I have 3 Kelberi peacock bass that are all about 5" each. They wouldn't eat anything but bloodworms and blackworms. I would try to feed them pellets, but never got them to bite. I got them all on pellets with an easy method.
I tried the method in the sticky here http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?33661-Converting-Cichla-off-Live-Food but I never got them to bite on pellets. Plus I didn't want to give them feeders.
Since my Kelberis were all eating bloodworms, I tried to find a way to get them to eat pellets using BW. The method I found that worked the best is to do this: Run some water over a cube of bloodworms to thaw it quickly. Then get some Massivore pellets and break them into pieces small enough for them to swallow easily. Then put the melted bloodworms over the broken Massivore and hold it over the tank opening. The pbass should wait under your hand for you to drop it in. When you drop the pellet and BW in, they'll instinctively bite into it because they see the red on the worms and they'll swallow the pellet too. They might spit out the pellet at first, but just keep trying it. Eventually they'll eat both the worms and the Massivore together.
Keep doing this a few days to get them used to the taste of the pellet. Then gradually put less and less bloodworm on the pellet. After awhile, they'll eat the pellet without any bloodworms on them at all and they'll be pellet trained. It took me about a week to pellet train them like this.
I think when you train young pbass, the key thing is to get them to recognize that pellets are food and get them to adjust to the taste of pellets. Putting BW over the pellets does both of those things.
I tried the method in the sticky here http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?33661-Converting-Cichla-off-Live-Food but I never got them to bite on pellets. Plus I didn't want to give them feeders.
Since my Kelberis were all eating bloodworms, I tried to find a way to get them to eat pellets using BW. The method I found that worked the best is to do this: Run some water over a cube of bloodworms to thaw it quickly. Then get some Massivore pellets and break them into pieces small enough for them to swallow easily. Then put the melted bloodworms over the broken Massivore and hold it over the tank opening. The pbass should wait under your hand for you to drop it in. When you drop the pellet and BW in, they'll instinctively bite into it because they see the red on the worms and they'll swallow the pellet too. They might spit out the pellet at first, but just keep trying it. Eventually they'll eat both the worms and the Massivore together.
Keep doing this a few days to get them used to the taste of the pellet. Then gradually put less and less bloodworm on the pellet. After awhile, they'll eat the pellet without any bloodworms on them at all and they'll be pellet trained. It took me about a week to pellet train them like this.
I think when you train young pbass, the key thing is to get them to recognize that pellets are food and get them to adjust to the taste of pellets. Putting BW over the pellets does both of those things.
