Harlequin Tusk help

[R-nel]

Happy new year every one.
I got this beautiful tusk two weeks ago and he has not feed on anything since. I read they can go with out eating for a week, but I'm beginning to worry since its been two weeks. He comes out only for a few minutes when the lights are out then hide's back into the rocks and doesn't come out at all when the lights are on. So far I've tried Krill Myssis and Clam with out any luck. He's In a 150 gallon and being left alone which helps a lot.

He was in pretty bad shape when I got him almost didn't make it, got shipped to me from another reefer and got lost during shipping and got delivered two days later. So he when through a lot...Is there any thing else I can do or just leave him alone?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Fish can go a lot longer without eating than many folks realize and, assuming great water conditions, I think you have him in the best surroundings. I have 3 of these great fish now and they all took a while to eat; one went over 2 weeks. The foods you are offering are fine, a freshly opened clam is ideal. He sounds like he's been seriously stressed (HTs stress-out easily) and all you can do is keep offering quality foods and hope for the best. I'm on the side who believes that a fish that isn't eating isn't going to turn around by just adding garlic or other magic food---but you might try a chunk of raw shrimp. Keep us posted.

 

[R-nel]

Tuskfish it's hard to a find fresh clam around here, but I did tried the fresh shrimp and he did went for it but gave up after a few attempt. Looks like hes not strong enough. Will see if he goes for it again.

thanks

 

[flameangel88]

As MrTuskfish said he's probably highly stressed from the shipping and they get stressed easily to begin with doesn't help. I would leave the light off and cover the tank as much as possible for 2 days. Use only actinic during feeding during this time with live clam. Not sure if you live in Corona in NYC or not but if you are then most Asian supermarket or Pathmart carries live clams. I normally keep them in a separate saltwater tank for a month (so they can spit out all the dirt and I can pick out the bad ones) before feeding to my fish. In this case I would open the shell and clean under running water for a bit before feeding. By now the Tusk should be hungry and may take some nips but again I stress keeping low light for couple of days.

 

[Alphabet]

I had one but only lasted 5 months. Unless I was misinformed I was told they need cannot go without food for more than 4-5days? Hey was quite the eater too, mostly starfish.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I had one but only lasted 5 months. Unless I was misinformed I was told they need cannot go without food for more than 4-5days? Hey was quite the eater too, mostly starfish.

I think you were mis-informed. Most fish aren't fed for at least this long during the shipping process. IMO&IME; any fish can go a while without eating.

 

[R-nel]

I was surprised to see him out with the lights on so I gave it another try with the raw shrimp, he quickly went for it...But I cut it a little to big and spit it out, my other fish went crazy after it and he couldn't get it back (bad fish lol). At least hes out and trying to eat.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I was surprised to see him out with the lights on so I gave it another try with the raw shrimp, he quickly went for it...But I cut it a little to big and spit it out, my other fish went crazy after it and he couldn't get it back (bad fish lol). At least hes out and trying to eat.

Thanks for the tip.

Any news on this fish?

 

[R-nel]

He's been eating one krill a day and out a lot more. I'm trying to get him to eat more but he's got competition with food since my other fish will eat anything I put in the water.

 

[MrTuskfish]

He's been eating one krill a day and out a lot more. I'm trying to get him to eat more but he's got competition with food since my other fish will eat anything I put in the water.

Good! It really takes these fish a long time to get used to things and assert themselves. If he's eating, he won't starve himself. I'd sure vary the diet too, fresh seafood, mysis, etc. A steady diet of krill has shown to be a big problem for many fish.