How Do I Feed New Fish?

[teddscau]

Okay, I know, sounds like a stupid question, but I've never had difficulty feeding animals before. Heck, a couple of years I had to raise orphaned wild mice, getting them to suckle formula from a makeup applicator. I've even convinced wild freshwater nano fish to eat pellets. However, I can't for the life of me figure out how to feed marine fish. The firefish were extremely easy to feed as they ate pretty much everything I offered from day 1. Even pellets. However, the yellow clown goby and bearded goby both died after not eating for several weeks (they slowly became more and more emaciated). I tried them with pellets (three or four different brands), flakes, frozen clam eggs, frozen spirulina brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, frozen tubifex worms, frozen mysis shrimp, frozen daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms, Calan-Eeze, freeze-dried mysis shrimp...

Well, I bought four pajama cardinalfish a couple of days ago, and I have the same problem. They showed interest in some small frozen silversides and some whiteworms I put in (I know I'm not really supposed to feed marine critters "freshwater" foods, but I just want to encourage them to start eating), but when they put the food in their mouths they thought it tasted gross or something, and spat it out. I'm currently trying to raise some brine shrimp for them, but they're way too tiny to feed to them yet.

The pajamas appear to be in good health, have coloured up nicely, and aren't skinny or anything, but I need to get them to start eating. How do you guys feed finicky marine fish?

 

[ichthyogeek]

I know that banggai cardinalfish will go after brine shrimp nauplii, so you might wanna try tossing in a few naup's in for the pajamas, even if they look absolutely miniscule compared to the pajama cardinals.

Some people try garlic...I know that freshwater blackworms work wonders as well. PE Mysis pellets work really really well for me. But I also feed custom frozen gel food.

Are the fish in quarantine or are they just in the display tank?

 

[rffanat1c]

I don't keep finicky marine fish for this reason


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[Fourstars]

I always have live food for new arrivals, once they settle in and figure out what’s on the menu and when feeding time is they seem to adjust to what’s offered.

 

[lapin]

My new fish get fresh hatched brine (nauplii). May look small to us, to them I think its M&M's. Same idea with pods. I also feed them live black worms and live white worms. A bit of frozen, rods food, pods and calanus. The only one I had trouble feeding was the lawnmower, she is a vegetarian. I do have 5 PJ cardinals.

 

[Fourstars]

I love lawnmowers, mine will now eat nauplii and pellets off the surface, so funny to watch him try to accomplish this. Try wrapping nori around a small rock with rubber band.

 

[WVfishguy]

Best fish food

Best fish food

I've been feeding live mosquito larvae to marine fish for more than 30 years. If you have a fish which will not eat, the wriggling of mosquito larva will stimulate them to begin feeding. I believe live mosquito larvae are the best food for nearly all fish.
I get my mosquito larvae from the rain barrels behind my home.
I believe heavy feedings of mosquito larvae are one reason my Banggai cardinals breed so often. Live mosquito larva and tiny, live daphnia are great food for newly-hatched Banggai.
I've never seen a fish - salt water or fresh - refuse to eat this food.
I'm sure there are some here who will begin clutching their pearls and hyperventilating at the thought of feeding a "freshwater" critters to marine fish, simply because someone, somewhere, posted that it's bad. :spin2: Whatever. I trust experience over theory.
I also consider blood worms, a fly larva, another top food. If you can get live blood worms, they should be even better than mosquito larvae.