Spiting food back out

[setarris]

My x-ray Tetras at feeding time will zoom up to food, then spit it back out.  Why? Feeding them "Wardley" brand "Total Tropical" gourmet flake blend. Just purchased "Tetra" brand "Tropical Flakes" to try instead. Any comments?

 

[colesea]

Could be they bit off more than they could chew...

Fish do that alot, eat, spit it out, eat, spit it out. It's their way of chewing. If they seem to be doing this an awful lot, try Hikari brand micro-pellets. The small pellets are just perfect for tiny mouth sizes.
~~Colesea

 

[Matt Nace]

Pellets I think are the least messy food you can give(if they fit in their mouths)

I start the little guys off on crushed or broken flakes, but as soon as it fits, switch to floatting pellets.

Like cole said, it is probebly helping them eat it. They may be too stiff with not enough water soaked in yet.

With the pellets, they take a few of them and swim away holding them in their mouthes until the can digest them. Usually less mess that the flakes.

Tetra also has a thicker, less of a mess flake, which my bro-in-law uses.

 

[setarris]

Thanks for the response! Noticed flake size makes a diff to some of the smaller guys. Will check out pellets.

 

[ChazECJr]

My minnows do the same thing with TetraMin Granules - hold it in their mouths til they can swallow it.  Once in a while they will spit it out and grab it again, "chewing" I guess.  But I like these granules better than the flakes I used before, a lot of which would end up on the bottom of the tank - messy.