shannon Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Hi all I've got a wild caught featherfin male who won't eat. It's been over a fortnight now and it's starting to worry me. I've tried nls, sera veggie flake, frozen brine shrimp, deshelled brine shrimp eggs and most recently live brine shrimp. Anyone have any ideas why the rest eat but not the one fish?Does or has anyone else experienced this with these types of fish and how did you solve it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Hi Shannan,Upon seeing the title of your post I was coming here to tell you to try live brine shrimp. Rather shocked he isn't eating that, mine always loved it.What's his behaviour like, is he coloured and pitting and chasing the girls or is he silver and sulking?Also tank conditions, size, tank mates, how long have they been in there?Mine always lover a water change, how long since you gave the tank a good clean?Lastly, when was he last happy and what's changed between now and then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 I only got them just over two weeks ago ph is 8.6 kh 12 tank mates consist of a colony or microlepidotus and 3 juvenile mpimbwe frontosa max size 11cm. The tank is 5x2x2.The furcifer is 18cm showing only a shimmer of colour. He isnt aggressive or digging. There is a smaller male roughly 13-14 cm that does show aggression but doesn't dig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 I'm not so much worried about him not digging or displaying as I know it will take time with newly caught wilds but the feeding is my concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Their still settling in. Mind you when I first got mine home he coloured in minutes, begun building a pit and I had two mouthfuls by the end of the day so it depends on the fish. (not wild caught) I would be rethinking the fronties. The Foai swimming flat out shacking there tails at the girls and all the chasing might freak them out, especially as the fronties get older.Is he sitting on the bottom or hanging with the others..... By the sounds of it there is no need to worry about him at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 He is schooling with the others. I think patience is what I need to give him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Yeah I think given a few more weeks he will come good. Keep the brine shrimp up to them, really gets them in the mood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewP Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Mate seen heaps of fish over the years respond to stress in this way. Often the result is not a good one. If he has not eaten food in a fortnight it's danger time. If possible I would try and remove any fish from the tank that is more settled than him. Keep the other furcifer (females especially)in there but whilst not aggressive the cyps and Frontosa could be enough to keep him in his shell so to speak. You could try putting him in with just the female furcifer also. You want to try and encourage him to start "pumping up" and hopefully that will bring back the appetite. but this is more likely if he is the dominant fish in the tank. With those cyps and fronts and the other male furcifer he may not feel allowed to come back good. Again two weeks of not eating is often very bad so it might be time to try something before its too late. I definitely think this is more than just settling in. This type of thing is one of the risks to maintaining fish. Every now and then one takes a dive no matter how careful you are. It's normally always stress associated. No doubt this fish has been through a fair bit of stress from wild to you tank. If he has never eaten in your tank then I would suggest stress is the culprit, especially if he looked otherwise in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewP Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Ps I assume all the other furcifer are happy and eating well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Yeah all the other furcifer are eating fine and seem healthy. I'm not sure stress is the issue because other than not eating his behaviour is normal ie he chases the smaller male whenever close and doesn't hide or sulk on the bottom. The micros went in at the same time as him and the tank was rearranged when these guys arrived so the fronts wouldn't have any territories. I'll give separating the frontosa a shot and see how it pans out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbuna Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 i had a female furcifer kabogo do this for a few weeks. She refused to eat, lost a bit of weight, then all of a sudden started eating? hope yours pulls through like mine did mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chorrylan Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 just remember that foai/furcifer are used to a low-protein/high-bulk diet so don't overdo the goodies in trying to tempt him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewP Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Good luck with it mate. Let us know how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 What foods would u try laurie? I've seen him poop once and grab a mouthful of flake then spit it back out. That's the progress he has made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 is the poo white and stringy ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 Nah it was a short thick light brown one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianniz Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 does the fish sometimes shake it's head??? try the epsom salt trick in the tech section.It doesn't hurt the fish and who knows if it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 What does the Epsom salt do mate? I mean what would the purpose be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannon Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Saw the fish eat nls for the first time today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimB Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Congratulations, sounds like he has finally settled in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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