Small juvenile emperor angel changes in feeding behavior

[Jstan84]

About 3 weeks ago I got a small juvenile emperor angel, hes a little bigger than a silver dollar. He was at the LFS QTed in copper for about a month, was eating nori and picking at brine at the LFS.

Once I got him home I kept him in an acclimation box for about a week, in here same behavior, eats nori and would pick at at mysis but not interested in Hikari algae pellets or TDO pellets.

Tried moving him to frozen angel formula and he wasnt interested
He lost interest in the mysis, I assume because they were too large for him
Bought some live clams from a local seafood shop and pureed them in some DI water, this was the first solid feeding response I got. He would eat the tiny clam pieces aggressively.
A few days ago he stopped going after the clams entirely. He swims up to the pieces like hes interested but doesnt eat them
Tried frozen spirulina brine and once these settle on the bottom he will pick at a couple pieces, but not aggressively.
He will still pick at nori and will pick at rocks occasionally
Tried freeze dried brine, not interested
Tried omega one flakes, not interested
He is still very active, not breathing heavy, no signs of stress, no signs I can see of parasites
He swims up to me like he wants food, its like hes saying feed me but I cant seem to find what he wants
Tank mates are a tomini tang, flame angel, kupang damsel, and flametail blenny. No aggression and the emperor is definitely the dominant fish

It is concerning to me that he stopped eating the clams. He isnt losing weight but at his size I worry that could change quickly. At this small of a size is nori along with picking at rocks going to be sufficient? Any other thoughts on what to try?

 

[vetteguy53081]

About 3 weeks ago I got a small juvenile emperor angel, hes a little bigger than a silver dollar. He was at the LFS QTed in copper for about a month, was eating nori and picking at brine at the LFS.

Once I got him home I kept him in an acclimation box for about a week, in here same behavior, eats nori and would pick at at mysis but not interested in Hikari algae pellets or TDO pellets.

Tried moving him to frozen angel formula and he wasnt interested
He lost interest in the mysis, I assume because they were too large for him
Bought some live clams from a local seafood shop and pureed them in some DI water, this was the first solid feeding response I got. He would eat the tiny clam pieces aggressively.
A few days ago he stopped going after the clams entirely. He swims up to the pieces like hes interested but doesnt eat them
Tried frozen spirulina brine and once these settle on the bottom he will pick at a couple pieces, but not aggressively.
He will still pick at nori and will pick at rocks occasionally
Tried freeze dried brine, not interested
Tried omega one flakes, not interested
He is still very active, not breathing heavy, no signs of stress, no signs I can see of parasites
He swims up to me like he wants food, its like hes saying feed me but I cant seem to find what he wants
Tank mates are a tomini tang, flame angel, kupang damsel, and flametail blenny. No aggression and the emperor is definitely the dominant fish

It is concerning to me that he stopped eating the clams. He isnt losing weight but at his size I worry that could change quickly. At this small of a size is nori along with picking at rocks going to be sufficient? Any other thoughts on what to try?

iS FISH BREATHING NORMAL OR LABORED?
Try plankton or LRS fish frenzy. Some angels dont take to Angel formula , heavy in sponge. Flakes would be another option

 

[Jstan84]

Breathing and all other behavior is normal. Very curious and not hiding. No blotches or cloudy eyes. Have tried flakes but not spirulina flakes, that and maybe scallops were my next thoughts. Gonna try soaking the clams in garlic today

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

About 3 weeks ago I got a small juvenile emperor angel, hes a little bigger than a silver dollar. He was at the LFS QTed in copper for about a month, was eating nori and picking at brine at the LFS.

Once I got him home I kept him in an acclimation box for about a week, in here same behavior, eats nori and would pick at at mysis but not interested in Hikari algae pellets or TDO pellets.

Tried moving him to frozen angel formula and he wasnt interested
He lost interest in the mysis, I assume because they were too large for him
Bought some live clams from a local seafood shop and pureed them in some DI water, this was the first solid feeding response I got. He would eat the tiny clam pieces aggressively.
A few days ago he stopped going after the clams entirely. He swims up to the pieces like hes interested but doesnt eat them
Tried frozen spirulina brine and once these settle on the bottom he will pick at a couple pieces, but not aggressively.
He will still pick at nori and will pick at rocks occasionally
Tried freeze dried brine, not interested
Tried omega one flakes, not interested
He is still very active, not breathing heavy, no signs of stress, no signs I can see of parasites
He swims up to me like he wants food, its like hes saying feed me but I cant seem to find what he wants
Tank mates are a tomini tang, flame angel, kupang damsel, and flametail blenny. No aggression and the emperor is definitely the dominant fish

It is concerning to me that he stopped eating the clams. He isnt losing weight but at his size I worry that could change quickly. At this small of a size is nori along with picking at rocks going to be sufficient? Any other thoughts on what to try?

I presume it’s wild caught? I don’t suppose you know the country of origin? Most of these caught in SE Asia are collected with cyanide, and that in turn causes feeding issues in a percentage of those fish.

If you can post a video under white light I might see some other clue as to what is going on here….

 

[Jstan84]

It is wild caught but I do not know from where. Can you elaborate on the ring issues? Never heard of that.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It is wild caught but I do not know from where. Can you elaborate on the ring issues? Never heard of that.

Sorry! Autocorrect strikes again, I meant FEEDING issues!

 

[Jstan84]

I will try to get a video this evening, the one thing he does seem to be scared of is my phone, any time i get it out to try to get pictures he goes cave diving.

How long do feeding issues typically take to show up when exposed to cyanide? This fish is at least 2 months removed from the ocean.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I will try to get a video this evening, the one thing he does seem to be scared of is my phone, any time i get it out to try to get pictures he goes cave diving.

How long do feeding issues typically take to show up when exposed to cyanide? This fish is at least 2 months removed from the ocean.

Two months is at the edge for these cyanide issues - usually they show up around 45 days or less after importation.

 

[Jstan84]

Here is a video. Doesn’t actually take a bite till the very end.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Here is a video. Doesn’t actually take a bite till the very end.

Well, it needs smaller food items, and far less food added at one time. Two things can happen - too many food items at once can actually reduce the attractiveness of the food, and then you hovering nearby can cause it stress (observer effect).

If it were my fish, I’d try hatching out some live baby brine shrimp and try that. Or, you could try frozen cyclops, those are smaller than the krill. Another idea - nori is very filling, but not very nutritious - you could try stopping the nori to see if its appetite for higher protein food then improves.

 

[Jstan84]

I can try baby brine. The food being too big is why I went with the puréed clams. Those pieces are so small that the other fish don’t even go after it. It’s why I also tried the extra small TDO pellets, but he doesn’t even act interested in those.

I do normally feed much less, didn’t mean to pour that much in but if I feed a little too much the other fish will grab everything before he gets a hold of anything. I will try setting up my phone across the room and record, then dump food and walk out and see if there’s any difference at next feeding.