Yesterday my tilapia fingerlings decided that I was not a threat to them and they came out forward to see me.
I dropped a few pellets in the water an saw them going after them. So they are eating now after 3 days of being stressed and hiding in the back of the tank. I put about a teaspoon of pellets only. Later I tried to sprinkle more but they were not interested so I did not put that teaspoons worth into the tank.
IT WAS AN AWESOME & EXCITING EXPERIENCE !
I noticed that when the bell siphon if draining into the tank the fish will not come forward to eat. However, when the water stops flowing that is when I feed them because they come forward to be fed.
I noticed my Ammonia level is a bit elevated, so I will need to keep an eye on that. It went from 0 to .50. Al of the other levels seem to be maintaining although my Nitrates dropped to 90ppm from 180ppm.
I inveented a siphon silencer that I show in this video. It also aerates the tank an disturbs the water less which i think the fish appreciate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhUoSwbSnVg