Has anyone had success feed training redear sunfish. I have a few and they'll eat me out of house and home if I have to feed them 'crawlers all the time.

Bruce,
I know of no one who has taken the time to try to condition redear to eat artificial food. It's too much work for little pay. Redear are traditionally used as an "insurance" policy for diversification of forage fish populations and to manage invertebrate infestations. So far, there hasn't been sufficient motive for a commercial producer to figure it out.

Bob,
Maybe I am that motivated person! There are no other fish currently in this new pond besides the redears and I may try to start mixing in a sinking feed with the live nightcrawlers. The water is so clear that I can observe the feeding so I should be able to tell if I'm having any success. I'm assuming that because of their preference for bottom dwelling organisms that a sinking feed is the way to start.

I know this sounds tedious, but you might try mixing some "natural" feed with your pellets. Maybe crush some snails, cut up earthworms, add some krill or brine shrimp. It could be an enticing recipe.
Actually, that's how some of the bass farmers train their fish to feed. Consistent, persistent.

Tedious is my middle name! I'll try it. Maybe in two or three years we'll be talking about the "Lusk Method" of redear sunfish production. I'm going to name the first three-pounder "Bob".

Bruce - The owner of Ridgeview Fin Farm Ridgeville Corners OH has trained a batch of redears on to pellets (www.ridgeviewfinfarm.com) . I saw these fish last week and they are 3"-4" long; not all fish in the tank were eating pellets, just the plump ones. I am pretty sure he started them on krill and gradually switched them over to small high protein pellets. I can ask for the specific method if you want me to. He said the redears were harder to train than other fish he has worked with. He also currently has some YOY black crappies that he has feed trained.

I'm extremely interested in the methodology used to train those redears. I've spent the last two hours at Home Depot designing and building a PVC/galvanized aluminum mosquito screen contraption that will sit off of the pond bottom with my Aquavue rigged up to watch the redears response to sinking pellets. I plan to integrate pellets, nightcrawlers and any other big invertebrates I can get my hands on to try to convince my fish that pellets are good.

By the way, I like your sentiment about the pleasure derived from raising and managing populations vs. angling. I really like fishing but it's incredibly fascinating to manage them!

By the way, I like your sentiment about the pleasure derived from raising and managing populations vs. angling. I really like fishing but it's incredibly fascinating to manage them![/QB][/QUOTE]

Bruce, you got that right. What adds to the fun is harvest by hook and line and then sell them. I find just feeding my fish daily very therapeutic too.

I have some large ones that feed on pellets. I feed floating food but they don't really hit it until they sink at least 6" down.

TEXAS715. How big are the redears? Do you suspect that they've taken pellets since fingerlings? Are they competing with other fish, such as bluegills?

Bruce,
I would like to talk with you. Please email contact information to my personal email address... pondboss@texoma.net
Thanks...

I have redears up to 8". There are some bluegill but the biggest competitor for pellets are Tilapia. When the bigger Tilapia come around they eat almost like catfish. The Redears were stocked a long time ago and I just started a feeding program last year.

I done went and figured it out.

I stocked my new pond with redear and bluegill two springs ago, with fish purchased at a commercial hatchery in north Missouri. My pond has clear water, and it is easy to identify redear among the bluegill. They are feeding on Purina Game Chow just as readily as do the bluegill--perhaps even more so, because they are a little larger and are bulling their way to the chow when I toss it in. So are my largemouth bass. It's a hoot to watch bass knife their way through schools of freshly spawned fry--not to eat the fry, but to get to the floating chow.

Tell us more..

Well, you lget 50% credit.

My YOY redear are going ape-nut over the Mazuri Gel-Feed.

I figured Mazuri Gel feed was part of it.

I still need to swing by and see what you are doing with it. I have eight new 3-4" RES in my aquarium and and I plan on getting some Mazuri gel feed on order soon.

Bruce,

Will you try and tranistion the redears from the Mazuri to pellet feed? Will the Mazuri make it easier?

It's already happening, Cecil. They went directly from Mazuri powder to Aquamax 200. Today they started hammering the 300. They're growing like crazy. TJ and Esshup got a look at them the other day, and they were on a rampage.

Mazuri is good stuff for feed training finicky fish. It will be interesting to follow the progress of the RES Bruce is working with.

Good to know! So it also comes in a powder along with a gel?

You start out with a gel and then go to a powder and then the 200?

The Mazuri that I have it comes as a powder, you mix it with water and make a gelatin like fish food. Cut the gelatin into bite size pieces.

Thanks Bill. No problems feed training smallmouth bass, bluegill, and yellow perch on Aquamax or similar brand fry powder, but I'm sure this is needed for redears. Unfortunately redears are not a go this year for me. I don't have a pond available nor an extra tank. And I don't need the predacious redear broodfish gobbling up my yellow perch fry before I seine them out.

I use the gel powder, but I just don't bother to mix water with it. I just put it in as a powder, and 1-2 inch redears lose their minds over it! It literally took six hours to train the first two hundred or so.

Are you feed training in low light level conditions too?

I'm feeding them every single chance I get. I probably average five feedings daily. I've noticed that the younger my RES are, the less they seem to care what time of day they're eating.

I've noticed that my new batch of smaller (3-4") RES in my aquarium don't seem to be quite as light sensitive to the aquarium lights as the the larger ones I had in there. It took three or four days before they started favoring the the darker end of the tank. When I put the larger ones in back in October they immediately favored which ever area of the aquarium was the darkest. Function of age, size, or development?

Funny you guys bring that up. I recently picked up some yellow perch I farmed out to one of the high schools I've set up recirculating systems at. As I dropped the water level in the tank I wss struck by how docile the fish were compared to how flighty they were when I had them in a basement tank. I actually caught some if them with my hands at the school.

The room they were in is also a welding shop with lots of noise and bright lighting. Also lights snap on in the morning and go ff at night, which freaked the fish when they were in my basement, which is why I keep the lighting low and on 24/7.

I think it's a matter of conditioning. If they are used to noises, moving shadows and lights going on and off, then it doesn't bother them.

I grew up by an airport. The planes were just background noise. Being away from that area, now when I'm there I notice every single one of them.

Well yeah! :-)