Getting a Blue Face Angel to Eat!!

[DarthSimon]

Have a new 7+ Inch Gorgeous, full blow colored Blue Face... He acclimated very well.. He is swimming around the tank picking at rocks day one... Not being bullied by anything, including Purple Tang which usually does bully...

Can't get him to eat frozen, flakes or Pellets... Today will be 3 days... Should I try clam on the half shell??

Any thoughts and what do you guys feed your Blue's??


Thanks in Advance!
Steve

 

[snorvich]

clam on a half shell is a great way to try.

 

[fishguy597]

A friend of mine was having the same problem. He threw a price of sponge from some lr and it started pecking at it. Then he gave it some blood worms and next thing you know it was eating krill . It also wasn't eating any nori at first either.

 

[Cerastes]

Easiest way to get any fish to eat is while it's alone in qt.

 

[snorvich]

Easiest way to get any fish to eat is while it's alone in qt.

Amen.

 

[JBarnes]

My BlueFace, about the same size as yours was a poor eater for the first few weeks. If you have access to live brine that will help him getting started in eating. Mine would eat Rod Reef frozen on a regular basis as well as frozen mysis. It was several weeks before he began to pick at flake and pellets. He's about a year in my tank now and will eat anything you throw in the tank. But, he is still rather shy when there is movement outside the tank. Beautiful fish, everybody comments on him when they look at my tank. Jerry.

 

[meanpressure]

I had good luck with getting my blue face to eat using spirulina and mysis defrosted. I put them in a cup with angellixr and garlic power and a little bit of water then put them in front of the powerhead and they seem to like chasing it down.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

He is probably having a hard time recognizing food in the water column as food. Try rubberbanding foods to rocks... anything you can think of - nori, raw seafood (shrimp, clam, etc), even frozen food cubes. Also try clams/mussels on the half shell.

 

[nonimmigrant]

He is probably having a hard time recognizing food in the water column as food. Try rubberbanding foods to rocks... anything you can think of - nori, raw seafood (shrimp, clam, etc), even frozen food cubes. Also try clams/mussels on the half shell.

+1 mine went from nori & rocks to being a trash compactor in about a week. Give it time ... mine's been in tank 5 years now and is one of my fav fish. We had three at one point believe it or not...

 

[jaa1456]

I have always had success with them learning from other fish. But then again i would never buy a fish that wasnt already eating in the lfs. I find that to be the most important thing. Although not a guarantee . It does help though.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Amen to all the Amens on the QT. All adult angels of this group are tough to acclimate, the Juvis do much better. Possibly because the adults have formed a rigid diet that is impossible to match in captivity. To add more to the problem; the BF is (probably) the toughest adult of all the common Pomacanthus genus to get settled in and start feeding (again, much easier in a QT). Many (most?) of these fish come from Indonesia and that's a problem in itself (IMO & IME). If you have a fish from Sri Lanka it should fare better....but still tough to acclimate. I hope he does well for you; I've raised 3 from juvi to adult and they are magnificent fish.

 

[DarthSimon]

He is swimming around picking at rocks and looks very healthy.. Just not eating from the water column...,

 

[DarthSimon]

So 9 days in, he's still swimming around picking at rocks all over the tank... NO Prepared foods, mysid, clams, clams, flakes, pellets...

I did try Clams on the half shell... All the over fish devoured it before he could try it....

 

[T Diddy]

I have a majestic that didn't eat anything for two weeks. Now he's my best friend when I get near the tank. Give him some time, and good luck!:beer:

 

[DarthSimon]

Yeah, I have hope only because the fish is being social and not hiding... Nothing is harassing it... He must be eating something... Possibly food that is settled on rocks, or sponge on the LR....

 

[JSeymour]

Easiest way to get any fish to eat is while it's alone in qt.

Amen.

Amen to all the Amens on the QT.

+4 Without competition, it would have all the time in the world to pick at the foods you offer. I'll step off the soap box now...

Have you tried any gel-based frozen foods, like Formula cubes? Thaw and smear onto a piece of rock. You might also try turning you circulation pumps off during feeding so the food drops to the sand to be picked at, rather than it blowing around in the water column. To limit competition, feed the other fish plenty of bulky foods like pellets and krill before feeding the special items meant for the angel.

I put them in a cup with angellixr and garlic...

Two great appetite/flavor stimulators. I've used Oysterfeast in a similar manner to trick fish into eating too.