Multibar angelfish

[Fiish]

Hi guys,this is my first topic started, I would like to know if any of you have any experience with this fish (P.multifasciata). I'm a angelfish lover, and over the years I have read and learned a lot about these fish. But nothing is better than an own experience, mainly because here we work with individual living beings.

:beer:

 

[caribfan]

I have kept one for almost 4 years now, might be longer. It is in a 240 fowlr system.

I would advise a long quarantine period as a must. I started with two of these fish, but just couldn’t get the second one to survive.

High quality food is very helpful, I believe I started with fresh little neck clams. If I was to do it again, I’d probably watch for one to show up on divers den. You pay a premium, but it is worth it in my opinion on this fish.

 

[HumbleFish]

I've ordered two of these. One came in DOA, the other came in looking rough and died a few days later. Might just be bad luck, but it's also possible they don't ship well.

 

[mike61289]

I kept one with a venustus angel for a short time. He was definitely the boss between the two. Loved to pick at Nori and mysis. I would keep one again if I could find one.

 

[cFloor]

One of my favorite fish! I have a pair. They can be difficult to get eating but, but if they do they are great fish. Very personable. As caribfan mentioned QT is important to get them settled, healthy, and eating.

 

[Fiish]

I have kept one for almost 4 years now, might be longer. It is in a 240 fowlr system.

I would advise a long quarantine period as a must. I started with two of these fish, but just couldn't get the second one to survive.

High quality food is very helpful, I believe I started with fresh little neck clams. If I was to do it again, I'd probably watch for one to show up on divers den. You pay a premium, but it is worth it in my opinion on this fish.

I'm from Mexico, but I was able to get the fish from QM. It's a fish that I have not seen eat, but he is approaching 2 weeks in my tank, he looks strong and fat and doesn't hide from his other companions

 

[Fiish]

I kept one with a venustus angel for a short time. He was definitely the boss between the two. Loved to pick at Nori and mysis. I would keep one again if I could find one.

Venustus is a great angelfish, unfurtunately is difficult to get in my country, but maybe someday...

 

[ThRoewer]

I'm from Mexico, but I was able to get the fish from QM. It's a fish that I have not seen eat, but he is approaching 2 weeks in my tank, he looks strong and fat and doesn't hide from his other companions

Even without eating they can last for months by using up their reserves and atrophying their muscles. But ultimately they will succumb to starvation.
A store here has one for well over a month now and it hasn't taken a bite in all that time.

The issue might be that the majority of them come from Indonesia and at least in some places there they still use cyanide to catch certain fish, and the multibar angel seems to be one of them.
I know that LA at times uses force-feeding to get fish back to eating who refuse taking food. This often works, but won't help if the fish got liver damage from cyanide fishing.
This is one of the reasons why I so far have stayed clear of these fish.

I would only get them if I could find them from the Marshall Islands or another place where for sure cyanide is not in use.

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[Fiish]

Even without eating they can last for months by using up their reserves and atrophying their muscles. But ultimately they will succumb to starvation.
A store here has one for well over a month now and it hasn't taken a bite in all that time.

The issue might be that the majority of them come from Indonesia and at least in some places there they still use cyanide to catch certain fish, and the multibar angel seems to be one of them.
I know that LA at times uses force-feeding to get fish back to eating who refuse taking food. This often works, but won't help if the fish got liver damage from cyanide fishing.
This is one of the reasons why I so far have stayed clear of these fish.

I would only get them if I could find them from the Marshall Islands or another place where for sure cyanide is not in use.

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ThRoewer, thanks for your time in this post. That's right, I read a few months ago that these fish are caught in Indonesia under unfavorable measures, which made me think that my fish comes from there. I think it's likely to be able to get a fish from the Marshall Islands, but I only hope that this fish is not doomed to die.

 

[ThRoewer]

ThRoewer, thanks for your time in this post. That's right, I read a few months ago that these fish are caught in Indonesia under unfavorable measures, which made me think that my fish comes from there. I think it's likely to be able to get a fish from the Marshall Islands, but I only hope that this fish is not doomed to die.

The problem is, that if it has not eaten within weeks it is no longer feeling hunger and the urge to eat. This is due to its digestive tract being empty. While this conserves a significant amount of energy the digestive tract normally consumes, it also means that the digestive tract is the first set of organs to atrophy and being reduced by the body in order to sustain itself.
Once in that state the fish is highly unlikely to start eating again on its own.
The most promising way to break this cycle is to force-feed the fish with a tiny catheter and some liquid formula pumped straight into the fish's stomach. Ideally this would be performed by a vet with experience in this, but with the right tools and a little practice anyone could do it.
With some luck, and if the fish hasn't been on this kind of starvation diet for too long, a single feeding will do the trick, but most likely a couple of force-feedings will be required.

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[Fiish]

The fish takes all the rocks from the tank in search of the algae that grows there, it does it all the time like any angelfish, but this is the only thing. Another theory that I have, is that this fish is feeding on the excrement of other fish, I have seen some faeces disappear overnight, I'm not sure about this, but maybe it could be a possibility.

 

[Fiish]

Hello again, I hope that I can rescue this thread, my P. multifasciata died starting the sixth week in my tank, he behaved very well until his last day, he was a great fish and always showed great and interesting behavior despite the fact that He never tasted the food I offered him. I recently met a guy here in my city, who keeps discus fish, and knows how to feed them with a tube when these fish refuse to eat. I would have loved to meet him a year ago, and I'm sure he would have saved my beautiful Multibarred. Either way, if you keep or have experiences with P. multifasciata, please write them in this thread, I want to learn as much as possible about this angelfish.

 

[ThRoewer]

I think they have been captive bred by now. This is one of those fish that I would prefer to buy as a tank-bred to be sure that it is okay and eating.
And if I would ever buy wild ones they would have to be from the Marshall Islands. I feel that the ones from Indonesia are too often caught with cyanide or not treated correctly after capture. A store here gets them regularly from Indonesia and so far I have not seen a single one of those eating...
This is a fish I would never buy if it isn't eating at the store. If it isn't eating then it is generally something wrong with the fish.

 

[Fiish]

I have definitely read that the Indonesian specimens simply do not do well, it's great that this fish has already been bred in captivity, but I'm in Mexico, and getting one will be a very difficult task. IMO, adapting a wild Multibarred to captivity must give the aquarist a greater satisfaction, likewise, they don't arrive here very often. On a separate note, I was reading some threads here on RC, and it seems that Kevin Kohen attributes a very good water circulation to the successful maintenance of Paracentropyge spp. What do you think about this ?

 

[smokinreefer]

I have kept one in the past, model citizen in a mixed 180 reef. but that was probably 20yrs ago.

since then i have tried a few when ever i see them available. no survivors. unsure of collection area. probably tried 3 or more. none of them would eat at all. tried almost everything except live foods. they just waste away.

its a shame because they are stunning fish.

 

[Fiish]

It seems that if the fish come from Indonesia or the Philippines, they just get by eating nothing. I don't know if we just need more luck here to maintain a specimen that comes from those 2 locations. Copps successfully kept P.multifasciata from Indonesia, I wonder what methods I use to adapt it, or some special adaptation maneuver for these fish.

 

[ThRoewer]

If you have someone who knows how to force-feed fish I would give that a try with the next specimen. It's pretty much the only way to get a fish who has stopped eating to eat again.