convict feeding

[jdcreigh]

hello in my 20g tank we just got 2 convicts.they dont seem to like the pellets i give them.they are not the smallest but are the next size.i am new to cichlids what else do they eat?i gave them some of tropical flakes from the other tanks and the female eats some but the male eats it but spits it out.what else could i give them?and is there anything that i should know about cichlids?thanks

 

[Sully]

Eating it and then spitting it out. they probably had flakes that were larger than they wanted to swallow. They got some food and got rid of the rest. you will often times see a fish grab a flake, spit it out, grab the same flake, spit it out, over and over again. Each time the flake gets smaller for some reason.

Protein flakes, veggie flakes, veggie pellets, shrimp pellets, Black worms, blood worms, worms from the yard (cut into manageable sizes--if you do not use pesticides), zuchinni, sweet potato, spinach, lettuce, apple bits.....They eat a whole bunch of things.

 

[jdcreigh]

thanks.how many of those pellets do i add for 2 convicts?it says as much as they will eat in 5 min. but they dont eat right away.i only had them 3 days and i am sure they are shy right now but i dont want to over feed them.

 

[Ryank327]

Convicts will eat jsut about anything. The diet I had mine on consisted of Pellets, blood worms adn left over steak, hamburger and lunch meats.

 

[raift]

mine eat everything except shrimp pellet, but they would probable eat that to if i starved them

 

[pdb]

they may be a little small for the pellet size you're feeding, or they're not used to the pellet... or it's just hard and they spit it out to soften it..

Try soaking the pellets you're going to feed them in a little water for about 5-10 minutes before feeding it to them.. This should help them accept the pellet and not spit it out as much..