Picky Eaters

[TrystanV]

I got 3 royal red Juvies, who for some reason I can't get to eat colorbits, they'll eat bloodworms and brine shrimp, but as soon as I feed them colorbits they ignore them, any idea on how I can get them to eat the colorbits

Thanks

Trystan

[Eddie]

I got 3 royal red Juvies, who for some reason I can't get to eat colorbits, they'll eat bloodworms and brine shrimp, but as soon as I feed them colorbits they ignore them, any idea on how I can get them to eat the colorbits

Thanks

Trystan

Bring up the temp if you can 88-90F. Feed them the new foods first thing in the day. You can try feeding a small amount of their favorite food and bits at the same time. Some people dont like to starve their fish, especially Juvies. I DONT CARE how old the fish are, I starve them for a day or 2 and then try a small amount of the new food. Then just keep trying the new food, dont give them anything else, no matter what. No matter how long it takes!

Thats just my way, may not be the right way but I dont care, the fish is gonna eat what I feed them....not what they want me to feed them. :o

Eddie

[ejhart]

Bring up the temp if you can 88-90F. Feed them the new foods first thing in the day. You can try feeding a small amount of their favorite food and bits at the same time. Some people dont like to starve their fish, especially Juvies. I DONT CARE how old the fish are, I starve them for a day or 2 and then try a small amount of the new food. Then just keep trying the new food, dont give them anything else, no matter what. No matter how long it takes!

Thats just my way, may not be the right way but I dont care, the fish is gonna eat what I feed them....not what they want me to feed them. :o

Eddie

Eddie I love how you put that! Unfortunately most of us newbies are so afraid of stunting our discus that we try to avoid the above scenario at all costs. My questions to the op however are have you been soaking the bits before putting them in the tank, and second is this a BB tank?

[Eddie]

Eddie I love how you put that! Unfortunately most of us newbies are so afraid of stunting our discus that we try to avoid the above scenario at all costs. My questions to the op however are have you been soaking the bits before putting them in the tank, and second is this a BB tank?


I hear ya but a few days off food wont stunt the fish. In the long run, the fish may develop better due to a more rounded diet, with added nutrients/vitamins. ;)

Eddie

[TrystanV]

Eddie I love how you put that! Unfortunately most of us newbies are so afraid of stunting our discus that we try to avoid the above scenario at all costs. My questions to the op however are have you been soaking the bits before putting them in the tank, and second is this a BB tank?

Yeah its a BB tank 20 Gallon tank, they're in there temporarely till they decide to start eating. Also I have them QT for the moment as I just got them.

[David Rose]

Do you know if they ate them before? Given they're just settling in, it may only take a week or so before they take them without a problem.

I've never had to starve mine to get them on new foods, but like Eddie suggested giving it to them for their first meal of the day has worked for me without having to try anything else.

Best of luck!

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

I would take big can of tetrabits and put it over my head and pour tetrabits in my mouth and make sure the fish are watching. Life imitates Art
:p Actually i had the same problem with my juvies. Once my juvies became comfortable in there new environment and with me they came around and ate tetrabits plus ocean nutritions flakes like they were bloodworms. I also noticed they preferred the tetrabits crushed same with the flakes.

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

Ps Montreal Quebec is a Beautiful city. My grandma, aunt, and uncle live there. St Catrine street. They own a restaurant Bambou blue might of heard of it.I use to visit them every summer. i remember riding the subway 20/20 and bar hoppin in old city ~~Memoorieeesss~~

[TrystanV]

Well thing is They have been in that tank for at least a month, and they just ignored the tetrabits. we will see what happens.

[David Rose]

You'll have to play with different ideas folks give you to see what works for you. Eddie suggested raising the temp, which increases appetite and to feed them terabits first thing in the morning when they are the most hungry. I've used liquid garlic sold for fish to soak food in, which is an appetite stimulant as well as a preventative for internal issues. I only used garlic a couple of times when my fish had been sick and were getting better to help their appetite along.

You certainly have the option to escalate from these choices skipping a meal or more, but I would be surprised if none of the above didn't do the trick.

