Fish not eating in QT

[tnc112105]

I’ve had a Swissguard Basslet in QT now for almost a week. Fish was purchased Sunday of last week.

It’s a simple 10g tank with a bubble filter, PVC fittings, a heater and a strip of foam that was seeded with bacteria in my display for several weeks.

The plan was not to begin treating until he began to eat as I know that certain medications can affect appetite. He’s not showing any visible signs of illness such as spots, scratching, heavy breathing, etc.

I’ve tried offering PE mysis and Reef Frenzy. I know they’re more of a shy fish, but I haven’t been able to coax him out of the PVC for him to so much as look at it. It’s been a week and I’m starting to get concerned.

Any ideas?

 

[foxt]

Can you try live food, like brine shrimp or black worms? The brine might trigger a feeding response, and though it has little nutritional value, once the fish is eating you can mix in reef frenzy. Live baby brine would be even better, since there are nutrients to be had there.

 

[foxt]

Another trick, put the food in and walk away- you may be scaring the fish by standing there. I use a cheap WiFi webcam set near my QT to watch new arrivals ...

 

[tnc112105]

Thanks I’m going to call around and try to find some brine shrimp today. Even with its low nutritional value, at this point something is better than nothing. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

[foxt]

Ask if they have black worms while you are at it, depending on where you live, you may be surprised. If you can only find brine shrimp eggs, you can easily start up your own hatchery with a container and an air stone and have baby shrimp in 24 hours. Copepods might also work, either live or dead, but the worms and brine shrimp would be first choice ...

 

[ca1ore]

Definitely try brine, but get a small power head in there also. If the food is moving it can elicit a better feeding response.

 

[tnc112105]

I got black worms. Wriggling right in front of his face and he had absolutely no interest. Couldn’t find live brine but I’ll check another shop tomorrow. I’ll look into the hatchery if I can’t find any by tomorrow. Are these guys notoriously picky eaters?

I have an old MJ1200 laying around somewhere. I wonder if that’s too powerful for a 10g but it’s worth a shot.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Wish me luck.

 

[foxt]

If you can’t get live brine, get the hatchery going ASAP. In the meantime you might try pieces of clam or squid, closer to their natural diet of crustaceans. I don’t think they are notoriously hard to get eating, but every fish is an individual. Nutramar ova also can work with stubborn fish, but that might be harder for you to find than live brine. No copepods available?

 

[Bob Weigant]

If it wont take live or frozen the end is near

 

[ca1ore]

I've not found the swissguard to be particularly reclusive nor a problematic feeder. Sounds like a sick fish.

 

[lion king]

Today I believe most every fish comes in with some sort of internal parasites, so I immediately treat with prazi pro, and I mean immediately. A healthy fish will not take that long to start eating; even notoriously difficult fish will start eating within 2-3 days, or you have a problem. The responses above about live foods is spot on, but the swissguard usually eats mysis, brine and such right off the bat. Hopefully you didn't wait too long, and I would immediately treat with prazi pro. When he starts eating mix some metro/focus into the food.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Get more hiding options in the tank. If he only has 1 place to hide in an otherwise empty tank, he will be reluctant to leave.

Also only use ambient room light, not a light over the tank.

If you could run a small powerhead it may simulate frozen food being alive, which may elicit more of a feeding response.

 

[tnc112105]

I have three pieces of PVC in the tank. An elbow, a cross, and a T. Hiding places aren’t the issue I think. In fact, he’d rather hide in the corner of the tank 90% of the time.

I tried the live brine on Sunday - no luck there either. 8 days without eating, but what gets me is that this fish doesn’t look sick. Despite not eating for over a week, he doesn’t look emaciated and still no signs or symptoms of parasites, although I’m adding Prazi tonight anyway on a members recommendation.

I did discover something yesterday that I was surprised to see. I’m not sure how accurate my Ammonia test kit is since it’s old as dirt and most likely expired, but I got a reading of 0.25 last night. Added Prime as a precaution (no copper in the tank yet anyway) just in case. I wonder if this might have something to do with it. I feel kind of stupid for not checking sooner, but I assumed that the seeded foam would be more than enough bacteria for one 2” fish. I have an ammonia badge laying around for such occasions, but of course I can never find it when I need it.

Anyways, I’m not giving up yet. Hopefully I’ll have better news to report tomorrow.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I have three pieces of PVC in the tank. An elbow, a cross, and a T. Hiding places aren’t the issue I think. In fact, he’d rather hide in the corner of the tank 90% of the time.

I tried the live brine on Sunday - no luck there either. 8 days without eating, but what gets me is that this fish doesn’t look sick. Despite not eating for over a week, he doesn’t look emaciated and still no signs or symptoms of parasites, although I’m adding Prazi tonight anyway on a members recommendation.

I did discover something yesterday that I was surprised to see. I’m not sure how accurate my Ammonia test kit is since it’s old as dirt and most likely expired, but I got a reading of 0.25 last night. Added Prime as a precaution (no copper in the tank yet anyway) just in case. I wonder if this might have something to do with it. I feel kind of stupid for not checking sooner, but I assumed that the seeded foam would be more than enough bacteria for one 2” fish. I have an ammonia badge laying around for such occasions, but of course I can never find it when I need it.

