he is in a 70g (Fluval Vicenza 260) filtered by a Fluval 305 external filter, with 50% water changes weekly, i feed him 3 times a day on Hikari Cichlid gold, just a few pellets at a time, once a week with Bloodworm or Krill, and because i do high protein diets for myself, i eat a lot of Tuna, Mussels and Prawns, i always give him some of that when ever i have it.
My kids all fed him on a chopped up mussel earlier, i cut it into 4 pieces, one for each child, and he munched it all
I want to get him hand feeding, but problem is, he bites me any chance he gets lol.
I also give him 5-10 mins a day time with a mirror in his tank, it makes him colour up very red, he seems to enjoy fighting his reflection lol, he is a complete uber cute psychopath
In respect to getting him hand fed, start with a pair of tongs so that he gets used to taking the food directly from you. Over time you can move your hand slowly down the tongs until your fingers are near the end but if he bites down he will actually still bite the tongs. Once comfortable that he is regularly taking the food without biting the hand that feeds, you can use a fist with the food held in-between your fingers, as this is a lot less tempting than fingers to bite.
I would also be tempted to break the behaviour you want down into smaller chunks e.g. place your hand in the tank and then reward the fish from behind him or sometimes at the side with food i.e. the fish will stop attacking the hand but turn to look for the food when the hand enters. Over time, he should no longer go to attack the hand, as it is a signal for food to appear elsewhere in the tank (use the tong approach with your other hand initially)
Vary the position in which you reward so it does not become predictable behaviour.
Avoid any negative association with your hand, i.e. do not tease him or let him see your hand put the mirror in the tank etc.
Slowly without rushing is the key in animal training
Plus it is better to get the animal to offer the behaviour then reward it, rather than attempting to force the behaviour.
Once you have mastered the above and the fish is "conditioned" you can then teach him other things, like swimming through a hoop, touching an ornament on a signal etc. The kids will love it, plus it will be your party piece.
Take some videos of your training if you want more info., as I can advise further if you want based on the animals behaviour.
Hope that makes sense, any questions please ask...
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=lice_YS9WEw[/VIDEO]
