Everybody knows that, but did you know .....

[ca1ore]

Ok, so maybe everybody knows this already, but I have found an a excellent way to coax a new fish to eat in QT is to add a tankmate that you know will eat. I have done this repeatedly over the years and it has worked for me every time, except when a fish is really sick, and then you obviously ought not to be adding another one anyhow.

I got a LemonPeel angel recently which spent all of it's time hiding behind a rock and not eating. Wouldn't eat any of the dozens of things I tried. So, I added a pyramid butterfly that I know was eating at the store and, voila, LemonPeel is out and eating.

Probably not the first thing to try in coaxing a reluctant fish to eat because this approach 'resets' the QT clock, and should the pyramid need to be treated, the angel will have to be also, but I have found it to be an almost foolproof way to get a fish to eat if you find yourself at wits end.

I suppose the only potential downside is you could end up with two fish that then won't eat :lmao: but so far that has not happened to me.

 

[spieszak]

I suppose the only potential downside is you could end up with two fish that then won't eat :lmao: but so far that has not happened to me.

Or the part where you are risking disease/death with the second fish.
Not that I'm saying it might now be worth trying.. its another one of those cost vs gain scenarios though and the cost is highly dependent on what you are willing to lose and the the current scenario.

 

[ca1ore]

True, although I have to say with my current QT setup I actually rarely lose a fish to disease anymore. I either lose one to jumping (stupidity on my part) or unwillingness to eat.

 

[Ambition]

I use a similar technique. Due to this I tend to get more than one fish at a time or get close to it. I know my unpaired orchid is much more reclusive with outrank mates.