[FeederFish33]

well the first time failed, my friends ps didnt eat the mouse. We starved them for 3 days and they didnt do sh*t. I was pissed. The only thing that happened was his wolffish bit the mouse. We're gonna try again tomorrow. They better eat it, or im gonna flip out. Got any tips? Should the light be on or off? Should I cut the mouse?

 

[dead golfish]

all i can say is keep a net handy

 

[Death in #'s]

maybe just forget about the mouse and just throw in some food

 

[Glowin_Navi]

you gotta b really patient, make sure there are no spots in the hood where the mouse can try to climb out of. I ended up delaying the feast cause i had to keep getting up and trying to knock the mouse back into the tank, i ended up just putting a book ontop of the hole, should have thought of that before. But be ready to sit and watch them for a long time. I didnt starve my 5 reds, so it took em about 25 or 30 minutes to really pull the mouse down. Dont have too many people over, and if u do have people over tell them to shut the hell up, and not move. I left my lights on, and the p's started chewing on the mouse untill my buddy started freakin out and screaming with excitment. Then i had to turn the light of cause they got so spooked. Oh and BTW, make sure u clean your water after they eat. The mouse i had sh*t and pissed in my water, and i didnt bother cleaning or doing a water change for a couple days after. Its now been about 2 weeks, and my ammonia is too high for comfort, and im having a bitch of a time getting it back down.

 

[Glowin_Navi]

i didnt cut the mouse, didnt have the heart.

but i can sit and watch it get eaten slowly

 

[SnowCichlid]

if you do decide to try the mouse then try this:
>> ensure P's are hungry, skip a few feeding the first atempt.
>> Freeze the mouse to the point where its mvement is very slow and not agile
>> do not aproch the tank quickly and keep the P's in their comfprtable and normal conditions.
>> slowly place the mouse in the tank

good luck next time, I would stick with othr foods if you could anyways... but if you want a bit of a mess then go for it...

 

[RhomZilla]

If all else fails and you dont wanna try live. You can always use the alternative of feeding instant frozen mice from your LFS. Less nastiness and worries.

 

[Mr. Hannibal]

As been said... just be sure they are hungry enough (the more important key)!

 

[GARGOYLE]

bite it's head off before putting it in the tank. haha. It may take away for them to be willingly to take it down. Just have patience, they will provide enjoyment for you and your friends to watch!

 

[o snap its eric]

Start by having yoru Ps real hungry! Then by small frozen pinkys of whatever the smallest size is so they get used to is. Slowly make it bigger as the feeding progresses. After they have accpeted mice in their diet start moving twards live pinkies and get bigger.

 

[Jonas]

I was able to train my fish into accepting mice in their diet at around 3 inches on small, live pinkies.

tip #1 no need to really freeze the mouse to slow em down unless you are sure this will attract their attention. I simply took a piece of butchers string, and tied a small piece of bloody steak to him, then let him rest his little forearms on a piece of balsa wood.

tip #2 the reason the balsa wood kicks ass, is that it acts like a life raft for the guy and he does a lot less work to keep afloat. this = more time for him to kick his little legs and attract their attention.

tip #3 once you actually have a system down, stick with it until it works consistently every time, otherwise the fish start all over from scratch trying to learn new behaviors if you toss it up too much. which = you waiting forever to HOPEFULLY watch them eat the luckless bastard = boring

tip #4 turn off the powerhead (s) if you have any. mouse fur is a bitch to clean out of them.

 

[o snap its eric]

Very intresting

 

[nyquil]

what about shaving the mouse to take care of fur problems? *seriously*

 

[Winkyee]

 

[garybusey]

Yeah I tried mouse feedings... The Damn mouse drowning then was eaten. Not bad, but it was rough watching the little bastard drown... I alos did one I my big tank, starved them got 2 little mice tossed them in, one drowned and the other was swallowed WHOLE by my oscar.... not tee bag.....

 

[Jonas]

ha ha ! oscars gotta eat too....that's a good point about the shaved mice thing though too...........but I just turn off the powerheads and all is well...usually the only fur left is from the head area and stuff.

if you dont wanna worry about the drowning part, simply try the piece of balsa wood....it works killer

little mice life raft.

 

[Red Bellied Bad Ass]

You'll want to shave the mouse with a razor or sharp knife first, no animal, piranha included, can digest fur and it will end up cloggin your filter when it comes out of the piranhas a-hole. If it is a dead mouse you can just freeze it and skin it. If you are married forget the whole mouse idea altogether.

 

[Glowin_Navi]

no animal, piranha included, can digest fur

umm, not to sure how true that is. No animal that eats other animals has thier food shaved before they eat it. Piranas included. If some animal happens to fall into the water, then piranas eat it, fur or no fur. Its probably better if they dont have fur, but in the wild there gonna eat fur for sure.

 

[BuzzLitYr]

He just said they can not DIGEST it. Just like a cat with fur balls... They can eat it but it will simply pass through their system.

 

[rong666]

You'll want to shave the mouse with a razor or sharp knife first, no animal, piranha included, can digest fur and it will end up cloggin your filter when it comes out of the piranhas a-hole. If it is a dead mouse you can just freeze it and skin it. If you are married forget the whole mouse idea altogether.

no sh*t, I had to wait for my girlfriend to leave town.