# shrimp pellets as main diet?



## sirnewb (Dec 3, 2010)

My new gt has only eaten these sinking shrimp pellets, I've tried other sinking pellets and he/she just spits them out. Then all floating pellets are completely ignored, the fish even ignores bloodworms most of the time.
The nutrtion is almost identical on the package, the shrimp just has a slightly higher fat rate.
Is this okay? He/she is still small, like 2 inches from head to tail.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I guarantee you that if he's hungry enough, he'll eat what you offer. If he's being picky, you are feeding him too much.

What brand of shrimp pellets are you using? Many brands have a lot of junk mixed in, and I like to see a higher quality food as a main diet. Pretty much anything with corn or soy meal in the main ingredients, or anything that only has fish meal (instead of whole fish) are cutting corners. I also avoid anything with terrestrial animal protein (like beef blood or liver). Brands that do a pretty good job are New Life Spectrum, Ocean Nutrition, Dainichi, Cobalt Aquatics, etc. I'm sure the folks in the South American folder have some good suggestions. Just know that with a higher quality food, you must feed sparingly because it's packed with nutrients; but feeding less means your water will stay cleaner too.

Anyway about it though, skip feeding him for three days (which is good for his digestive system anyway) and then give him a very small quantity of what you want to switch him to. Just feed once that day, and then wait until the next day to try again. It may take a few more days of being hungry but he'll come around.


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## sirnewb (Dec 3, 2010)

Awesome, thank you! I shall try that then.
Side note- he did eat some of the sinking pellets this morning. They are top fin brand. I also feed all my other cichlids a combo of hikari biogold+, hikari cichlid staple, frozen deshelled peas, and raw shrimp you can buy at the supermarkets.
Does this sound like a good variety in diet for my other guys?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

That sounds good in general, but I don't know what your other fish are. :wink:

... how do you deshell peas??


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## sirnewb (Dec 3, 2010)

My other fish are a jd that is probably 8 inches, a female gt who is like 5 inches, and 6 convicts that are around 3 inches.
I take the peas out of the bad in my freezer, thaw them out in tank water, then gently squeeze them in my fingers so the outer shell comes off. Then I feed the inner part of the pea to my fish.


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