Train fish to eat?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Megalofyia

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
290
Location
Nebraska
Will my tiger barbs and buenes aires tetras know to eat feeder guppies or do they need to be trained? They have no problems devouring ghost shrimp but seem to be living quite peacefully at the moment with the guppies.
 
If they get hungry enough they will likely eat them, but depending upon the size of the hungry fish, and the size of the feeder guppies, the guppies might be too big. Do they eat flake okay? Sometimes a change in diet takes a day or two.
 
I've had the feeder guppies in the tank for 2 weeks now. The only thing that is interested in eating them is the eel... The other fish eat flakes, bloodworms, ghost shrimp...
The feeder guppies are a mixture of sizes.
 
Well, I don't think there is anything you can do per se, and it may be that they are just not going to eat other fish, and don't see them as food. If you had cichlids it might be a different story. Sounds like they are getting a nice varied diet, so they will not suffer. If you wait a bit longer until you get guppy fry they will probably eat them, since they will be so tiny. Not many fish can resist newly hatched fry. The other option is to remove the guppies and continue like you have been with the bloodworms, flake, etc. I have heard some horror stories about feeder fish purchased from pet stores containing parasites and other diseases, so if you have not done this already, set up a guppy breeding tank so you know the fry are healthy, and feed the fry when they are tiny. Good luck!
 
Thanks. I have set up a breeding tank. I was hoping for a way to feed the fish while I was out of town when the LFS doesn't have ghost shrimp. But if I'm going to have pacifist fish then I guess I'll have to just work this out with out the feeder fish.
 
It may be that if you keep the adult guppies in the tank their offspring will provide a food supply while you are gone. Depends on whether you have cory cats that will eat the eggs before they hatch. Your fish can go a week without eating, in any case.
 
Back
Top Bottom