I have recenly purchased 30 10" HSB and placed them in a pen in my pond to watch them a few weeks before releasing.
My problem is that they will not eat the floating Aquamax 500 pellets I am feeding. If I crush the pellets with a hammer they will eat the small particals as they fall. Are there any tricks to get them to eat the floating pellets?
Have you tried feeding at different times? I stocked 200 trout in late February and they refused to eat for about a week, then one day I decided to try feeding them at dusk and they went crazy for the feed. I now feed at dawn and/or dusk and they do fine. If I try to feed at any other time they ignore the food. Also, they'll eat when I'm throwing the feed in but they won't get but so close to my exact location. If I sit on the bank and toss some pellets out close to the shore, they won't come up but if I get up and walk 15 or 20 yards down the bank I can see where they're coming closer to the shore to eat them.
Let them soak for a few mins first so they sink. Then feed them to the HSB. Over time stop the process.
I will try to soak but the AM 500 that I use will float on the top for days
It might be a PITA for a short bit, but if you let the pellets soak, then squeeze them a bit they'll sink.
That size HSB may need AM 600.
Here's an easy way to soak the pellets and all it takes to sink them is pinch them to increase the density. A slow sinking hydrated pellet done correctly will be hard to resist. And like Eric says graduate to the floaters.
In a ziplock back mix 2.5 parts Aquamax 500 to 1 part water. Keep turning the bag over and over again in your hands for about a minute. Then lay the bag down and flip it over several times every 30 seconds for a few minutes. Wait about 1 -2 hours and the pellets will have the consistency of clay -- not sticky or runny which is annoying.
Another possibility is your bass even though feed trained won't feed on floating pellets until they get acclimated to the cage for a few days. I've had this happen before.
It could also be the time of day your are feeding as Vaheelsfan says.
What kind of cage do you guys use for this? I'm going to get some fish that will be very small and might want to try caving a few to see how much growth difference I get.
Looks great, thanks for the idea.
fish are eating great now , I guess it just took a few weeks for them to either starve or get comfortable.
My pen looks similar to that, 4'X4' I used a sein or two from wal-mart for the sides and crab pot floats on T's at the top
