Having hard time with Pakistan Butterfly not eating... afraid he might die?

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Got a healthy Pakistan Butterfly from LiveAquaria 3 days ago, beautiful fish by the way, but he won't eat.

1st 24 hours he got floated and acclimated for about 30 min. in a dark tank. Tank was left dark for the next 24 hours. The next 2 days have been trying to feed the fish all sorts of things. I tried mixing some Rod's (frozen food with everything it in) food with garlic. It all was floating right in the fishes face too. He's a herbivore as far as I know but there has been fresh seaweed in the tank too. I also tried some pellet food and some of that new Instant Ocean gel food too. The fish spends most of the day rejecting food and swimming up and down the glass on one side of the tank.

Some other things worth noting... he's not bothering anybody and nobody is bothering him. There are about 4 other fish in the tank. Clown, coral beauty angel, baby pacific blue tang. Small flaming angel went in at the same time also and was hiding a big the first day and is ok now. The only thing I can think of is maybe it's such a busy tank (90 GALLON) it's a little rough entering a new environment with so many other fish. Certainly worse than an empty tank. Water parameters are fine. I always have a bit of trouble adding fish the past few years I think b/c it's such a stocked tank. There are a few other things like small pseudochromis, mandarin, etc. They're not really factors though.

I don't have some Quarantine tank either. LiveAquaria is telling me it's a difficult fish but on their site they list it as moderate.

 

[pfan151]

Got a healthy Pakistan Butterfly from LiveAquaria 3 days ago, beautiful fish by the way, but he won't eat.

1st 24 hours he got floated and acclimated for about 30 min. in a dark tank. Tank was left dark for the next 24 hours. The next 2 days have been trying to feed the fish all sorts of things. I tried mixing some Rod's (frozen food with everything it in) food with garlic. It all was floating right in the fishes face too. He's a herbivore as far as I know but there has been fresh seaweed in the tank too. I also tried some pellet food and some of that new Instant Ocean gel food too. The fish spends most of the day rejecting food and swimming up and down the glass on one side of the tank.

Some other things worth noting... he's not bothering anybody and nobody is bothering him. There are about 4 other fish in the tank. Clown, coral beauty angel, baby pacific blue tang. Small flaming angel went in at the same time also and was hiding a big the first day and is ok now. The only thing I can think of is maybe it's such a busy tank (90 GALLON) it's a little rough entering a new environment with so many other fish. Certainly worse than an empty tank. Water parameters are fine. I always have a bit of trouble adding fish the past few years I think b/c it's such a stocked tank. There are a few other things like small pseudochromis, mandarin, etc. They're not really factors though.

I don't have some Quarantine tank either. LiveAquaria is telling me it's a difficult fish but on their site they list it as moderate.

3 days is not really a big deal. Butterfly's are not herbivores. Pretty much all butterfly's are tough fish. Good luck with yours, but honestly I doubt it will survive in your tank long term.

 

[snorvich]

I feed mine a mixture of PE and Hikari mysis along with live blackworms. This fish is primarily a carnivore.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Won't survive? Why, most don't... or my tank is too small?

 

[pktech]

I had the same problem. My Pakistani lived primarily on "live clams" which got a little ridiculous after a while. I don't know what my LFS was feeding it, but I tried so much different foods - I'm stocked for a year. I believe they feed on corals in the wild.

I truly felt bad when it died - I think I bought a not so healthy specimen, lol. I hope your guy gets comfy & starts to feed. I love these fish

 

[SDguy]

Mine eats Hikari mysis, PE mysis, minced scallop/shrimp from the grocery store, and live blackworms. It needs to be fed small amounts often, since it will not gorge itself, except for live blackworms. It won't touch pellets, flakes, gel foods, frozen Formula foods, etc.

So, I feed it everything else first, in small multiple feedings... then throw in the live blackworms at the end of the day.

It's a PITA, but it's a beautiful fish, and I'm determined to keep it alive.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Got it from LiveAquaria so I'm sure it was healthy. I keep reading about mysis and black worms too. I guess I'll have to go buy this and try it ... or scratch it up as a bad purchasing decision. After that... I'm done. Not dumping any more food in my tank. It's gonna just cause me a lot more different problems.

 

[Big E]

Mysis, raw chopped frozen scallops,shrimp, & clams have been the staple foods for all the butterflies I've had.

Adult live brine has always worked for me to get them eating & it was easy to ween them onto mysis from there. They'll usually take a bite and wiggle their bodies tyring to get used the new food..............that's always a good first sign.

Every pakastani I've had will test foods if he's healhty...........if he isn't doing this then there's something wrong & it's usually a disease.

I've also QT'd ALL butterflies................they need time to adjust without other fish & no competition for their food. Most are very timid new.

For the future it's imperative that you QT these fish & know it's going to be a challenge to keep them. You have to dedicate the tank to these fish. If someone can't do that then don't buy them.

 

[AuroraDrvr]

Yes, finely chopped scallops are one of the more stimulating frozen foods for Butterflies. (I use a blender to make uniform 1-2mm pieces.

I would also try Hikari Mysis, Brine, Blackworms if available, and the best one, clams on the half-shell. Any seafood place by you should have live Littleneck or Cherrystone clams. Shuck one and serve it on the half-shell.

You can buy more than one clam at a time, and keep them in your sump or tank. Just purge them in a bowl of tank water for a couple hours before putting them in.

 

[SDguy]

Yes, finely chopped scallops are one of the more stimulating frozen foods for Butterflies. (I use a blender to make uniform 1-2mm pieces.

Sorry to go off topic, but what blender do you use? I always end up with multiple sizes (mostly too big and too small) and lots of juice. I hand mince all my foods now because of this (hello carpal tunnel)...

 

[AuroraDrvr]

Sorry to go off topic, but what blender do you use? I always end up with multiple sizes (mostly too big and too small) and lots of juice. I hand mince all my foods now because of this (hello carpal tunnel)...

I'm not sure, I'll look. But I know it's old, older than me. Mid 80's or so. It's a four blade model with two up and two downretty sure it's a Kenmore.

I think good technique is helping me more than the blender.

I allow the scallops (or table shrimp) to dethaw thoroughly, then chop it into 1/2" chunks. I use very little water. Just enough to cover the blades fully. Then I pulse the blender using the slowest speed. 2 seconds on, then wait till the water settles, another 2 seconds on, wait, and so on. I just do this until I get the sizes pretty close to where I want them.

I also use a net and rinse the food before serving.

 

[snorvich]

Yes, finely chopped scallops are one of the more stimulating frozen foods for Butterflies. (I use a blender to make uniform 1-2mm pieces.

I would also try Hikari Mysis, Brine, Blackworms if available, and the best one, clams on the half-shell. Any seafood place by you should have live Littleneck or Cherrystone clams. Shuck one and serve it on the half-shell.

You can buy more than one clam at a time, and keep them in your sump or tank. Just purge them in a bowl of tank water for a couple hours before putting them in.

I use both kinds of mysis, blackworms and clams. I have never tried scallops. Are there different kinds of scallops?

 

[AuroraDrvr]

I use both kinds of mysis, blackworms and clams. I have never tried scallops. Are there different kinds of scallops?

Sea vs. Bay Scallops. The only real difference is size and price. $5/lb for Bay and $10/lb for Sea. I buy a prefrozen bag of them at the grocery store.

Imitation Scallops are pieces of Stingray and Skate. So be sure you're buying real scallops.

 

[AuroraDrvr]

Scifi, any luck with the Pakistani?

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Yea. Water is fine. There's about 5 other fish in there too... other angels, clown, tangs, etc. I've been using garlic in the water, and in the food.
I'm watching this fish now eat.. and then spit out... mysis and blood worms. I bought this stuff specifically for this fish. All the other fish are eating
it except for the bloodworms. I've done all I can do for this fish. I think it's just a matter of time now.

Just discovered... should be blackworms... :< BUT it's still spitting out the mysis. What a PIA. Worst, toughest fish I've ever had. NOW I gotta go to the grocery store to buy clams/scallops? I don't know... I really feel like giving up. It's like everyday I gotta go searching for something new... and I just end up polluting my tank in the end.

Yea... I F'd up and bought bloodworms for fresh water fish. Oh well.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Thanks. I did. Same stuff.. brine, mysis, etc. Shockingly.. they said pellets and gel food. I've tried both of those too... and mysis. They also mentioned Reef Central and seeing what other people are doing. Thing is.. I dropped this guy in a dark tank for 24 hours. It's obviously a stress issue. I trust LA and their QT process 100%. This fish is a PIA. Nobody is bothering him either. Guess I'll try... mysis again since other fish eat it too... maybe clam/scallop from store.


>>>>>>>>>
" have you tried calling LA.com customer service to find out exactly what the fish was eating, and any other tips? We definitely dont want this fish to die, and it absolutely was eating at our facility before it got sent to you. Please call customer service: 800-334-3699."

-Melissa


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Melissa
Graphic designer, project coordinator and social media nut for Drs. Foster & Smith/LiveAquaria

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

And can somebody verify what corals it may eat. I have some yellow polyps... who cares.. they're everywhere. Will it hurt my clams?

 

[small alien]

Dude, you gotta ease up a squish. You've had this fish for what, less than a week, and you're about to give up. C'mon. Suck it up and work at it. Have a positive attitude and quit whining. It's the fish who's suffering, not you. Just keep at it. And good luck.:beer:

 

[sslak]

Try target feeding with a pipette to get his attention?

Tried hatching live brine?

If you think this fish is hard...never buy a mandarin.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Nobody said.. it's ok for it not to eat for a week. If so I might be a little less worried. So there is a sense of urgency. And I don't want to start talking about ... fish have feelings, understand suffering. That fish is not feeling what I'm feeling. But I still care about it.

I've had "fair" luck with mandarin's. Usually live 6-12 months. Got one now. Never really had trouble at all with them eating. Usually more about IF there's enough food. I think some of the other fish , like wrasses, compete for pods.