Ok well i think im giving up on the pellet training, im getting worried, my question now is can i start them back on their usual portions or do i need to slowly bring them back, i dont know if fish are like people but i know if a person hasnt eaten for a few days theyre supposed to build their way back to normal eating habits
Pellet training predtory fish; tips on food and techniques
- Thread starter fhawk362
- Start date
You are correct.. don't let them gourge the first night back on their regular feed. It can cause a multitude of potential problems. Common sense. 
and to who said fish won't starve to death.. Obviousely has not had some of the harder to keep sensitive species out there, or has flat out gotten lucky. If a fish can not identify something as food it will not eat it, thus the fish not identifying food in the tank even though "technically" there is... = starved to death fish. Slow weaning down to frozen/dead then pellets .. after the fish identify each as food sources. you can go back to feeding any of the types with relative ease. The fish will have their favorites. But they have recconized each type as food, so starvation won't happen. they might get huffy and avoid pellets for a day or so... but will not go weeks w/out feeding. By starveing a fish your forceing stress, poor conditioning, and imo a lack of patience for the animal. They don't see pellets in the wild, So how can we be so arrogant as to assume they will simply take pellets because we think they should be eating them instead of what nature intended?
I've even gone as far as introduceing pellet trained fish into a tank w/ non-pellet trained fish. most cases it wasn't long until everyone was eating pellets.
Have patience and be persistant. My fire eels are finally eating shrimp now ontop of earthworms, and hopefully in the next few monthes I will be able to intigrate pellets into their diet. They would all be dead if I would have brought them home and offered them nothing but pellets. Some fish are indeed more stubborn then others.
This is always a debate, But this is my personal stand on it. Do what you think is best for your fish, It's always about makeing an educated decision. And knowing your fish.
and to who said fish won't starve to death.. Obviousely has not had some of the harder to keep sensitive species out there, or has flat out gotten lucky. If a fish can not identify something as food it will not eat it, thus the fish not identifying food in the tank even though "technically" there is... = starved to death fish. Slow weaning down to frozen/dead then pellets .. after the fish identify each as food sources. you can go back to feeding any of the types with relative ease. The fish will have their favorites. But they have recconized each type as food, so starvation won't happen. they might get huffy and avoid pellets for a day or so... but will not go weeks w/out feeding. By starveing a fish your forceing stress, poor conditioning, and imo a lack of patience for the animal. They don't see pellets in the wild, So how can we be so arrogant as to assume they will simply take pellets because we think they should be eating them instead of what nature intended?
I've even gone as far as introduceing pellet trained fish into a tank w/ non-pellet trained fish. most cases it wasn't long until everyone was eating pellets.
Have patience and be persistant. My fire eels are finally eating shrimp now ontop of earthworms, and hopefully in the next few monthes I will be able to intigrate pellets into their diet. They would all be dead if I would have brought them home and offered them nothing but pellets. Some fish are indeed more stubborn then others.
This is always a debate, But this is my personal stand on it. Do what you think is best for your fish, It's always about makeing an educated decision. And knowing your fish.
once you get your bass off feeders pellet training becomes alot less stressful as you dont have to worry if your starving the poor fish. my pbass has been stating to mouth pellets, i just throw them in with his regular feedings. my other pbass on the other hand wont even get off live 
let me suggest this crazy idea:
This is seriously true. One day I was sitting on the floor in front of my tank messing around and found a pellet laying there. I tossed the pellet from the floor into the tank and the motion caught my orino's eye and he hit the pellet when it hit the water. Did this for 2 days and was eating pellets from there out.
This is seriously true. One day I was sitting on the floor in front of my tank messing around and found a pellet laying there. I tossed the pellet from the floor into the tank and the motion caught my orino's eye and he hit the pellet when it hit the water. Did this for 2 days and was eating pellets from there out.
jworth;3673252; said:
Yea i hear that but it really hasnt work, my bas will eat nything live or dead that is meat, minnows, fish, shrimp, lizards, bugs, but when i throw in a pellet they will sometimes strike them by mistake but almost instantly spit them out.
The person who sent the thread link i like the stuffing idea, i think my fish may fall for that, get them used to the flavor then try to get them to eat the pellets. I can't starve them any longer, i feel too bad, and today my one pbass went for a pellet and it made me feel like maybe one more day... but i cant do it.
Also, in my case living on a canal with an abundant amount of mosquito fish as well as some mollys it will be cheaper for me to continue live although id like to move them to pellets for some added convenience
