I have a 9" red bellied pacu in a 55g tank now, I know I'll need to upgrade in the near future. But right now all it really eats is algae disks that i drop in. It used to eat some zucchini and pond pellets, but now it doesn't eat those anymore. The tank has been fully cycled for a while, and I make sure nitrates are less then 15ppm. The filter is a penguin bio wheel 350, and that keeps the water pretty clean. The temp is at 78 F and ph around 7. I've tried to put a piece of the algae disk in a piece of zucchini, but it just rips the zucchini apart until it gets to the algae disk. I was wondering how I can try to get it to eat a wider variety of foods.
Picky pacu
- Thread starter rrogan
- Start date
there is nothing wrong with algae discs..they probably give the pacu much of what it needs.
you could try no food for a couple days then drop in some lettuce , etc'
how big of a tank are you planning on upgrading to?
some of those pacu can get pretty big
you could try no food for a couple days then drop in some lettuce , etc'
how big of a tank are you planning on upgrading to?
some of those pacu can get pretty big
you could try rubbing the veggies with garlic, or blanching them in water with a clove of garlic. Garlic is a natural appetite stimulant.
stick some veggies in there after not feeding it for a day or 2..
you could try blanching the veggies but those things should be able to tear up any veggies you feed it.
jm is correct(I don't want to beat you over the head) Paku's get really big
you could try blanching the veggies but those things should be able to tear up any veggies you feed it.
jm is correct(I don't want to beat you over the head) Paku's get really big
I'll try starving it for a day or two and see what happens. And I know they get big, I don't think I'll be keeping it once it gets too big. I know someone else that has a 500g tank that is willing to take it. I was just looking to upgrade a little bigger, so I'll only be keeping it for a little longer.
If it were me, I would go out and buy the three pound box of tetra cichlid floating sticks.
its great food for monster fish and is cheap when bought in the bulk box. Once he gets eating that it will be good - both for the fish and for your wallet.
I used to feed my big pacu these, floating cichlid pellets, and chopped beef heart on occasion.
He loved cherry tomatoes, grapes and carrots too.
my pacu was big (18 inches) but still a small fry in pacu terms.
its great food for monster fish and is cheap when bought in the bulk box. Once he gets eating that it will be good - both for the fish and for your wallet.
I used to feed my big pacu these, floating cichlid pellets, and chopped beef heart on occasion.
He loved cherry tomatoes, grapes and carrots too.
my pacu was big (18 inches) but still a small fry in pacu terms.