ThRoewer
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Interesting article: What science tells us about finicky feeders
Trying to get Regal to eat prepared food
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I'm sort of at the point of doing this for documentation reasons, and for anyone in the future curious what I did to try to get my regal to eat.
The main reason I put him right into the DT (which the article Throewer linked actually mentions) was to let the regal see that all the other fish are eating what I put into the water, so eventually he'll understand that it's food. What I didnt realize is that they are very shy eaters, even if they are eating. The whole food competition was what was stopping him from eating.
I pulled my most aggressive eaters from the tank, and as soon as that happened, along with the huge variety of food, the regal has made noticeable strides towards eating prepared food.
Keep in mind, I'm dealing with a large regal which is by far more difficult than getting a juvenile to eat.
Food that he has so far eaten:
1. little neck clams. He will always eat these when he sees them. The only issue is so will all the other fish. The regal will pick at them a bit, move around the tank for awhile, come back, pick, repeat. If you can get the aggressive eaters out of the tank so the clams can be in the DT without disappearing on him, he'll survive.
2. LRS eggs mixed with frozen mysis. The addition of LRS eggs to probably any food will perk the regals attention. I believe the eggs alone are too small for him to eat but if regular food smells and is mixed with the eggs, he's definitely curious.
The main reason I put him right into the DT (which the article Throewer linked actually mentions) was to let the regal see that all the other fish are eating what I put into the water, so eventually he'll understand that it's food. What I didnt realize is that they are very shy eaters, even if they are eating. The whole food competition was what was stopping him from eating.
I pulled my most aggressive eaters from the tank, and as soon as that happened, along with the huge variety of food, the regal has made noticeable strides towards eating prepared food.
Keep in mind, I'm dealing with a large regal which is by far more difficult than getting a juvenile to eat.
Food that he has so far eaten:
1. little neck clams. He will always eat these when he sees them. The only issue is so will all the other fish. The regal will pick at them a bit, move around the tank for awhile, come back, pick, repeat. If you can get the aggressive eaters out of the tank so the clams can be in the DT without disappearing on him, he'll survive.
2. LRS eggs mixed with frozen mysis. The addition of LRS eggs to probably any food will perk the regals attention. I believe the eggs alone are too small for him to eat but if regular food smells and is mixed with the eggs, he's definitely curious.
