# My fish doesn't like pellet food



## Zer0 (May 14, 2012)

I recently ran out of flake food so I went out and bought some new food. I bought some pellet food that says will bring out the fish color and that it is for all tropical fish. Except my neons and guppies just pokes at them and then swim away. The instruction said to feed as much food as the fish can eat in 2 minutes and the pellets are still floating atop the water after an hour.

Will my fish eventually get use to the pellet and start eating or should I just buy something else for them to eat?

I also read about feeding grindal worms to the fish, so I want to get a culture and let them try the worms.


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

The best food to feed small fish such as guppies and tetras is flake food because their mouths are so small they would have trouble taking in a normal sized pellet. 

Whenever introducing a new type of food to your fish you should do so gradually. You can feed them the pellets every other day until they get used to it. I would suggest you try to smash the pellets to make them smaller if they are too big for the fish. 

You also shouldn't feed your fish the same food all the time. No one likes to eat the same thing every day of their lives so buy a couple different types of flake such as Spirulina (greens) and Colour Enhancing flakes as well as Frozen or Freeze Dried foods as a treat once a week.

Hope this helps.
--
Paul


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## Zer0 (May 14, 2012)

Y2KGT said:


> The best food to feed small fish such as guppies and tetras is flake food because their mouths are so small they would have trouble taking in a normal sized pellet.
> 
> Whenever introducing a new type of food to your fish you should do so gradually. You can feed them the pellets every other day until they get used to it. I would suggest you try to smash the pellets to make them smaller if they are too big for the fish.
> 
> ...


Thanks Paul for your info.

I guess if someone feed me burgers every day, I wouldn't like that too much either  I will go to the store and get other types of food for my fish.

If anyone knows where I can find grindal worms, please let me know.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

Pellets are mostly for fish that like to get their food off the bottom, or bigger fishes. Guppies, in the wild, eat at the surface of the water (think fish grabbing an insect). They will forage at the bottom, but that's not their preference when feeding. You need food that floats at the surface for atleast a little while, for guppies. If you want a change from flakes, try the granulated stuff like Hikari fancy guppy food.

I use Hikari Fancy Guppy food / tetra flakes/ tetra freeze dried blood worms (as an occasional treat) for my adult guppies. For the babies, its 'Hikari First Food' initially (for the size), and then a mix of finely crushed flakes until they're juvenile and can eat 'adult' food. 


Al.


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## Zer0 (May 14, 2012)

Mlevi said:


> Pellets are mostly for fish that like to get their food off the bottom, or bigger fishes. Guppies, in the wild, eat at the surface of the water (think fish grabbing an insect). They will forage at the bottom, but that's not their preference when feeding. You need food that floats at the surface for atleast a little while, for guppies. If you want a change from flakes, try the granulated stuff like Hikari fancy guppy food.
> 
> I use Hikari Fancy Guppy food / tetra flakes/ tetra freeze dried blood worms (as an occasional treat) for my adult guppies. For the babies, its 'Hikari First Food' initially (for the size), and then a mix of finely crushed flakes until they're juvenile and can eat 'adult' food.
> 
> Al.


so would guppies like grindal worms? I only read about them on the internet and they sound like a good alternative to flake food


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

I use Hikari Fancy Guppy food as well and my guppies like them a lot. I feed them roughly once a week with frozen blood worms and flake food too.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

vodka said:


> so would guppies like grindal worms? I only read about them on the internet and they sound like a good alternative to flake food


I have never tried grindal worms. I tried vinegar eels for my newborn fry, but they didn't take to it (not all were eating), and my adult guppies just ignored them, even when hungry. From what I understand, one of the problems with grindal worms is the tendency for the worms to bury themselves in the substrate (I have playsand substrate in my guppy tanks), and die there. Since I overfeed my guppies to get them in optimal breeding conditions, I want to avoid that. Rotting worms would lead to ammonia spikes. With my granulated and flakes, the fish get most of it. Rest, they either end up foraging, or the trumpet snails (MTS) get before it rots.

Having said that, I'm sure there's people who have had great results with grindals. However, I never wanted to take the chance due to that one issue.

Al.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

If you want to try live worms, I highly recommend micro or banana worms. Very easy to keep, they live in the water for about a day or so, no more. Don't bury themselves, and they wriggle, which the fish find attractive. Very easy to maintain a culture.. just sprinkle some yeast on every few days and they will keep producing.. I've got one that's been going for the best part of five months now.. but I start new ones now and then just in case one crashes. They don't smell bad.. they get a sort of yeasty sour smell, like sourdough bread, sort of, but it's not strong and you won't notice it except when you actually take the lid off to feed them. They won't stink up a room. Banana worms are small enough for most fry too, in case you have any you need to feed.


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## Zer0 (May 14, 2012)

I emailed that company that makes that pellet food to tell them my fish are not eating their food.

They replied and said that due to the different ingredients in the food, it may take days to weeks for the fish to adjust. She recommend continue feeding them the pellet but in smaller amount and fast them for one day each week.

I'll try her instruction and see how that works out. I have also started feeding the fish flake food just so they don't starve.


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