Red toothed trigger stopped eating/hiding

[msavoy]

About a month ago my red toothed trigger fish started hiding in a new area of the tank, I’m not sure why. Now within the past week he’s been staying there and not eating. I tried 4 days ago feeding him by tweezers and he ate quite a bit. Then each day after I’ve tried the same and he’s taken nothing. He seems quite feisty when I push him out of his hiding spot but then he just goes right back.

I just bought a separate plastic container and put some holes in it and attached it to the side of the tank so I could monitor him better. He was quite firstly once again when I tried to catch him to put him in it. But now that he’s in it he just lays there. I tried giving him some food with the tweezers again but he doesn’t seem interested. He was doing so well for 2 years, I find it strange he would just suddenly take a turn like that. I’ve changed absolutely nothing in the tank and all the other fish and corals are fine. Do fish just die sometimes for no apparent reason? I’m hoping he’ll pull through but it’s not looking good. He’s my most interesting fish so I’ll be sad to see him go. Any suggestions if there’s anything that can be done to help him? Thanks in advance.

 

[lion king]

!st, are there any possible bullies that may be keeping him hiding and not eating. Tell me his history, how long have had him, was he treated with copper. I've had a number of blind triggers, 2 nigers, what you are describing is how it first starts. Did he seem to be missing food items when he went for them prior to the retreat.

 

[msavoy]

I’ve had him for 2 years and he’s had the exact same tank mates for at least a year now and they all get along fine. The last fish I got was a baby clown and the never go near each other. About a month ago he started wedging himself between the UV sterilizer and the side of the tank. Before that he always had his place between 2 rocks. I have no idea why he stopped hiding there, no other fish took this spot.
One thing I’m afraid of is that maybe I was under feeding him? I’ve always read to feed your fish less than what you think they need. The fish always eat up the food I give them quite quickly so maybe I haven’t been feeding enough but would that be something that would only start to affect him now after 2 years? And he’s never shown any sign of being weak or anything before this. And also the other fish seem perfectly fine too.

Something else that makes me wonder if maybe he wasn’t getting enough food is that I had 3 chromis in the tank before I got him, then slowly over the past 2 years they’ve all disappeared. I’ve checked all around the tank and in the tank every time one has gone missing but I’ve never found a trace of any of them.

As for it being treated with copper, I have no idea. I know I’ve never treated it with copper but maybe before I bought it it was.

Since I’ve isolated him this evening in this little container attached to the side of the main tank, I’ve been able to get him to eat a few pieces of reef frenzy from the tweezers again, so this is encouraging. I really hope he’s able to gain his health back.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Rainblood]

What happened with this @msavoy ? I've got a male blue throat in a similar situation. I've had for over a year and he's been in the rocks for the past 3 days (not stuck). He hasn't been out swimming or eating.