# Teaching an old dog new tricks



## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

so i have been able to feed pygos pellets, but i can not think that a bigger rhom would
accept pellets. has anyone been able to switch a big guy over to pellets?

if so, teach me...lol. i would love to get them on correct nutrients along with flesh as well.
by the way, they only eat at night with no movement at all in my bedroom.
dennis


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## BigBadBlackRhom (Sep 10, 2004)

assclown said:


> so i have been able to feed pygos pellets, but i can not think that a bigger rhom would
> accept pellets. has anyone been able to switch a big guy over to pellets?
> 
> if so, teach me...lol. i would love to get them on correct nutrients along with flesh as well.
> ...


Hey there, Ive got a rhom now (old pic is in my sig). She's grown a full inch length wise and gotten a hell of alot thicker due to diet. I couldnt get my fish to eat pellets. just fish. So what i did was mash up the pellets into a paste (add water). use a food injecter and fill up silversides, herring, other whole fish with this stuff. Since my rhom pretty much swallows food this hasnt created any mess. Hope this helps! oh, there's a guy who has a big 17"er i think his name here is Titan, he taught me a similar trick with vitamins. injecting into the chunks of fish flesh before feeding works!
Al


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

The fish will eventually come around. Its not going to strave its self. Just keeping putting pellets in there daily until he accpets them. Just dont give in.


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## ju5tin95 (Nov 25, 2008)

SeedlessOne said:


> The fish will eventually come around. Its not going to strave its self. Just keeping putting pellets in there daily until he accpets them. Just dont give in.


I agree, its what i did


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

BBBRhom has some great advice.









I generally look for thick fillets to start. I cut the fillets in to half-dollar sized pieces and then cut a pocket into it. I insert 2 or 3 large Hikari Gold pellets and feed my 14" rhom 2 or three pieces of stuffed fillet per day. I think I may switch to BBBRhom's methods and make it into a paste - then use a flavor injector. That sure sounds easier.


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

HEY MARVIN......how ya doing bra?

yeah i like the idea of injecting the fish, rather than going threw the stress of waiting for them to eat...good idea guys.
they scavinge at the bottom as it is so yeah that might work...thanks guys


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

how is injecting fish more simple than dropping a handful of pellets in the tank???


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

makes sense if the fish will not accept pellets.....


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

LOL I bet if you give him no more than 2 weeks he will be destroying pellets!!!!


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## BigBadBlackRhom (Sep 10, 2004)

I can see your point seedlessone. Congrats to you that your fish switched over quickly. However I have had negative experiences with just dropping in pellets into a big rhom's tank. For one, (I speak of my fish because this is the only large rhom ive owned but others feel free to chime in if this sounds like your fish as well) my fish is not the most graceful feeder. Ive seen her show interest in pellets, but its almost impossible for her to suck it in after it rolls along the sandy bottom (and the fact its the size of a pea). I really dont want her sucking in a mouthfull of sand just to eat a stinking pellet.







Its why I feed the rhom bigger chunks of fish rather than small pieces. Big fish eat Big things theory. I can almost always get her excited about a big chunk of something. 
Two, Ive tried the starving deal and frankly its borderline crazy! I dont like the mess pellets leave when it comes apart if uneaten. I mean that's the whole deal right? You drop in a handful and leave and hope that she eats some. Well, ive found some pellets (ive tried floating and sinking) that she didnt eat (and apparantly i didnt see) in the sand, in my sump, dancing in my overflow boxes,etc. Dont like the idea of unaccounted for pellets screwing up my water. Not just pellets, any kind of food. I like the fact it only takes me about 15 minutes a week to prepare two weeks worth of gut loaded (with pellets, vitamins, whatever) silversides, herring, etc. And i like the fact its swallowed whole with NO mess as soon as I drop it in the tank. 
Third, during this period of starving and training, there's going to be alot of "fishing out food". Now, maybe i throw too much caution to the wind, but I dont like sticking my hand in the fishes tank period. Its dangerous, and I love my fingers too much to risk it. Ive spent too much time trying to net up pellets and pellet chunks in the dancing current to say neveragain. I think the less time you play around in your rhom's tank (or any piranhas tank) the better. Less chance of a freak accident. Ive seen my rhom cut a whole catfish in two severing the back bone.... imagine if they were your fingers...








Call it a compromise as you will. Gut load the food if your fish is finicky and im sure you'll be happy. Your fish will get nutritous food. Your tank will be cleaner. No fingers missing








Hope this helps-
Al


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

^^^ Good points - as usual. I'll add that by injecting/inserting pellets into a piece of fish fillet or into a whole fish would allow the natural diet in addition to the pellets. P's eat white fish meat in the wild - as a staple. I think it's healthy for the fish's mentality - if it even matters at all - to get the diet they grew accustomed too... keeping in mind that most of us that have large rhoms have a fish that lived in the wild for a gooood loooong time.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

BigBadBlackRhom said:


> I can see your point seedlessone. Congrats to you that your fish switched over quickly. However I have had negative experiences with just dropping in pellets into a big rhom's tank. For one, (I speak of my fish because this is the only large rhom ive owned but others feel free to chime in if this sounds like your fish as well) my fish is not the most graceful feeder. Ive seen her show interest in pellets, but its almost impossible for her to suck it in after it rolls along the sandy bottom (and the fact its the size of a pea). I really dont want her sucking in a mouthfull of sand just to eat a stinking pellet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

i still say a rather large rhom who is on a diet of fish only will not eat little balls
floating around thier aquarium...just doent make sense to me...imo


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