Bolivian Ram feeding advice

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TL1000RSquid

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Apr 6, 2011
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Bought a Ram a couple days ago but so far I don't think he's eaten since I got him. He wont come to the surface for flakes or blood worms. When I put in sinking food like shrimp pellets and algae wafers My cories and Kuhli's swarm over them pigging out and he's to shy to mix it up with the crowd, will he eventually join in with them when he's hungry enough?

I'll pick up some cichlid specific sinking pellets tomorrow for him but I'm sure the other fish will be all over those as well. Any recommendations for which brand cichlid pellets to buy?
 

abarilot

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Since you did just get the ram I wouldn't be too concerned that it hasn't eaten yet. It is just getting used to its environment and could take a couple more days till it is comfortable to start eating. Trying defrosting the blood worms in a cup with tank water and then pour the worms over the area the ram is. FYI make sure to not overfeed trying to get the ram to eat because poor water quality is worse than the fish not eating.
 

TL1000RSquid

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Alright sounds good, are the cichlid specific pellets worth buying or will he be ok with the sinking shrimp and algae pellets?
 

platytudes

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Xtreme Cichlid PeeWee is a hit with all my fish, it's a little expensive but worth it. Another good one is New Life Spectrum cichlid formula. Again pricey, but you get what you pay for! And you'll find that your cories love it also, plus it keeps the water cleaner than wafers IMO.
 

TL1000RSquid

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Don't know of any shops around here that carry live bloodworms. I usually keep frozen and freezedried on hand.

Good to know the NLS should be fine, NLS is usually my default brand for fish foods.
 

Jannika

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That sounds about right. Mine aren't real aggressive eaters and wouldn't come to the surface if their life depended on it. lol While the Tetras are in feeding frenzy mode above, I'll usually have to shoot some pellets down to the rams with a turkey baster or stick my arm in. Mine like small pellets such as NLS, Hikari Gold, and crisps, flakes, worms, whatever they can get.
 

TL1000RSquid

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He started eating fine after a couple days, LFS was out of NLS so I was stuck buying a bag of Aqueon Cichlid pellets which he's been eating I'll get a better brand when I see them at the store or next time I do an online order. He's a pain to feed since he doesn't stay in one place lone, I drop a few pellets in and by the time they sink to his level he's on the other side of the tank and I have to drop in more. Might have to try the turkey baster thing so I don't have to put so much food in there.
 
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