Best,

[MSD]

I mix new foods in with the ones they already love, like FBW's. Its how they train birds and dogs to take new foods and has worked on my discus. It'll take some persistence on your part, but when they eat the food you want them to its worth it. And like Eddie said, hold off on food for a day or two with juvies, they'll eat anything.

[nikond70s]

im having the same problem too. mine wont eat flakes. i tried eddie's method but still no luck. i starved them for 3 days. only fed them flakes. even my cardinal and rummies wont eat the flakes. well they do but very slowly not aggressively as i thought, i tried feeding them prime reef flakes.

[Eddie]

im having the same problem too. mine wont eat flakes. i tried eddie's method but still no luck. i starved them for 3 days. only fed them flakes. even my cardinal and rummies wont eat the flakes. well they do but very slowly not aggressively as i thought, i tried feeding them prime reef flakes.

Did you just toss the flake in or dip them down into the water, so the flakes will sink?

Eddie

[nikond70s]

Did you just toss the flake in or dip them down into the water, so the flakes will sink?

Eddie

at first i just tossed them in. they dont even look at them and thought cuz they didnt see them. i tried dipping them so it would sink but still no interest. on rare ocasions i would see them picking and eating them but they would spit it back out. after the 2nd day. when i come near the tank they dont even come up to the tank anymore expecting me to feed them anymore. very frustrating.

[David Rose]

at first i just tossed them in. they dont even look at them and thought cuz they didnt see them. i tried dipping them so it would sink but still no interest. on rare ocasions i would see them picking and eating them but they would spit it back out. after the 2nd day. when i come near the tank they dont even come up to the tank anymore expecting me to feed them anymore. very frustrating.

Healthy discus that are acclimated to their surroundings IMO should eat vigourously. If not, it may be a sign of illness, so I would recommend you start a thread in the disease & medication section of the forum completing the following questionnaire located at: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=38545 . This will give forum members at least the basic variables to help you with your specific situation.

Best of luck!

[nikond70s]

Healthy discus that are acclimated to their surroundings IMO should eat vigourously. If not, it may be a sign of illness, so I would recommend you start a thread in the disease & medication section of the forum completing the following questionnaire located at: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=38545 . This will give forum members at least the basic variables to help you with your specific situation.

Best of luck!


i dont think they're sick. they show no sign of illness. i have only been feeding them blackworms. they dont eat other food but when i toss in blackworms they go crazy for it.

[Eddie]

i dont think they're sick. they show no sign of illness. i have only been feeding them blackworms. they dont eat other food but when i toss in blackworms they go crazy for it.

They are just picky, I HATE picky eaters, they usually dont stay to long in my tanks. :D


Eddie

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

They are just picky, I HATE picky eaters, they usually dont stay to long in my tanks. :D


Eddie


I feel u on that But fortunately with the good sponsors we have here there fish eat anything;)

[Yassmeena]

This is what I do, and it has always worked. My method is more gradual though.

Feed them what they love (FBW and BS), but reduce the portions and frequency. At the same time feed the new food, but the details matter! Here's what I do exactly:

Say normally I would feed FBW 5x a day and I want to introduce a new food...

1. feed normally for 2 weeks adding a small amount of the new food at every other feeding (they'll probably ignore it but they may peck at it by accident and so they taste it)
2. Week3: Dont feed the fish except for one time at night (say 10pm). At these feedings, first throw in the new food and wait 5 minutes then add their favorite food but decrease the portion by 1/2 do this for a week.
3. Week 4: repeat number three with even a smaller portion of the old food

If you find by the time you are ready to start step 3 that they are not eating it as vigorously as you would like, then increase the tank temp for that week.

HTH

Yasmin

[pinoysport]

this is a good thread.. my do the same thing.. I have taught my discus to come to the top of the tank at feeding time by tapping on the tank, they respond well to that ...... but I too have the problem. my juvies eat flakes it but my adults wont..... and the pellets are kinda iffy too...

I try to feed them flakes in the morn and FBW in the evening...

illl try eddie's way and see what happens.

[mcishaque]

Had the excat same issue. See my post on what worked for me here:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?p=609352#post609352