How to Wean a Finicky Eater from Live Brine?

[Depth]

I am blessed to be the proud owner of a wonderful Orange-Tail Filefish!
(nothing to do with the notorious low-rate survivor the Orangespotted Filefish). Mine is a 4 inch Pervagor melanocephalus, a great fish who looks like a Unicorn with her 1-inch foldable Horn!!!
Those files are considered very hardy and eating virtually anything (they can strip a reef to bare bone). I have Fish-only set up, so I can afford the pleasure of having a File.
However - mine is a finicky eater. :irked:
Till a few days, it was accepting frosen mysis and enriched frozen brine ; it even showed interest in the Emerald and Marine Quisine from the Saltwater Combo Pack (Sally's). Now, it would eat only live brine. I do not mine feeding it live foods but brine is not very nutritious.

Are there any other live foods on the market that are more nutritious?

What is your experience with weaning a fish from live food? I do not want to starve it but want to make it a more diversified eater.
Your five cents on this?

Depth

 

[marrone]

You may want to try pieces of clam, shrimp and if you can find it sea erchin. Try mixing the different food together with the live brine shrimp as this may get them to start to eat. You may want to try some pellets, like Formular I or Spectrum, which a lot of the predator fish seem to like.


Some fish never make the switch over to frozen food and will only eat live food. What usually happens is the fish just starts to loose weight and dies. So unless you live near the ocean, and can get ghost shrimps and things like that, the source for live food is very limited and the sooner you can have the fish start eating frozen or prepared food the better.

For the most part file fish aren't that hardy, most are on the shy side and a lot aren't the greatest eaters around.

 

[digitalreefer]

Yana, try feeding a mix of brine and frozen mysis... hopefully he'll eat the mysis accidentally and enjoy it.

 

[Depth]

Thank you for the above suggestions.
He has actually eaten Mysis - but now stopped.
I also wonder how can I "mix" anything with the live brine? I can't "mix it all in" - I'll kill the brine! But I can simply put it in the tank at the same time... What I've been doing, I give a little live brine - just for starters, and then give something else.
In general, how do you do the actual "weaning" - shall I stop the live food alltogether - and when and for how long? Or should I alternate?

I'll definitely get some clam and shrimp from the grocery. What is the best way to mince it?
*
Filefishes are described as hardy everywhere I've read. They are recommended as better-tempered alternative for the triggers. For example, files don't care much about water quality, pH, salinity and such. Now, if that's not hardy....
Also, my other file (mimic of the Valentini puffer) is eating so much of everything that its tummy pops up~! - and has been excellent in every other respect. With two damsels and the two files in the QT, no aggression goes on in the tank. None. Both files are very pretty as well, and as long as the Orange-tailed ate, I'd have no worries..
*
All four fish are currently being treated for Ich in the QT. I am using the Hyposalinity method and salinity is very low right now (SG = 1.009). No signs of Ich are currently present, and everyone is behaving normally and eating voraciously. So I don't have a reason to suspect the file is being influenced by the treatment. It eats the brine....

 

[Deanos]

When are we going to see pictures of these Filefish? :scratch:

 

[digitalreefer]

Thank you for the above suggestions.
He has actually eaten Mysis - but now stopped.
I also wonder how can I "mix" anything with the live brine? I can't "mix it all in" - I'll kill the brine!

Get a small container, add some water from your tank... mix the mysis and brine in the container and feed them together. Start out with a 50/50 mix, then slowly reduce the amount of brine in the mix... he should start eating the mysis.

 

[Depth]

I tried the mix... The bastard... he's picking only the Brine...
I'll keep trying!
Reg. the pictures, they are indeed long due.... I'll see what I can cook up.
Thanks, folks!
By the way, and this is another BIG question, I noticed that lots of people have not heard - or at least know very little about, and in general don't endorse - the Hyposalinity treatment for Ich. Most seem to use Copper. Is the Hyposalinity outdated in some way? I've read that it is one of the most effective ways.