Clown fish not eating after 1 week in quarantine tank.

[praveen956]

I got my first saltwater fish a week back and put him a new 10g qt. but he is not eating at all and mostly stays idle at the bottom of the tank.

Below is my tank setup.
1. QT is uncycled (Im doing 50% water change every other day and monitor parameters with API master test kit daily and have ammonia alert patch)
2. 10 g tank, HOB filter, 240gph pump, RODI water, Temp is around 78 degree and salinity is around 1.020.

He doesn't have any visible marks indicating any issues with his health.

I tried:
1. Mysis Shrimp (Frozen)
2. Cobalt Mysis Spirulina (Flakes)
Also tried to feed him by dipping it in some garlic extract.

The rocks for my DT is currently curing so I cannot move him into the DT.
I will mostly likely give him back but I would like to know what am I doing wrong? Please share your thoughts on this..

 

[LX20000]

You have a 240 GPH power head in a 10 gallon ? Places for him to hide? PVC tubes?

 

[tommyntina1117]

I know mine will only eat pallets at work right know but will let you know what they are when I get home

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[tommyntina1117]

They are the sinking pallets

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[praveen956]

Yes. I have couple of 2 inch pvc pipes .. but he has never gone into them and infact he rarely moves. He doesn't try to eat even if the food goes right in front of his mouth.

 

[praveen956]

I know mine will only eat pallets at work right know but will let you know what they are when I get home

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Thanks! Do let me know if you see anything wrong with my QT setup. I have ordered Amquel plus from Amazon to make sure that the ammonia doesn't rise.

 

[tommyntina1117]

Not going to lie I'm new but the people on here are good and help me for like a hour last night but I do know a little so I will look

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[tommyntina1117]

Do you have a light on the tank all my fish won't eat unless lights are on @ praveen

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[praveen956]

Do you have a light on the tank all my fish won't eat unless lights are on @ praveen

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Yes. I tried feeding him both with and without lights on with no luck. He just doesn't seem to be interested in food at all. Either something is horribly wrong with my water parameters or he got sick after coming to my tank. but I suspect it should be my set up as he was swimming well in the store when we bought him .

 

[tommyntina1117]

The salt is kinda low , and from what I was told your water changes are too big

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[scooter31707]

Were you able to see him eat before purchase? Any twitching/flashing? Any discolor on the skin.

 

[praveen956]

Were you able to see him eat before purchase? Any twitching/flashing? Any discolor on the skin.

I did not see him eat in the store[My mistake]. No twitching/flashing. Didn't notice any discolor either. He just stays at the bottom of the tank all the time.. He very rarely swims out of that spot but will go back to the same place within few seconds.

 

[praveen956]

The salt is kinda low , and from what I was told your water changes are too big

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Yeah. I initially had him on on 1.023 but my LFS suggested me to lower the salinity to 1.020 since it is a fish only tank so changed it about 3 days back.

 

[scooter31707]

IMO, the salinity change may have effected him a little, but give him a little more time and patience and continue to try and get him to eat. Does your LFS sell live Brine Shrimp? If so, you might can try them to get a feeding response.

 

[WatDatThing]

I would match the salinity of the DT because it will be put in the DT eventually. Raise the salinity slowly if you do decide to do it. Turn off the power head, and use airstone instead. The flow maybe too much for it. Alternatively, use a wave maker at the lowest setting. If your clown stays on the bottom, drop 2 or 3 slow sinking pellets to see if it will go for it. If it does and spit out, you will need to soak the pellets with tank water to soften it. If it doesn't go for the food, try again in a few hours. At the end of the day, syphon out the uneaten food. You don't need to do a 50% WC everyday. It took me a week before my clowns start eating. Good luck.

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[praveen956]

IMO, the salinity change may have effected him a little, but give him a little more time and patience and continue to try and get him to eat. Does your LFS sell live Brine Shrimp? If so, you might can try them to get a feeding response.

Just spoke with LFS and they do sell Brine shrimp.. Will get it after work today. Thanks for your input.

 

[praveen956]

I would match the salinity of the DT because it will be put in the DT eventually. Raise the salinity slowly if you do decide to do it. Turn off the power head, and use airstone instead. The flow maybe too much for it. Alternatively, use a wave maker at the lowest setting. If your clown stays on the bottom, drop 2 or 3 slow sinking pellets to see if it will go for it. If it does and spit out, you will need to soak the pellets with tank water to soften it. If it doesn't go for the food, try again in a few hours. At the end of the day, syphon out the uneaten food. You don't need to do a 50% WC everyday. It took me a week before my clowns start eating. Good luck.

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Thanks for your input.. Will try slow sinking pellets and live brine shrimp like the other post suggested . I have a spare airpump in home which I will change out today instead of my circulation pump. I'm doing 50% water change every other day since it is an uncycled QT and I dont want the ammonia to spike. Will reduce the percentage in the coming days and please let me know if you have suggestions on how much water change would help me to control potential ammonia spike in the QT.

 

[WatDatThing]

One fish will not produce significant waste to cause ammonia spike as long as you syphon uneaten food every day.

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[praveen956]

One fish will not produce significant waste to cause ammonia spike as long as you syphon uneaten food every day.

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I agree. Will wait for few more days and will keep an eye on ammonia. Hope he eats something by then..

 

[praveen956]

Today I noticed red markings on his head for the first time. but surprisingly he is roaming around the entire tank today. Can anyone identify what disease is it (Picture below)? Is it ick? I will start the treatment tomorrow. Thanks for all your help. Also I gave him live brine shrimp today which he refused to eat as well.