My Dempesy won't eat feeders

It is because that's not their diet.

Some fish are picky, it may be that your dempsy just doesn't like feeders, does he still eat his regular food? how reliable was the source of the feeders, It would scare me to bring feeders home from most LFS's and put them in my tank the next day( when I buy feeders I usally quarantine them but prefer to grow my own ) . Make sure he will still eat, and shows no other sign of stress, I imagine that the feeders will eventually dissapear

It is because that's not their diet.

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This is absolutely wrong, although guppies per se may not be their natural diet in the wild, small fish do make up PART of a Dempseys natural diet. They are omnivorous, and like most omnivourus Cichlids, they enjoy guppies . IME Demsey's don't always go after feeders the way an oscar might, but they usually always enjoy them.

This fish is not usually very picky about what it eats, although it may take some time for them to adjust to a different food they are changing from a consistent diet. It is best to vary their diet, alternating between pellets, guppies, shrimp, lettuce, earthworms, snails, and most other crustaceans

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this quote taken directly from the species profile on this site.

My question is...what kind of nutrition feeders can give your cichlids? That's why I said it isn't their diet. Feeders live in crowded environment and contracted all kinds of aquarium diseases. Is this really JD's diet?

Of course I know they eat small fishes in their natural habitat, but chances that they eat a sick fish is smaller.

yes he still eats regular food but when he was little he ate them he is very healthy

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My only reason for asking was that if something stressed him out, he would have quit eating everything. If he still eats, give him some time. he may just be in one of those moods.

My question is...what kind of nutrition feeders can give your cichlids? That's why I said it isn't their diet. Feeders live in crowded environment and contracted all kinds of aquarium diseases. Is this really JD's diet?

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My answer would be that feeders give the same nutrition that any small fish in the wild might or might not . Furthermore in the wild, predators tend to eat the weak,sick, and injured prey first, and predominantly when there is enough of it. So the chances are much higher that a Dempsey would get a sick fish to eat in the wild than he would in my tank. Lastly and most importantly, no one here is reccomending or attempting to make feeders a primary diet, and none of us are claiming it is a great idea to buy feeders from an unreliable source. I fed feeders for the entire ten years that I kept oscars, and at that point in my life I didn't have the resources to raise my own, so once every couple of weeks I would buy a dozen from the lfs, put them in the q-tank for a few days and then feed them out. I never had a problem with disease from these fish. Maybe if you have had trouble getting good feeders you should try a different LFS or raise your own.

I don't feed my cichlids feeders and don't plan to. And all my cichlids are healthy and bright color.

Over the past 5 years of feeding feeder fish I have had no problem with any disease or anything. Buy them from a good place, look at them and don't feed them if they look bad/ill. Some times it takes a little longer for the fish to eat them then others. IMO one of the best parts of owning larger fish is to see their wild predetory instincts. IMO it would deprive the fish of something not to let it use some of its predetory instincts.

Originally posted by greenterrorrr
IMO it would deprive the fish of something not to let it use some of its predetory instincts.

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