AuroraDrvr
New member
Had some new butterflies come in yesterday. A Coradion melanopus and a "pair" of Chaetodon trichrous from BlueZooAquatics.
Coradion are notoriously finicky eaters, so I will be documenting the steps taken to hopefully get this C. melanopus to eat vigorously (not just nibble), and my attempts to "pair" the C. trichrous. I will be updating the thread periodically with the what and how.
The Twinspot (C. melanopus) was received with a fluke infestation. His right eye was inflamed and very cloudy, and his pelvic fins were covered with visible flukes. I do not believe BZA shipped me a sick fish, but rather that the issue manifested itself during shipping. I have not began to fully treat the fish, I want to get him eating at least a little before the three of them go into full meds.
Day 1 - FedEX showed up at 8:30am local time. He was acclimated and put into a planted tank, which will serve as a temporary QT for now. He did not eat at all, only picking a couple of times at the rock. I studied his eating habits, but they were unpredictable. He was offered PE Mysis, SFB Mysis, Shaved Scallops, Bloodworms, Fresh Clam (on the half shell) and Cyclopeeze. He did not show interest in any of the foods, ignoring them completely.
Day 2 (2/4/2010) - Offered SFB Mysis and Cyclopeeze in the morning. Showed minor interest, following a mysis from the top of the tank to the bottom, but did not bite. I sat in front of the tank for a while, to try and study any potential eating patterns. I was able to determine there are three spots he focuses all of his picking on. He investigates other areas but these three spots are the only place he will pick from. I offered the tank a general feeding of Daphnia and Hikari Spirulina Brine, the Tahitians were quick to eat the food bits that were appropriately sized for them. The Twinspot showed minor interest, following pieces of food around. Knowing the three hot spots for picking, I decided to try and bait the areas with a little bit of food, first angel formula shoved into the rock work, which turned up fruitless. I began trying to sneak pieces of brine into the area as he was picking at the rock work, without spooking him. I used a small 6mL syringe and squirted the food into the vicinity, success! It took a couple tries over the course of several hours before he sampled a small piece of brine. I have been trying to get the brine to "stick" to the rock work, as he is only picking at some of the pieces that land on the rocks. I suspect it is stimulating for him to pick at it. At each "feeding" he has only eaten about 1 brine total, so a total of 5 brine today. It is still not vigorous, nor is he eating enough to even be called a meal. But it is something to start working off of.
Coradion are notoriously finicky eaters, so I will be documenting the steps taken to hopefully get this C. melanopus to eat vigorously (not just nibble), and my attempts to "pair" the C. trichrous. I will be updating the thread periodically with the what and how.
The Twinspot (C. melanopus) was received with a fluke infestation. His right eye was inflamed and very cloudy, and his pelvic fins were covered with visible flukes. I do not believe BZA shipped me a sick fish, but rather that the issue manifested itself during shipping. I have not began to fully treat the fish, I want to get him eating at least a little before the three of them go into full meds.
Day 1 - FedEX showed up at 8:30am local time. He was acclimated and put into a planted tank, which will serve as a temporary QT for now. He did not eat at all, only picking a couple of times at the rock. I studied his eating habits, but they were unpredictable. He was offered PE Mysis, SFB Mysis, Shaved Scallops, Bloodworms, Fresh Clam (on the half shell) and Cyclopeeze. He did not show interest in any of the foods, ignoring them completely.
Day 2 (2/4/2010) - Offered SFB Mysis and Cyclopeeze in the morning. Showed minor interest, following a mysis from the top of the tank to the bottom, but did not bite. I sat in front of the tank for a while, to try and study any potential eating patterns. I was able to determine there are three spots he focuses all of his picking on. He investigates other areas but these three spots are the only place he will pick from. I offered the tank a general feeding of Daphnia and Hikari Spirulina Brine, the Tahitians were quick to eat the food bits that were appropriately sized for them. The Twinspot showed minor interest, following pieces of food around. Knowing the three hot spots for picking, I decided to try and bait the areas with a little bit of food, first angel formula shoved into the rock work, which turned up fruitless. I began trying to sneak pieces of brine into the area as he was picking at the rock work, without spooking him. I used a small 6mL syringe and squirted the food into the vicinity, success! It took a couple tries over the course of several hours before he sampled a small piece of brine. I have been trying to get the brine to "stick" to the rock work, as he is only picking at some of the pieces that land on the rocks. I suspect it is stimulating for him to pick at it. At each "feeding" he has only eaten about 1 brine total, so a total of 5 brine today. It is still not vigorous, nor is he eating enough to even be called a meal. But it is something to start working off of.