Anyways, I’m not giving up yet. Hopefully I’ll have better news to report tomorrow.

They like caves and overhangs. If he is hiding in the corblner then he is not happy with his hiding choices.

 

[foxt]

It could be sick as others suggested. More likely stressed. The ammonia doesn’t help. Reducing the light and somehow shielding the tank from view can also help- sometimes the absence of other fish is actually a source of stress because your sole QT occupant may translate that into the presence of a threat, and if it senses you nearby it will reinforce the threat.

Not sure about the foam you seeded with, but a couple of tricks for future reference: seed a sponge filter (combination sponge and air stone) in your sump next time; or, if you can, move some rock to the QT to start things off and give the fish something more natural to hide in and peck at. If you use rock, you have to sacrifice it because it shouldn’t go back in DT or sump until fully decontaminated because you don’t know what the fish in QT may have exposed it to. You also need to pull it if you add meds to the tank because it can mess with absorption of things like copper. But in my experience it does help with transition of wild fish to captivity, and rock is cheap.

You have been trying to help this fish, good for you ... don’t give up yet. Basslets eat crustaceans in deeper water, so it is far from it’s natural habitat all alone in a bright little 10g tank with pvc (not a knock on you, just reality of our hobby). It won’t think about eating until it thinks it is safe. You didn’t say where you got it from; straight from a holding facility or a LFS?

 

[4FordFamily]

I was going to ask about ammonia — I’ve not had seeded bacteria from my DT do much, marginally. I’ve always used Dr Tims or Biospira regardless with great results. Just my .02

I also echo the sentiment about live brine and live blackworms. It’s also easy in cases like this to overfeed and try to feed several times per day which just further fouls the water causing more problems. It’s a tough balancing act to be mindful of.

 

[tnc112105]

Thanks for the continued help and support. This is going to sound redundant, but he's still not eating live brine/blackworms.

Yesterday I did a 50% water change to try to manage the elevated ammonia and remove any remnants of uneaten food.

Upon further observation, the basslet seems stressed by his reflection, so I added some substrate the the tank. I know it's not the best practice for a QT tank as it will absorb medications, but it seems like the lesser of two evils at this point. I can always remove it gradually later.

I also added another fish to the QT tank to see if the "solitary confinement" was stressing him out as foxt suggested. It's a chinstrap jawfish and he keeps to himself. Oh, and the chinstrap started eating in the tank within two hours, go figure. Maybe he can teach this basslet a thing or two. But since making these changes, whether it was one, or a combination of the three, it seems to have mellowed him out some. Obviously I'm going to have to keep a much closer eye on the ammonia with two fish in the tank vs. one but I've got prime and backup water on hand if and when the need arises.

He actually looked interested in the blackworms wriggling around last night and for a second I thought he was going to grab one, but instead he swam away. But it's progress. I think I'm getting close!

 

[dwest]

Thanks for the continued help and support. This is going to sound redundant, but he's still not eating live brine/blackworms.

Yesterday I did a 50% water change to try to manage the elevated ammonia and remove any remnants of uneaten food.

Upon further observation, the basslet seems stressed by his reflection, so I added some substrate the the tank. I know it's not the best practice for a QT tank as it will absorb medications, but it seems like the lesser of two evils at this point. I can always remove it gradually later.

I also added another fish to the QT tank to see if the "solitary confinement" was stressing him out as foxt suggested. It's a chinstrap jawfish and he keeps to himself. Oh, and the chinstrap started eating in the tank within two hours, go figure. Maybe he can teach this basslet a thing or two. But since making these changes, whether it was one, or a combination of the three, it seems to have mellowed him out some. Obviously I'm going to have to keep a much closer eye on the ammonia with two fish in the tank vs. one but I've got prime and backup water on hand if and when the need arises.

He actually looked interested in the blackworms wriggling around last night and for a second I thought he was going to grab one, but instead he swam away. But it's progress. I think I'm getting close!

I am having a similar situation with yellow tangs in quarantine. After 10 days of not eating, I did an 80% water change then tried another different food (nls pellets) and they started eating yesterday. I would keep doing water changes. Do you know what the fish was eating at the store? That’s what I would try to feed... Good luck.

 

[foxt]

Still not eating?

 

[Jesterrace]

I’ve had a Swissguard Basslet in QT now for almost a week. Fish was purchased Sunday of last week.

It’s a simple 10g tank with a bubble filter, PVC fittings, a heater and a strip of foam that was seeded with bacteria in my display for several weeks.

The plan was not to begin treating until he began to eat as I know that certain medications can affect appetite. He’s not showing any visible signs of illness such as spots, scratching, heavy breathing, etc.

I’ve tried offering PE mysis and Reef Frenzy. I know they’re more of a shy fish, but I haven’t been able to coax him out of the PVC for him to so much as look at it. It’s been a week and I’m starting to get concerned.

Any ideas?

You could get some Kent's Garlic, which can induce feeding and soak the frozen foods in it between feedings with a small cup of water from your tank. I've used this with reef frenzy and it has been pretty effective getting them to eat. It only takes one or two drops using this method.