fish wont eat

I like shrooms:) · 04-23-2007, 08:25 PM

i recently moved my 30gl sw tank to a 75g tank everything went smooth. but the next day i went to feed my fish(at the normal feeding time) and they will not eat.. ive tryed giveing them blood worms the next day tryed brine shrimp. will they not eat because they are in shock from the move? does anyone have any advice?

RAVEN · 04-23-2007, 09:02 PM

What are your water parameters. Check the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates as well as pH and temp. Did you cycle the new tank? If all is normal, leave the lights off for a day and give them time to adjust to the new tank.

I like shrooms:) · 04-24-2007, 01:36 PM

ph 8.2 hydro reads 1.023 nitirite 0 nitrate 5 ammonia reads .10-.25. and yes the tanks water was cycled i put all the water from my old tank and then the other 30 came from another tank. then i made up the other 15g with fresh ro/di water.

i will try shutting off the lights for a day to see if it will help.
thank you raven

MDeth · 04-24-2007, 01:43 PM

Hopefully that am drops

Although its a small amt, thats probably the problem. Monitor that and see if they start eating as that lowers. Until then, make sure not to overfeed

reefman2 · 04-24-2007, 08:40 PM

Try garlic solution.

It may boost up their immune system and help them gain back the appetite.

But also check for some diseases. Goodluck!

RAVEN · 04-24-2007, 10:00 PM

Put some ammonia neutralizer in the tank and do a water change.

amcarrig · 04-25-2007, 05:40 AM

Any time you move a tank and its contents, there's bound to be some bacteria die off even if you work quickly. Let the mini cycle ride. It shouldn't be too long before your levels drop again.

bderos · 04-29-2007, 06:53 PM

I would definatly start dosing with garlic solution and add Selcom. I had a crazy ich problem for many many months and I began dosing with both of these about twice a day 3 months ago and the ich disappeared. Now I dose garlic every 3 days and Selcom every 2-3 days, unless I buy a new guy then I'll dose every day for a week just to boost everyones immune and stress level.. Everyone is doing great.

DShrimpmaster · 04-29-2007, 09:02 PM

One thing i learned over the years is that if you buy a fish from a LFS or on-line and they don't eat right away, they're either sick or dying due to stress from transport or coming from a poorly maintained system. I try to feed all my shrimps and fish while being drip acclimated and the healthy ones will usually eat within 5 minutes of being offered food. If you try to feed all Shrimps while they're being acclimated they will take the food right away or within 2-3 minutes if you leave it in the container with them they will eat it. Fish on the other hand i put live Brine Shrimp with them in the container and within 20 minutes they will start going after them. The ones that don't eat is usually trouble. Healthy fish cannot resist live food so if they don't eat there's a very serious problem. Don't forget that fish eat everyday multiple times like us. They're going to be in the box for at least a day if you order them on-line so they're going to be very hungry. These are all the fish and invertebrates that i've ordered on-line that ate right away while still being acclimated to the main tank: Clarkii Clown, Cinnamon Clown, Maroon Clown, Ocellaris Clown, Jewel Damsel, Flame Angel, Coral Beauty Angel, Blue Hippo Tang, All these Shrimps - Peppermint, Fire, Coral Banded, Cleaner and a Purple Lobster. I used live Brine, Marine pellets - Formula 1-2 and small pieces of fresh Shrimps, Clam and Fish. If they don't eat any of these they clearly have a disease or stressed to a point where the parasite inside them have overtaken their immune system and on their way to fish heaven unless you can pull off a miracle with some medicine. If you buy from a LFS ask them how long they've had the fish in their system. If they've been there for at least 2-3 days ask the person who works there what do you feed it and ask them to feed it for you. If they throw food in and they don't eat it or the person tells you that they have fed them already and he won't do it, most likely he's hiding something from you. DON'T BUY IT!!! You can also tell from the coloration if the fish is sick. Remember that most if not all LFS don't have a money back guarantee so choose very carefully. I buy most of stuff on-line now from merchants like Petsolutions or Saltwaterfish.com where they have the stay alive guarantee for 15 days. If i get a fish that don't eat and dies within a week, i send it back in an envelope and i get a another replacement or a substitution on my next order.

RAVEN · 05-04-2007, 04:20 PM

Great advice! I also wont buy a fish that is not eating in the store. One of the LFS that I frequent is very up front and honest about which fish are eating and which are not. They have a 30 day prorated return policy and therefore have no incentive to sell you a fish that is not eating or is sick. They also QT all there new arrivals and treat all new arrivals for ich and parasites. That said, I still ask to see the fish eat.