Fish Not Eating Flake Food

[bluewolf2173]

I have a new 40 gallon tank setup. I have 6 fish in it:
2 Black Skirts
3 Neon Tetras
1 Panda Angel
I have had the Neons and Black Skirts for a week now, and the Angel for 3 days, and they seem to shun flake food I put in. After 2 days of them not visibly eating I switched to blood worms. They went nuts over them. A few days later I tried giving flake food again, and it was met with the same response (extreme disinterest). All of the fish seem to be fine. Everyone is swimming with no apparent listing or lagging. Anyone have any ideas why I am seeing this?
Jagar

 

[blue_ram]

I have a new 40 gallon tank setup. I have 6 fish in it:
2 Black Skirts
3 Neon Tetras
1 Panda Angel
I have had the Neons and Black Skirts for a week now, and the Angel for 3 days, and they seem to shun flake food I put in. After 2 days of them not visibly eating I switched to blood worms. They went nuts over them. A few days later I tried giving flake food again, and it was met with the same response (extreme disinterest). All of the fish seem to be fine. Everyone is swimming with no apparent listing or lagging. Anyone have any ideas why I am seeing this?
Jagar

How old is the flake and what brand are they? I've found that my fish won't eat Hartz or Wardley brand, except for Wardley's new Total Spectramax (only good fish food Wardley makes IMO). They also seem to dislike food older than 1 year, or food I forgot to put the lid back on. Try switching to other high quality brands.

You also might want to add few extra neons and black skirts. Often, they tend to eat competitively; i.e. if one neon eats the flake food, other may try as well. Also, make sure the flake is small enough for them by crushing larger flakes.

BTW, don't let the fish "train" you to feed them blood worms. Feeding blood worms exclusively is bad for fish's health. Feed them once or twice a week as a treat.

 

[bluewolf2173]

[/quote]
How old is the flake and what brand are they? I've found that my fish won't eat Hartz or Wardley brand, except for Wardley's new Total Spectramax (only good fish food Wardley makes IMO). They also seem to dislike food older than 1 year, or food I forgot to put the lid back on. Try switching to other high quality brands.

You also might want to add few extra neons and black skirts. Often, they tend to eat competitively; i.e. if one neon eats the flake food, other may try as well. Also, make sure the flake is small enough for them by crushing larger flakes.

BTW, don't let the fish "train" you to feed them blood worms. Feeding blood worms exclusively is bad for fish's health. Feed them once or twice a week as a treat.
[/quote]

Thanks for the reply. To answer some of your questions:
I have tried two brands, Bio Blend, Tetra Min. I will be honest by saying I have zero idea of what is considered a quality food. Any good suggestions?
I have tried making the flakes different sizes, but same reaction they just ignore them.
A friend of mine suggested I add brine shrimp and krill to their diets. Is this really a good idea?
Thanks

Jagar

 

[rdd1952]

BTW, don't let the fish "train" you to feed them blood worms. Feeding blood worms exclusively is bad for fish's health. Feed them once or twice a week as a treat.

True. Bloodworms are very high in protein and are hard to digest. Feeding them too often can cause constipation and other problems.