I just added a Royal Gramma, and Firefish pair to my 40 breeder. The only other fish in the tank is a Clown. The Clown eats like a pig, he grabs the food right out of the turkey baster. Also the new Gramma is eating. The Firefish pair are not eating. Its only been 2 days since I added them. They will come out and about in the tank, swimming around right up front. But when I put the food in, sometimes they will run from it, and hide. Today some food passed right by them, and they just sit there, the Gramma ate it. Im feeding LRS Fish Frenzy. I also tossed a few New Life pellets in, but nobody likes that, not even the Clown. Is this normal for the Firefish? Will they eat, and how long before I should start to worry about them? Thanks.
New Firefish not eating
- Thread starter hawk1
- Start date
m0nkie
Well-known member
I got my firefish eating in the quarantine tank on the 2nd day.
try some frozen mysis shrimp... if that doesn't work, try some flake flood like Omega One with Garlic. all my fish love those... if nothing works, try soaking the food in garlic a little.
if you can find Nutramar Ova, that's like crack to fish..
this is probably a good time for you to stock up on different food. I have 3 types of pellets, 3 flakes, 4 frozen, and a bunch of additives/concentrates like Kent garlic, selcon, reef frenzy, coral frenzy, reef chili etc.. etc..
try some frozen mysis shrimp... if that doesn't work, try some flake flood like Omega One with Garlic. all my fish love those... if nothing works, try soaking the food in garlic a little.
if you can find Nutramar Ova, that's like crack to fish..
this is probably a good time for you to stock up on different food. I have 3 types of pellets, 3 flakes, 4 frozen, and a bunch of additives/concentrates like Kent garlic, selcon, reef frenzy, coral frenzy, reef chili etc.. etc..
TangingOut
New member
I made the mistake of buying a pair of firefish not knowing they needed to be a mated pair in order to thrive. For two weeks they seemed perfectly happy and eating, then suddenly one went into hiding and rarely came out, then started not coming out at all and eventually died. Unless yours are mated, you'll probably end up with one.
Crooked Reef
Active member
Mine loves mysis.
Reef Frog
New member
Firefish are planktavores in their natural habitat and must take their food from the water column. Is the food you're using made up of fairly large pieces? Maybe they're just not used to the size. They have tiny mouths, especially the juveniles. Try mincing some of the food with a knife or razor blade and see if they'll take it.
My FF pair go crazy for small foods like fish eggs, frozen cyclopseeze, small krill etc. They sometimes struggle with full sized frozen mysis shrimp but can eat it easily if minced. If they're out & about they'll most likely eat when they're ready. If they're driven into hiding by aggressive neighbors, that's when you'll most likely have a problem.
For FF, I've noticed they eat with gusto if the food is being pushed around by the current. If I feed with the pumps off, the feeding response is drastically reduced.
If you can find them locally, you can try some LIVE brine shrimp. Their movement will usually get reluctant fish to eat. After they eat them a few times, it's usually easy to switch them to your normal food. GL.
My FF pair go crazy for small foods like fish eggs, frozen cyclopseeze, small krill etc. They sometimes struggle with full sized frozen mysis shrimp but can eat it easily if minced. If they're out & about they'll most likely eat when they're ready. If they're driven into hiding by aggressive neighbors, that's when you'll most likely have a problem.
For FF, I've noticed they eat with gusto if the food is being pushed around by the current. If I feed with the pumps off, the feeding response is drastically reduced.
If you can find them locally, you can try some LIVE brine shrimp. Their movement will usually get reluctant fish to eat. After they eat them a few times, it's usually easy to switch them to your normal food. GL.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
+1 keep any eye on the firefish pair. I had a pair only to have one turn on the other after 3 months. I'm thinking they were juveniles that got along & then it got really ugly really fast. Be prepared to pull one out at the first sign of aggression.
I never had a problem with mine eating. I started with PE Mysis & frozen brine since it was little enough for them to eat & then started adding Rods frozen to the mix after a week of that.
I think it took about a month before they would touch pellets. They do like clam if you have clam frenzy they will pick out the small pieces to eat, I'm sure coral frenzy would have the same effect. I feed twice a day with flakes & pellets soaked in Selcon, once in a while I will soak with garlic but not on a regular basis. You can try that too as the flakes can be crunched up small enough for them to eat.
I also leave my pump on & just turn it to feeding mode so food is still moving through the water. It could also be that the clown is not leaving much food for them either. I would target him first with a small amount of food & then feed more about 5 or 10 minutes later & that should leave some for the firefish.
I never had a problem with mine eating. I started with PE Mysis & frozen brine since it was little enough for them to eat & then started adding Rods frozen to the mix after a week of that.
I think it took about a month before they would touch pellets. They do like clam if you have clam frenzy they will pick out the small pieces to eat, I'm sure coral frenzy would have the same effect. I feed twice a day with flakes & pellets soaked in Selcon, once in a while I will soak with garlic but not on a regular basis. You can try that too as the flakes can be crunched up small enough for them to eat.
I also leave my pump on & just turn it to feeding mode so food is still moving through the water. It could also be that the clown is not leaving much food for them either. I would target him first with a small amount of food & then feed more about 5 or 10 minutes later & that should leave some for the firefish.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
Ooopppps - I feed the flakes & pellets in the am & something frozen for lunch.
