have a tendancy to break down rather quickly when compared to pellets.
As for training the sunnies on pellets, softening works well as the others have said but I find pumpkinseeds enjoy the pellets when hard. I guess it's because they eat lots of snails in nature. You can literally hear them crunching them.
D
As for training the sunnies on pellets, softening works well as the others have said but I find pumpkinseeds enjoy the pellets when hard. I guess it's because they eat lots of snails in nature. You can literally hear them crunching them.
D
#12
Guest_smbass_*
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Posted 20 April 2009 - 10:18 PM
I don't soften pellets before feeding them to sunfish. It does help to not feed them for up to a week when trying to train new fish. Something else that can help is to have an already trained sunfish in the tank with new fish, they seem to learn quicker from each other rather than learning on their own.
#13
Guest_az9_*
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Posted 28 April 2009 - 02:15 PM
When you soak them alot of nutrients will leach out of the feed
I soak them in a ziplock bag where the water gets absorbed and there is no liquid to go anywhere. The trick is not to use to much water and to shake and rotate the bag the fire 30 minutes.
#14
Guest_TheSunfish_*
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Posted 29 April 2009 - 10:28 AM
i feed mine shrimp pellets and worms.
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