# So I Just Bought A Bag Of Massivore Delite



## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

what are the chances I can get my RBP's to take to this stuff? any tips from those experienced? I'd like to try this as their staple diet .. they are in the 5" range and have grown up primarily on frozen shrimp, spearing, and earthworms

I tossed one of the pellets in the tank today, they completely ignored it ..I read starve them and stay persistent ..as in every other day or so toss a couple in until they start consistently eating them?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Things that worked for me: start training them to accept shrimp / current food from the surface. You can use a needle and fine thread to suspend the whole shrimp and slowly raise it each time you feed. If they get a piece of the thread, not a big deal. Once you get close to the surface, start stuffing the shrimp with a few pellets.

You can also pre soak the pellets so they sink a little, but I have found that can make a mess if they get too soft and break apart. As always, remove any food after 10 or so minutes.

They are naturally afraid of the surface, because thats where most predators exist in the wild. It can take some time / work but it can be done.


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

Ægir said:


> Things that worked for me: start training them to accept shrimp / current food from the surface. You can use a needle and fine thread to suspend the whole shrimp and slowly raise it each time you feed. If they get a piece of the thread, not a big deal. Once you get close to the surface, start stuffing the shrimp with a few pellets.
> 
> You can also pre soak the pellets so they sink a little, but I have found that can make a mess if they get too soft and break apart. As always, remove any food after 10 or so minutes.
> 
> They are naturally afraid of the surface, because thats where most predators exist in the wild. It can take some time / work but it can be done.


appreciate your knowledge !!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

No problem, and good luck... it might take weeks or months but it is definitely possible.

You might also try some standard flake food, some kinda sinks and some floats for longer. That is how I taught my Rhom to accept floating food.


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

Ægir said:


> No problem, and good luck... it might take weeks or months but it is definitely possible.
> 
> You might also try some standard flake food, some kinda sinks and some floats for longer. That is how I taught my Rhom to accept floating food.


alright so it turns out these are sinking pellets ..this is day 2 of no food so I tossed a couple in and they sunk right down, the P's swam over took a look and bolted ..where normally here if this was spearing or shrimp they would have destroyed it ..so obviously this is going to take some time

any ideas for success? don't feed anything else no matter how long it takes? try every day or every other? at what point should I be concerned about cannibalism should this turn out to be an extended period of time? they've never displayed that kind of behavior and obviously haven't yet during these couple days


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

I would just wait 2 or 3 days... then try again. After that you could do every other day. It could take up to 2 weeks, even more. My big Rhom might not eat for 3 weeks after moving his tank. They arent going to starve themselves to death, and will eventually realize it as a food source.

Keep an eye out for aggression and play it day by day. Like I said maybe stuff a few shrimp with the pellets and introduce them that way.


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

Ægir said:


> I would just wait 2 or 3 days... then try again. After that you could do every other day. It could take up to 2 weeks, even more. My big Rhom might not eat for 3 weeks after moving his tank. They arent going to starve themselves to death, and will eventually realize it as a food source.
> 
> Keep an eye out for aggression and play it day by day. Like I said maybe stuff a few shrimp with the pellets and introduce them that way.


got it ..

maybe I'll blog up the experience in this thread ..could be useful to someone


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

day 3 this is the longest I've gone w/out feeding the P's ..tossed a couple of these in (about the size and shape of an algae wafer), they initially darted over to check them out but that was about it ..gave them some attention, but ultimately snubbed ..scooped out both untouched wafers about 15 min later ..def showed more interest today


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

days 4 and 5 ..P's showing zero interest nada, I've tried a couple pellets each day and they go untouched ..feel bad I want to feed them but gonna hold out ..no real added aggression yet that I can see


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

I wonder if you tried a different brand of pellet? My fish have always loved the Hikari in the red bag


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

Ægir said:


> Like I said maybe stuff a few shrimp with the pellets and introduce them that way.


or maybe I'll do this


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## SillyGoose (Jul 10, 2016)

in conclusion here I ended up stuffing medium size Hikari Gold pellets in cut up shrimp and it's working out very well ..very high rate of pellet consumption achieved when stuffed into bite size pieces

their nutrition has been improved while still munching down on the shrimp they love ..I'm happy and they're happy


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