Feeding a large Frontosa? (new fish to tank)

[four_by_ken]

So, my brother brought home a large Frontosa (8+ inches) and is trying to get it over to eating pellets.

As of now, it will eat 3 squares of blood worms with great enthusiasm.  Bloodworms an issue?

Other than offering the pellets, any suggestions to help to get the switch made?


 

[jcunningham0295]

I feed my groups large flake as well every other day.

[four_by_ken]

I feed my groups large flake as well every other day.

Only flakes, or with some pellet also?

[Regalblue]

Starve it

[jcunningham0295]

I feed my groups large flake as well every other day.

Only flakes, or with some pellet also?

I do flakes and pellets, just alternate.

[danielratti]

Aren't bloodworms bad for africans?

[four_by_ken]

Aren't bloodworms bad for africans?

Just the reason I started this thread.

 

[jamarini]

When they get hungry enough, they will try new foods.  As Blair suggested, starve it for a few days and then try feeding it pellets.  Mine take large sinking pellets but prefer frozen krill.  (I eat spaghetti but would rather eat ice cream... it'll work out. )

[Ron]

Aren't bloodworms bad for africans?

Just the reason I started this thread.

 

For fronts specifically, they aren't as bad as they would be for other common african cichlid species. IMO, it's still a less than ideal food to feed.

The 3 general reasons to avoid them...

• Many africans eat a diet consisting largely of plant matter and may have trouble digesting large amounts of animal proteins. The more herbivorous a fish is, the longer it's gut, the greater complications may be.
• Blood worms have hooks that can cause them to get stuck in the digestive tract and lead to a blockage. Building on the last point, this problem is greater as the length of the digestive tract increases.
• They can cause allergic reactions in humans. If you aren't allergic initially, prolonged exposure can lead to eventual allegery problems.

If you want to feed bloodworms to the front, why not mysis or krill instead? Those would be better until he's transitioned to eating pellets. For mine I also try to watch for uncooked shrimp on sale at the grocery store. Size doesn't matter because I chop up the shrimp into easy to eat pieces for them. I just get the cheapest uncooked available.

[Sean]

Aren't bloodworms bad for africans?

Just the reason I started this thread.

 

For fronts specifically, they aren't as bad as they would be for other common african cichlid species. IMO, it's still a less than ideal food to feed.

The 3 general reasons to avoid them...

• Many africans eat a diet consisting largely of plant matter and may have trouble digesting large amounts of animal proteins. The more herbivorous a fish is, the longer it's gut, the greater complications may be.
• Blood worms have hooks that can cause them to get stuck in the digestive tract and lead to a blockage. Building on the last point, this problem is greater as the length of the digestive tract increases.
• They can cause allergic reactions in humans. If you aren't allergic initially, prolonged exposure can lead to eventual allegery problems.

If you want to feed bloodworms to the front, why not mysis or krill instead? Those would be better until he's transitioned to eating pellets. For mine I also try to watch for uncooked shrimp on sale at the grocery store. Size doesn't matter because I chop up the shrimp into easy to eat pieces for them. I just get the cheapest uncooked available.

He's right about the allergic reaction. I once got a little bit on my face and my face swelled up like a balloon. My eyes got really red and started watering and swelled almost shut in just a few minutes