Feeding blue face angel

[naeemn]

I just bought a 5 inch blueface angel of divers den the fish is absouletly amazing. I got her on Thursday she resides with a dog face puffer and a naso in a 100 gal. At the moment she is only eating mysis shrimp I've been soaking it with garlic and sylcon. My only concern is she is not eating any of the nls pellets that I have or any of the nori strip. Should I be worried or is she still adjusting to the new tank???

[barbianj]

Try soaking the pellets or is that what you are saying? Mine ate NLS pellets on the first try, but it's much smaller than yours. She is definately still adjusting to the tank. If the other fish eat the pellets, she will catch on.

[naeemn]

I don't soak the pellets the only thing I soak is the mysis shrimp should I try soaking the pellets??

[NuTom]

I believe it's a little harder to feed adult bluefaces NLS pellets at the beginning. The easiest way is to keep feeding your other fishes NLS pellets and when the bluefaces sees the others eating that he will then catch on that it's food. I'm surprised your having a problem feeding it nori that's usually the first thing they go for.

I believe it's still at the shy phase. Just keep trying it's only been a few days.

[barbianj]

My angels don't eat the nori, but I have a lot of algae on the rocks for them to graze on. Oddly, the Blueline trigger is the only one that eats the nori.

That was a nice fish from DD btw. Pictures?

[naeemn]

I don't have any pics of her yet,I took a pic of her with my phone but it's not good at all . As soon as I get a good pic of her I'll be sure to post it up.

[naeemn]

Do u guys think that the 3 mm pellets are to big for her cause I just saw her try to eat a couple and then she would spit them out??

[limitdown]

3mm pellets are ok for a 5 inch blueface. He might need more time to get accustomed to his new surrounding.

Take out the uneaten food. The following day, try putting garlic-soaked pellets in again. If he doesn't eat, then remove the food.
Then try the same the next day.

My 7inch blueface wouldn't even look at the pellets during the first 3 days that I had him. On the 4th and 5th day, he put them into his mouth and spit them out. On the 6th day, he finally started actually chewing and swallowing the pellets. He's now one of the biggest eaters and can easily take down 20 large formula2 pellets any time of the day.

[naeemn]

thanx a lot for the advice I'll try soaking the pellets, but the question I have is should I stop feeding her the mysis shrimp to make her hungry or should I keep feeding her the mysis shrimp , and has anyone tried the hikari mega angel food is it good or should I stick with the nls pellets? Thanx in advance

[NuTom]

Yea the only way your gonna get him to eat something else is to starve it for a few days. As for the feeding it hikari mega angel food or NLS pellets doesn't really matter what you try because the fish is just not used to prepared foods yet. It really just depends on what food you would like to see it eat first.

Goodluck and please keep us updated.

[naeemn]

Thanx for the advice at the moment she's eating mysis shrimp which I'm soaking in garlic and sylcon but I'll keep trying with the pellets and see what happens she is eating nori to which at first she wasn't but know she's devoring it

[niles1967]

My 10" Blueface eats Formula 1, Angel Formula and Mysis. It never seems interested in anything else.

[MrTuskfish]

A Blueface is an omnivore, not a herbivore, so you don't need to panic if it isn't eating greens yet. Adult large angels can be very stubborn about eating in captivity; probably because they have a well established diet from the reef that we just can't duplicate; such as a type of sponge, etc. By just getting it to eat anything, I think you're doing well. IMO, frozen foods are much more likely to get fish eating than dried pellets. I'd mix some frozen Formula II with the mysis and gradually decrease the percentage of mysis. There are also some frozen Angel diets that are great; such as Hikari Mega-Marine Angel. I kept a large Blueface for many years before moving and it was tough to get him eating, even as a juvi, but when he came around---he ate anything. Just my opinion; but I think pellets are for occasional convenience feedings. Fresh & frozen foods are much more suitable for larger fish. Use a good vitamin supplement, like Selcon, too. BTW, Bluefaces are rather difficult fish and should be fed several times a day.

[naeemn]

Thanx so much for the advice I appreciate it and I hope I can take care of this magnificent fish as much as I can.

[naeemn]

She just started eating and swalling the nls pellets and she's eating like a pig right now I still haven't tried the hekari angel formula,I'll try it tonight when I pick it up from the fish store. Thanx alot for the help from everyone, and as soon as I get some pics I'll post them up