Need Help, Blond Naso not eating.

KashAlp

KashAlp

New member
Hey guys i recently bought a blond naso tang that looked very healthy and was an active swimmer in the tank i took him from.

Now being 5 days old in my tank i have yet to see him eat. When all the other fish rush to glass to eat he just sinks into the rocks and hides out till i leave the room. Doesnt spend all his time in the rocks but a good chunk of it whenever there is traffic walking past the tank. He is also starting to show minor signs of weight lose.

I've tried Nori on a veggie clip and tried to a rock just outside of his hiding spot, Flake food, spirulina cubes, and krill. He is about 4" long with tail and is the smallest tang i have in the tank. I also add a bit of garlic to his food cocktail i brew up for the fish. He does venture out from end to end of the tank with the other fish but always returns to the same hiding spot.

Tank Mates: 1 sailfin tang, 1 blue tang, 1 yellow tang, 2 clown, 2 foxface, 1 Four stripped damsel, 1 blood shrimp, 2 cleaner shrimp.

Tank: 125 gallon with 55g sump

Any ideas on how to get this little guy to eat? its been almost a week now and would hate to lose this beautiful fish. :sad1:

heres a couple pics of my little "akuna" sorry for quailty. im no photographer...

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did you try putting nori in the tank and walking away? It looks like its just scared of someone coming near the tank. Try putting in food and also try but don't stay near the tank. I would try to get as far away as possible but still try to see if its eating when you or anyone else isn't near the tank.
 
yea ive tried that.. ive even gone to the extent of hooking up a wireless security camera so i could watch to see if it was him or the other fish eating it.

...it was the other fish :( he shows no sign of any intrest in food once so ever.
 
did you try adding some garlic to the food? What about trying down some nori to a rock or an area close to where it hides?
 
KashAlp said:
I've tried Nori on a veggie clip and tried to a rock just ourside of his hiding spot, Flake food, spirulina cubes, and krill.
Click to expand...

Yup and yes sorry i forgot to mention ive tried garlic additive to the food cocktail i make for the fish.
 
not sure what else to add, maybe the other fish are scaring it at feeding time to come out. Maybe other naso tang owners can chime in on this.

Just keep feeding as you are now and hopefully it will start eating soon.
 
yea hopefully someone with some tang experiance can suggest something that will kick this little guy in butt and make him start eating. I called the guy i got the tang from and he said all the naso was feed b4 was algae (because there as an abundance in the tank) and brine shrimp. He also said i could bring him back and he will trade him for another one that he will feed in front of me.

I dont know if i like the idea of returning my naso and "trading" him in. Its about a 2 hr drive to return him and i think the shock of being put back in another bag and another long car ride might just stress him even more causing exactly what im trying to avoid with this beautiful fish...Death..

Any ideas are welcome and appreciated. My other fish get along very nicely with him and i think if i can be succesful, he is going to make a wonderful addition to my tank.

Im goin to try hatching some brine eggs tonight but being so small even if he does find some of them and eat them i dont know how much he will benefit from it.
 
My brother has a famale blonde and when he first got it it would not eat. It took about 3-4 days before it ate anything. Just keep feeding the tank and im sure it will start eating once it feels comfortable. Good luck.
 
Anyone know a questimate of how long they can go without eating, before i should be really worried anyways..? Like i've mentioned its been 5 days now and he's showing signs of weight lose.
 
Mine didn't eat for about 2 weeks. By then, it was all bones. I think starvation is what finally compelled it to eat. Mine started looking like yours after 2 weeks of not eating. I didn't do anything special for it. I just put in the same food I put in for the other fish and I did put nori by its hiding place but after 2 weeks, it decided to join the rest of the fish during feeding time.
 
I have had quite some experience with Blonde Naso's, try breaking the nori up into a bunch of pieces in front of a power jet. Have you tried mysis yet also?
 
dviper150 said:
Mine didn't eat for about 2 weeks. By then, it was all bones. I think starvation is what finally compelled it to eat. Mine started looking like yours after 2 weeks of not eating. I didn't do anything special for it. I just put in the same food I put in for the other fish and I did put nori by its hiding place but after 2 weeks, it decided to join the rest of the fish during feeding time.
Click to expand...

Well that kinda gives me a bit of hope..


I will try breaking up the nori and getting some mysis, other then that i dont know what to do. i guess ill just hope for the best and if all goes well it will work itself out. Thanks for suggestions, wish me luck.

brine shrimp eggs (sea monkey lol) in the hatchery...

i will repost with results, good or bad :sad2:
 
try some live brine. If you have a qt tank, put him in it...add some powdered metronidazole per instructions...give it 3-4 days and he should eat. If he has an upset tummy, the metro will help, and it also stimulates hunger.

I wouldn't wait two weeks either. If he is too far gone, he won't eat anyways.
 
Well its been officially 7 days now and still no eating.. not giving up but im beginning to accept th fact that i dont think he's gona make it. Very thin now, pinched stomach area and going dark in color, but still actively swimming. I dont get it.

Brine shrimp should be hatched by the time i get home from work tonight, so im going to power feed them and hopefuly they will grow big and nutritional by sunday.

not sure if stimuating hunger is nessecary... he's obviously showing signs of hunger, but ill give it a go if brine dont work. Problem is getting up to LFS to get supplies with a very crazy work schedule the next few days (12 hour shifts)
 
yes, break up the nori to help it get all over the tank. keep feeding with garlic and vitamins. some tangs just take awhile to get comfy in new homes. my yellow belly hippo took a week to eat. my blonde naso ( RIP) took a few days also. blonde nasos tend to break out with splotches of white spots almost like bruises when they are stressed. if this happens you may need to QT her until she eats. if you do not have a QT try target feeding her if she begins to break out. also split the food you give them, rotate form one side of the tank to the other , back and forth until the food is gone so it will get dispersed evenly and she may get some close to her she will eat.
 
ok.. thanks for the tips, im going to kep trying until something happens. Just for the record, guess it was missed in my first post, i have been using garlic since day 1.

I left the lights off today while im at work today for 12 hrs. Hopefully the long dark time will help her settle down a bit IF she is stressed. Not getting "splotches of white spots" though.. color is more turning very dark evenly over whole body. She's lookin very boney also.. :( reminds me of me in high school before i put on almost a hundred pounds.
 
Mine resisted at first, then only ate flake food for some time. Now he eats everything. What flake are you using. Formula 2 worked well for me.
 
KashAlp said:
ok.. thanks for the tips, im going to kep trying until something happens. Just for the record, guess it was missed in my first post, i have been using garlic since day 1.

I left the lights off today while im at work today for 12 hrs. Hopefully the long dark time will help her settle down a bit IF she is stressed. Not getting "splotches of white spots" though.. color is more turning very dark evenly over whole body. She's lookin very boney also.. :( reminds me of me in high school before i put on almost a hundred pounds.
Click to expand...

do not use garlic long term, only at first to help her try and eat. garlic is bad for the fish long term . only vitamins
 
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