Little surprised I’ve got one.. Quoyi Parrotfish

[ca1ore]

Starting to eat other foods this evening; I guess seeing all the other fish go nuts for ..... well, mostly everything. Ate Rods, small mysis and LRS (still small particles). Cautiously optimistic.

 

[Maritimer]

Stop it Bruce! You're making me want to try again!

So, I suppose this won't help, either, huh?


Ca1ore, glad to hear your lad is broadening his palate!

~Bruce

 

[ca1ore]

Bruce, how big is yours? Mine is quite small at about 5". Saw it eat a pellet today.

 

[Maritimer]

Mine's definitely a bit bigger - six or eight inches, perhaps. Not the most brilliant I've seen, but haven't put a mirror in front of him, either.

Sounds like yours is settling in nicely!

~Bruce

 

[ca1ore]

My quoyi is eating better. Still looks thin but maybe not as thin. Has improved a lot since being in the display. Not advocating skipping QT certainly, but this may be one fish where a shorter stay is indicated (just enough to be reasonably sure of no disease). Mine has received absolutely no hazing.

 

[radiata]

My quoyi is eating better. Still looks thin but maybe not as thin. Has improved a lot since being in the display. Not advocating skipping QT certainly, but this may be one fish where a shorter stay is indicated (just enough to be reasonably sure of no disease). Mine has received absolutely no hazing.

Wondering what, if any, herbivore food your quoyi is eating. Nori? Romaine? Live macroalgaes?

Thanks...

 

[ca1ore]

I do feed nori, but it hasn’t ventured in yet - mostly squeezed out by the tangs. It grazes the rocks though.

 

[saltyhog]

Great news ca1ore! Mine was exactly the opposite of yours. It ate like a pig in QT and gained a bunch of weight from when it first arrived. When it went in the DT it ate ok for a while then got very picky and only ate very small particles of food and lost weight. I'm going to try again soon and will treat with Focus/General Cure for 10-14 days in QT. I never tried mine on pellets even though I have NLS on hand. I'll try that too.

 

[Radman73]

Perhaps algae based pellets could be the trick? One of these is on my wish list so hopefully one of you figures it out lol!

 

[Maritimer]

All of mine who've eaten well have eaten 1mm pellets with the most enthusiasm.

The one I have now prefers small to tiny particles when I'm feeding frozen, but also loves pellets and flakes, will hit nori on a clip and clam on the half-shell pretty hard too. When I'm not feeding the tank, he's browsing for film and coralline algaes on the rock - but avoids GHA for the most part. He'll also follow the algae scraper as I clean the glass, slurping up the filmy bits with evident relish.

Glad to hear yours is improving his appetite and attitude!

~Bruce

 

[Land Shark]

Wondering what, if any, herbivore food your quoyi is eating. Nori? Romaine? Live macroalgaes?

Thanks...

Mine eats most everything with vigor, and I mean everything. I feed him a diy mostly shrimp daily recipe daily, herbivore flakes and pellets, gha out of the refugium but in small portions, nori, romaine, mysis, etc. He isn't the least bit picky. I don't think mine is unique but rather typical.

Most fish carry worms in the wild and this issue can impact their appetite. They often pick up worms in transport through the commercial trade before they get to your LFS. If this fish isn’t eating or stops eating, it’s not healthy. If you have one that isn't eating, look into a prophylactic worm treatment, which can be done in a reef tank if you go about it properly.

 

[ca1ore]

Quoyi continues to do OK. Not a big eater, though it does rival my potters angle as obsessive grazer ….. so I suppose that's a good thing. Seems to have put on a bit of weight, but also colors have faded just a tad. Not out of the woods certainly, but I continue to be cautiously optimistic.

 

[Land Shark]

Quoyi continues to do OK. Not a big eater, though it does rival my potters angle as obsessive grazer ….. so I suppose that's a good thing. Seems to have put on a bit of weight, but also colors have faded just a tad. Not out of the woods certainly, but I continue to be cautiously optimistic.

I may have missed it but what types of fish food are you feeding her?

 

[ca1ore]

Pretty much everything LOL …. well, except I don't do flakes.

 

[Land Shark]

Pretty much everything LOL …. well, except I don't do flakes.

Does everything include sardines and watermelon? Sardines and watermelon are a must have in any parrot fish diet.

 

[ca1ore]

ok, fine, not everything everything ….. nori, vitalis/new era grazer rings, mysid (both hikari and PE), spirulina brine, ocean plankton, calanus, LRS, Rod's, fish eggs, ova and pellets (PE and spectrum). Quoyi mostly gets squeezed out of the clip, but now eats pretty much everything else.

 

[Land Shark]

You obviously have your foods dialed in so that isn’t an issue. Thanks for the details. I may even expand the menu around here.

I will admit that my parrot is fairly non threatening to other fish and won’t put up too much of a fight to get its fare share of the food.

 

[Maritimer]

Mine will eat flakes, too.

After they've been through the return.

I don't feed a _lot_ of flakes, but sometimes give the fish something to chase. It's somewhat silly to watch the parrot, with his small mouth and powerful dentition, racing around to capture half-millimeter shreds of flake!

He also gets into fights with one of the damselfish, when he grazes too close to that guy's nest. He'll stand up for himself, while the damsel runs 'round him in dizzying circles. No harm done - so far.

~Bruce

 

[roberthu526]

Don’t they eat Coral for living in the wild? Their teeth are designed to bite down on stony corals

 

[Maritimer]

Many of the larger parrotfishes do eat corals ... but this species is pretty reef-safe. Their beaks are designed for rasping - if you love purple coralline, they may not be the best fish for you, and caution is recommended if keeping them in acrylic tanks.

~Bruce