So, I have this small potter's angelfish in QT now. Doing great in copper and also finished 2 rounds of prazipro. At first it was hesitant to eat, but now eats heartily, the problem is, it only eats frozen, meaty fare, like frozen mysis and a homemade frozen angel mix. Problem is, this guy won't eat pellets. He's very active at feeding time, approaches the front of the tank just like the rest of the fish, but when I offer pellets, he "chases" them and walks away (looking disappointed lol). So what I do now is that I feed pellets and frozen in a day (so if I have 4 feedings, 2 feedings of pellets, 2 feedings of frozen). He's bound to go to the DT soon, and worried he might starve there. I have autofeeders loaded with pellets (since I'm most of the time away from home) but I could occasionally throw in some frozen fare before leaving. Do I transfer him to the DT and hope for the best, or transfer every other fish except the potter's until it accepts pellets?
Potter's Angelfish and Pellets
- Thread starter mjreefs
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Is he in QT with other fish or in a separate tank?
My hunch is he may eventually take to pellets after he sees other fish eating them, but I would be hesitant to put him in the main tank if you're not prepared to offer him frozen food as needed. Depending on the tank mates and his reluctance to eat pellets right now, I would be concerned he may not go after food aggressively enough when put in the main tank as some angels can be a little shy or timid depending on the tank and its inhabitants.
One thing you could try is taking some frozen food, let it thaw, put a few pellets in the mush, refreeze it, and then feed the frozen pieces later. When he eats the frozen, he will get the pellets and may learn to like them. Smaller size pellets may be easier to get the fish to accept versus larger ones. Also, maybe adding a touch of garlic or selcon or other food enhancer might help (if anything it migh soften the pellet up). And another radical strategy is don't feed the fish for a day or two and then feed the pellets. I personally don't like a strategy like this, as I think it stresses the fish. A lot of times fish won't eat pellets as they don't recognize it as food, or they sample it and the texture isn't soft like they might prefer with frozen foods. Some fish can become finicky, so I don't like the idea of intentionally not feeding the fish. I figure it's just inviting murphys law to kick in and the fish decides to start a hunger strike.
My hunch is he may eventually take to pellets after he sees other fish eating them, but I would be hesitant to put him in the main tank if you're not prepared to offer him frozen food as needed. Depending on the tank mates and his reluctance to eat pellets right now, I would be concerned he may not go after food aggressively enough when put in the main tank as some angels can be a little shy or timid depending on the tank and its inhabitants.
One thing you could try is taking some frozen food, let it thaw, put a few pellets in the mush, refreeze it, and then feed the frozen pieces later. When he eats the frozen, he will get the pellets and may learn to like them. Smaller size pellets may be easier to get the fish to accept versus larger ones. Also, maybe adding a touch of garlic or selcon or other food enhancer might help (if anything it migh soften the pellet up). And another radical strategy is don't feed the fish for a day or two and then feed the pellets. I personally don't like a strategy like this, as I think it stresses the fish. A lot of times fish won't eat pellets as they don't recognize it as food, or they sample it and the texture isn't soft like they might prefer with frozen foods. Some fish can become finicky, so I don't like the idea of intentionally not feeding the fish. I figure it's just inviting murphys law to kick in and the fish decides to start a hunger strike.
I’ve actually tried that with Aquaforest Protein Power pellets, but somehow it melts and becomes part of the mush after a day or two. But not sure with NLS pellets, have tried them but forgot what happened. I also happen to put Seachem garlic guard in the frozen food + pellets mixture. I’m actually at a loss on what to do. Meanwhile, I have a scribbled who is the exact opposite, loves pellets but absolutely ignores frozen fare.
You’re lucky he’s eating anything at all in QT, my potters didn’t eat a THING for over a month. All-through QT. When he finally decided to start eating in the display, he ate everything I served, and started nipping clams and corals as well :/ I had to move my LPS and maxima to the nem tank...
I think he will probably learn to eat the pellets in time, but I wouldn’t hold him in QT much longer than needed for treatment if he’s at least eating frozen. Just feed the frozen as often as you are able.
I think he will probably learn to eat the pellets in time, but I wouldn’t hold him in QT much longer than needed for treatment if he’s at least eating frozen. Just feed the frozen as often as you are able.
FWIW, centropyge angels also eat more algae than larger angels, so they should be constantly grazing in the display tank. Supplementing with nori may also be better received than pellets initially...
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My Coral Beauty didn't eat much of anything for about a week. It just grazed and nibbled on algae for the first week. Also, I get the convenience factor of pellets, but IMHO it's a inferior quality food source that just dirties up your tank faster. So unless you are gone a lot or need to set something up for an auto-feeder, stick to frozen.
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Potters is an extremely active grazer - as long as you have adequate live rock, it'll be fine. Mine took about 3 months before it would also eat pellets.
Yes, that's the plan if ever I transfer to to the DT.
I'll try to supplement the DT with nori everyday, there are currently two algae clips in the tank, so I hope it'll also graze the nori as well.
I'm away most of the time, so if I'd feed frozen everyday, they'd only eat before I go to work, so I have an auto-feeder to feed them pellets for the day.
Yes, there's plenty of liverock for the li'l guy to graze on
Everyone's inputs are very much appreciated
I have trying to get my coral beauty to eat some pellets for about 2 months now, with no positive results yet [emoji23].
Main goal is that i can add a third feeding with an auto feeder. Not switch over to pellets as the main food.
Main goal is that i can add a third feeding with an auto feeder. Not switch over to pellets as the main food.
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Enjoy the algae cleaning service it's currently providing. My tank was never cleaner looking than when my YellowTang and Coral Beauty teamed up to destroy my Green Hair Algae. I miss those days.
