Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Can anyone explain why I cannot get my barra to take pellets?
I have tried floating pellets, sinking pellets, and I have tried covering the FT to avoid spooking them. They will quite willingly accept any other live fish (goldfish, guppies, feeders plus all the SP's i replaced with Barra)
I am only running a small system, FT is bathtub to 2x half Blue barrel GBs. Water temp is 25-28 degrees. Ph 6.4, Amm 0.5, N02 1.0, N03 40ppm. Plants extremely healthy. I have 3x 150mm Barra, 1x100mm Silver Perch (big enough and fast enough to escape) and 5 very horny Apple snails that have recently been laying eggs EVERYWHERE.
Aeration is fed through two air stones, plus two separate 15 minute auto siphon intervals(GB's run independantly)

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Did your fish ever take pellets... or have you trained/spoilt them with live feed...

Unfortunately no, I may have become a victim of my own kindness....when I saw that they weren't taking pellets i gave them some live food to supplement. is there any way to train old dogs new tricks? Ive trained dogs before...never fish though !!

Starve them... when they're hungry enough... they'll eat the pellets...

Have you tried feeding them at night?
They are nocturnal predators.

Apple snails always lay eggs everywhere!

Yep, you've spoilt them. We fed our big barra live feed once, then he wouldn't eat pellets for a week or two after that.

Are trout the same with not wanting pellets after live food EB?

It is pretty common with most fish.

Kind of like doing a big fish harvest, then someone offers you fish fingers.
They turn into food snobs

Gosh, we must have eating machines We havent actually given them live fish but they just adore a snack between meals, of river shrimp. I just thought that they were taking advantage of me walking past the tank (they all swim to the food jar end and wriggle at the surface)

However, they do sulk briefly at tank upsets like when we do a water change on the indoor tank which has still not seemingly cycled or when we caught 6 "biggies" and took them outdoors to grow out.

Yep! I agree with Rupe to letting them go hungry for a few days.

All of the advanced barra i bought (150mm ish when i got them now up to over 300mm) will only eat sinking pellets. However the 30mm ish (now up to 100-150mm) fingerlings i bought will eat anything.

Have your Barra started eating pellets yet?

I have this same problem when I feed my kids lollies....wont seem to eat dinner

Yep, We're hearing you Charlie. No lollies or coffee after lunch.

I had a simular problem, but the barra where much smaller

I bought pilchards ( to some dismay ) and made a pilchard mince with pellets. They loved it.

The temperature of the water is the key factor to get the barra wickedly hungry to eat at the surface. That and also not spooking them.

good luck........it must be nearly trout season down your end of the country

Let them eat cake