# Ember Tetras won't eat. Please help with diet...



## PM (24 Mar 2013)

I have 12 Ember Tetras, it's been 6 days now and they will not eat either the ground up Tetra Colour Pro food or frozen Cyclops. They will put it in their mouthes but spit it out, I have not observed ANY eating, at all.

They seem happy enough, if a little shy, though most of them have good colouration, and all have survived so far.

I posted in my the journal in my sig but got no response.

What should I do, I don't want them getting sick and dying.


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## Ed Seeley (24 Mar 2013)

I take it they are new?  If so call the store and find out what they were eating there.  If they are new they will survive for a couple of weeks without food.  If they don't eat in a couple more days get some live foos, such as Daphnia, as the movement will encourage eating response and it will survive in the tank until they eat it.


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## rebus (24 Mar 2013)

Hi
My better half has a small (30l) tank with just 9-10 ember tetras which she's had for a year now so I asked her.  She tells me that they are slightly fussy eaters and also seem to prefer their food small and/or soft.  She alternates between Nutrafin flake food, frozen brineshrimp and Tetra Pro Colour.  The embers seem fine with the brineshrimp, but she finds that with the dried food it helps to crush it up so it is quite fine.  When she first tried them with Tetra Pro colour they did the same thing as yours - sampling and spitting out - but she found that if she crushes it quite fine and also soaks it to soften it a bit beforehand they will eat it.  She's never tried them with frozen cyclops so can't help you there.  She also mentioned to put the food in a bit at a time because if they don't get to it before it floats down to the bottom third of the tank, they seem to lose interest. 

Hope this helps!
Stu


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## PM (24 Mar 2013)

Ed - Yes they're new. Unfortunately Maidenhead Aquatics Morden where I got the fish from closed for trade the day I bought them, so I can't ask!

Stu - I do crush it up small but I'll try the above tips also. Thanks.


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## dean (25 Mar 2013)

Try frozen Cyclops
Never known anything to refuse it


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## dw1305 (26 Mar 2013)

Hi all,
Try Micro and Grindal worms, they are ever so easy to culture, and the "wriggle factor"  elicits the feeding  response.
Once you've got them eating these, you can start adding in some small dry food items (crushed flake etc) with the worms and things are usually plain sailing after that.

For Ember Tetras, I'd try "Banana worms", they are slightly smaller than micro-worms, but a lot more prolific.

cheers Darrel


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## Henry (16 Nov 2015)

I feed my embers microworm and they go absolutely nuts for it!

Gut loading microworm with spirulina makes them really good grub for all small fish.


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