Will It STarve?

I currently have a arowana in a tank with various american cichlids. The
arowana is really picky about what it likes to eat. It seems to only want
to eat feeder fish. I really don't like feeding my fish feeders because of
the risk of disease and the mess they make when they make a kill. I was
wondering if I continue to feed the tank with staple food only (ie. pellets,
flakes, bloodworms, brine, and krill) would the arowana starve from not
eating or will it give in and eat the food that it doesnt like. Any kind of
answer or solution would be great. Thanks.

"B." wrote in message
newsH69b.37399$S_.3736@fed1read01...
I currently have a arowana in a tank with various american cichlids. The
arowana is really picky about what it likes to eat. It seems to only want
to eat feeder fish. I really don't like feeding my fish feeders because
of
the risk of disease and the mess they make when they make a kill. I was
wondering if I continue to feed the tank with staple food only (ie.
pellets,
flakes, bloodworms, brine, and krill) would the arowana starve from not
eating or will it give in and eat the food that it doesnt like. Any kind
of
answer or solution would be great. Thanks.


Can't say about your particular fish of course. But, I have seen some
really large arrowanas eating pellets. I also switched two young ones over
from live feeder guppies to freeze dried plankton and pellets without much
difficulty. If yours is large fish that has always had live food it will
likely be more difficult. Does the fish even make a move for the pellets and
krill? Does it mouth and then reject nonliving food? If it shows interest
at all, like mouthing, I think it will eventually eat the food. Also, most
fish, especially large predators, can go a long time without eating before
any harm is done.
Paul

Yes. Sometimes the arrowana (which is about 5 inches) mouthes the krill ,
but that is about it. He won't touch anything else. I know that these fish
could go a long time without fould but how long is long. I don't wanna come
back a couple of months from now and find him or her dead because I refused
to buy guppies and it refused to eat anything else. I hope that after a
while it will catch on and start eating and instead of cruising the tank
looking for small moving prey.

"B." wrote in message
news:4S89b.37466$S_.16042@fed1read01...
Yes. Sometimes the arrowana (which is about 5 inches) mouthes the krill ,
but that is about it. He won't touch anything else. I know that these
fish
could go a long time without fould but how long is long. I don't wanna
come
back a couple of months from now and find him or her dead because I
refused
to buy guppies and it refused to eat anything else. I hope that after a
while it will catch on and start eating and instead of cruising the tank
looking for small moving prey.


Why not breed your own feeder guppies? Much less risk of diseases because
you know the condition of the tank all the time, and the arrowana will be
happy...
levittd

Not very viable... An Arrowana will eat alot more of them then you can breed
and raise in any sort of home setup... If you have a spare tank to use as a
hospital tank, though w/ lotsof filtration, you could buy them bulk and
quarantine them w/ medications for a couple of weeks to make sure they are
disease free..
"levittd" wrote in message
...

"B." wrote in message
news:4S89b.37466$S_.16042@fed1read01...
Yes. Sometimes the arrowana (which is about 5 inches) mouthes the krill
,
but that is about it. He won't touch anything else. I know that these
fish
could go a long time without fould but how long is long. I don't wanna
come
back a couple of months from now and find him or her dead because I
refused
to buy guppies and it refused to eat anything else. I hope that after a
while it will catch on and start eating and instead of cruising the tank
looking for small moving prey.


Why not breed your own feeder guppies? Much less risk of diseases because
you know the condition of the tank all the time, and the arrowana will be
happy...
levittd

"The Madd Hatter" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
Not very viable... An Arrowana will eat alot more of them then you can
breed
and raise in any sort of home setup... If you have a spare tank to use
as a
hospital tank, though w/ lotsof filtration, you could buy them bulk and
quarantine them w/ medications for a couple of weeks to make sure they
are
disease free..
"levittd" wrote in message
...

"B." wrote in message
news:4S89b.37466$S_.16042@fed1read01...
Yes. Sometimes the arrowana (which is about 5 inches) mouthes the
krill
,
but that is about it. He won't touch anything else. I know that
these
fish
could go a long time without fould but how long is long. I don't
wanna
come
back a couple of months from now and find him or her dead because I
refused
to buy guppies and it refused to eat anything else. I hope that
after a
while it will catch on and start eating and instead of cruising the
tank
looking for small moving prey.


Why not breed your own feeder guppies? Much less risk of diseases
because
you know the condition of the tank all the time, and the arrowana
will be
happy...
levittd

I've had luck with crickets (first live, then dead) and then going to
carnivore sticks (made by Hikari, with a picture of an Arrowana on the
package). Once you can get the food sticks accepted, going to the
smaller harder pellet food is easier. Having the Arrowana alone in the
tank helps the process.

NetMax