Bob Mehen advises on varying food mix for a reader's Siamese Fighting Fish.
Q: My Siamese fighting fish has become picky with its food and I don’t know what to do about it. When I first bought him, he would take Bug Bites pellets whenever I offered them, but a little while ago I bought a packet of frozen Tropical Quartet food with worms and Cyclops in it. I have been giving him lots of feeds with that in the last few weeks, but now I am getting low I tried to offer him the Bug Bites again and he just let them sink to the bottom. How do I get him eating dry foods again?
EMILY PRESTON, VIA EMAIL
A: Bob replies: Fish can be just as fussy with food as cats and dogs (and humans), and can get ‘fixed’ on a certain food type, which is why variety is important, not just in terms of nutritional value and balanced diet. Rather like you might do with a picky cat, the only way to wean your fish back to other foods is to keep on with small amounts of the new stuff, making sure that any uneaten food doesn’t pollute the tank, until eventually he’s hungry enough to try it. Unlike a cat, he can’t pop next-door and convince the neighbour he’s being starved to get a top-up of his favoured fare there! I’d recommend feeding with two or three different foods in small quantities each time and try new foodstuffs regularly.