Feeding declivis

[beachbreak]

I've got a tank full of wrasses (mix of Cirrhilabrus / Halichoeres), anthias (bimacs) and a lone bellus angel that at feeding time look more like a swarm of angry bees then a peaceful community of fish; all are really aggressive feeders.

My question is this; can declivis (or mitratus) hold their own at feeding time in this mix? I've tried a prognathodes in with this group and it didn't eat fast enough to fit in.

What's been your experience with feeding roaps? Think one may fit in with this group?

 

[SDguy]

Should be fine after being fully acclimated. Was the longnose acclimated to aquarium foods? For how long?

 

[beachbreak]

Should be fine after being fully acclimated. Was the longnose acclimated to aquarium foods? For how long?

Yes, the longnose was acclimated to aquarium foods. DD had it for a at least a month before I got the fish from them. It was one of those fish that sat there on DD for weeks that I finally just couldn't resist. Unfortunately It never would eat out of the water column. I tried everything possible but it just ignored prepared foods. It would get in the mix at feeding time but ignored all feeding attempts (I feed 3x a day).

 

[beachbreak]

I think with the declivis/mitratus I am going to leave it in the fuge for a month or so to really beef it up before adding it to the display. That should give it a good head start and give me assurance that the fish is eating well out of the water column before adding it to the display.

 

[SDguy]

It may take longer. My tink/burgessi hybrid took many months to eat well, and only just started eating pellets. My first declivis was very finicky, but also passed, so there may have been other issues. My current declivis ate pellets quickly, but only off the tank floor.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

My declivis was a very bold eater with frozen mysis but never transitioned to dry food. Additionally, you can always drop in some clams or rubberband some cocktail shrimp to a rock and the butterfly will pick from there, your other planktivores probably wouldn't be interested.

 

[yalpal]

My Declivis was eating or at least sampling most frozen food I provided out of the bag. He seems to love nori, but I haven't been able to get him to eat pellets although he shows slight interest in them. He's fairly small (around 2") compared to his tank mates which include some larger tangs and angels, but will hold his own at feeding time. Initially he was a little shy, and would hide for a large portion of the day, but after a week or so he became much more bold.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

Did you guys/gals have any problems with your declivis nipping at corals? Espeically zoas?

 

[beachbreak]

Thanks for the comments!

Whats the consensus on optimal size? Are smaller easier/harder to get acclimated than larger fish?

Really glad to hear they like nori. My wrasses and angels love the stuff too so that will make covering that portion of the diet that much easier.

 

[yalpal]

My tank is mainly SPS dominant with some Euphyllia and other LPS that survived my angels' taste (I was just talking about my experience with my Goldflake on another thread). At first my Declivis picked at some of my SPS but it didn't do any visible damage. The only noticeable difference is that a few of my colonies have a little less polyp extension during the day, but they seem healthy otherwise. As far as size goes this is the only one I've had experience with, and I'm glad it's fairly small. It acts a lot like my dwarf angels while it swims around my tank.