Fish won't eat? Here's some tips

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Sometimes when you get a new fish they will go on a hunger strike which can stress out any hobbyist especially beginners. Here’s a couple of steps I do when a new fish I’ve gotten hasn’t eaten yet.

-First- Don’t be afraid if it doesn’t eat the first day or two, they are still getting used to a new environment and will not eat until they feel comfortable. Make sure they are not getting chased by any other tank mates, and have a selection of rocks and caves to hide in.

-Second- Make sure you’re offering a variety of food, most saltwater fish will not take to pellets or flakes immediately. Have a couple of different varieties of frozen foods on hand such as brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, or reef mix diets in the freezer ready to defrost, along with dried nori/seaweed for herbivorous fish.

-Third- Make sure to offer food multiple times a day in small amounts. Saltwater fish will naturally eat throughout the day in small amounts so mimicking this helps entice them to eat to eat more readily in a captive environment.

-Fourth- If they are still abstaining from food try offering live foods like brine shrimp, sometimes you will have to condition the fish to move from live foods over to prepared foods. The way I do this is I will start them on just live brine shrimp, then start mixing in frozen thawed brine/mysis shrimp with the live stuff as I feed and cut back on the amount of live brine shrimp each time until they are fully on frozen.

-Fifth- If all else fails try soaking the food in garlic juice for 5 to 10 mins before feeding each time. The smell helps entice fish to eat and works as an immune booster for them too.

If you have any tips or tricks please feel free to add on.

 

[EnterName]

Nice list,

You can add pastes like masstick to the list.
These adhere to rocks or glass and make feeding feel more natural for certain fish that don't take food from the open water column but usually pick it from rocks. You can create multiple patches throughout the tank so the new fish doesn't have to fight over food with other fish.

 

[saltwaterfish.com Verified Sponsor]

Nice list,

You can add pastes like masstick to the list.
These adhere to rocks or glass and make feeding feel more natural for certain fish that don't take food from the open water column but usually pick it from rocks. You can create multiple patches throughout the tank so the new fish doesn't have to fight over food with other fish.

Thank you, and good tip to add on. I used to buy a food brand that was similar and would stick to the glass.

 

[jackintheboxfish]

Sometimes when you get a new fish they will go on a hunger strike which can stress out any hobbyist especially beginners. Here’s a couple of steps I do when a new fish I’ve gotten hasn’t eaten yet.

-First- Don’t be afraid if it doesn’t eat the first day or two, they are still getting used to a new environment and will not eat until they feel comfortable. Make sure they are not getting chased by any other tank mates, and have a selection of rocks and caves to hide in.

-Second- Make sure you’re offering a variety of food, most saltwater fish will not take to pellets or flakes immediately. Have a couple of different varieties of frozen foods on hand such as brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, or reef mix diets in the freezer ready to defrost, along with dried nori/seaweed for herbivorous fish.

-Third- Make sure to offer food multiple times a day in small amounts. Saltwater fish will naturally eat throughout the day in small amounts so mimicking this helps entice them to eat to eat more readily in a captive environment.

-Fourth- If they are still abstaining from food try offering live foods like brine shrimp, sometimes you will have to condition the fish to move from live foods over to prepared foods. The way I do this is I will start them on just live brine shrimp, then start mixing in frozen thawed brine/mysis shrimp with the live stuff as I feed and cut back on the amount of live brine shrimp each time until they are fully on frozen.

-Fifth- If all else fails try soaking the food in garlic juice for 5 to 10 mins before feeding each time. The smell helps entice fish to eat and works as an immune booster for them too.

If you have any tips or tricks please feel free to add on.

It’s a good list but I think it depends far more on the fish. Some fish eats anything that fits in their mouth but some are just pickier no matter how long you’ve had them (mandarin, copperband, and many more).

IMO it’s more helpful to ask about how to get a particular fish to eat a particular thing than general guidelines that tries to apply to every fish.

 

[exnisstech]

What I've found works best for me is keeping an observation tank running and place all new additions in there and train them to eat without competition or fear of other fish. I keep a 40g breeder running with live rock and coral. I won't place a fish in a DT untill it is eating from the water column and I also want the fish out swimming when I approach the tank not hiding.