Wild Caught Fish Not Eating...

CedzAquAddictio

CedzAquAddictio

New member
Need your help ladies and gentlemen...

I have a newly acquired Swallowtail Angelfish. I've been looking for this species of fish for quite a while now. It was a special order that the store did just for me and just for this fish.

She is beautiful... Anyway: Normally, with fish purchased from any store, they are eating within hours of being in my QT tank.

That wasn't the case for this one. I purchased the fish this Tuesday, and haven't seen her eat at all since then. Upon going back to the store to ask their advice, I learned that the fish was actually wild-caught not tank-raised or bred, and may have been in the ocean literally 2 days before they received it (i have my opinions on that, and they aren't all good). She is in my QT now, and none of the other fish are harrassing her or anything, and I've tried everything from pellets, to flakes, to Nori (with and without garlic), to mysis, to plankton-type feed, and finally to finely chopped raw shrimp and squid. When the food hits the water, she swims around like she's excited, but, she simpy doesn't eat (even when the big human looking figure outside of the aquarium isn't around). Not even any response to target feeding...

Starting to get worried as it has been a couple of days, and she hasn't come around yet. Some days she spends the whole day in hiding, some days she is out and about...

I'm stuck with her now, and want to do my best for her. Open to suggestions...

Thanks all!!!
 
fresh clams from the grocery store works well. break one open and drop it in,, if not eaten after an hour take it out, try 2 or 3 times aday, not to worry about starvation as of yet it takes a long time for an angel to starve
 
soak food in garlic.

attach nori to a piece of LR and leave in tank. soak in some garlic as well.

keep trying NLS pellets, the ones that have garlic.

but eating pellets by the tank to show her its eatable wont work .... and pellets dotn taste good lol

good luck, and dont worry tooooo much for at least 1-2 weeks. just the fact that she seems excited for food is good, she just needs to learn it is food.

lastly, you can try ANGELLIX from brightwell I think, its amino acids found in sponges and such .... my angels and Idol go crazy over it.

HTH, and good luck :)
 
:debi:
CedzAquAddictio said:
Upon going back to the store to ask their advice, I learned that the fish was actually wild-caught not tank-raised or bred, and may have been in the ocean literally 2 days before they received it
Click to expand...

What about that, shocks you?
The percent of tank bred fish is less than the amount that are tank raised, which is small to start with .
 
You could try hatching or buying some brine shrimp -- she may need to be enticed by something swimming. It can also help to have another, more seasoned, fish to 'teach' the new one that those lumps falling from above are actually delicious to eat, and that big scary thing that keeps coming around is the one bringing the good stuff! Any chance you can borrow a fish that's eating well either from your display, a fellow hobbyist, or the LFS? In my past experience, it only takes a day or two for a fish to catch on once they've been shown the ropes.
 
Thanks to all for your comments. Sorry for the late reply, but I've been busy today doing further preparation for this fish. I've also posted this on another forum just for coverage's sake. The more expert opinions, the better, right?

What I'm toying with now is should I set up a separate tank for just the angel for a while? I have a 20 long and some extra live sand and some leftover LR that I can add to simulate the natural habitat a little more. Perhaps the transition from ocean to QT with only PVC is too much shock? Should I leave it in the QT with the other fish so it can settle in with them, or separate it out into a separate tank? (None of the current fish harass her.)

Well, what I've learned so far from all of you all...

- This particular angel is especially shy of brighter lights.
- Continue with the plankton type foods
- Continue to soak Nori in garlic and place in tank. I'll space it out around tank to stimulate grazing in the wild
- Most angels are wild caught. I was just under the assumption that they spend some time in a tank before they make it to the consumer. Didn't expect it to be this fresh from the ocean. I'll bet this is a traumatic time for the fish.
- I actually brought a clam from the grocery store, but chickened out and fed it to my CUC in my DT. Everything except the angel enjoyed the raw squid, though...
- Going to try my hand at the live brine shrimp after stuffing them with something healthy for the fish.
- Last, but not least: BE PATIENT!!! I was worried that 3 days was too long for the fish to go without eating. It can go longer without eating with no harm? Possibly a week or two?

Thanks so much for all of your support!!!
 
Buzz1329 said:
What garlic soak/additive do you recommend?

Do you use it for all feedings or just for finnicky eaters?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I've been using Kent Marine Extreme Garlic with every other feeding attempt for the angel...


=================================================
Allmost: I've actually tasted the food pellets. You are right... Disgusting. LOL...
:beer:
 
Yes, fish can last a couple of weeks without eating but that is too long. I have one and it behaved the same way in the beginning. It is a very nice angel, mine eats nori and everything else I feed the others.
Here she is,
IMG_4364.jpg

(I was taking pic of the clam, she just happen to swim by. She's not in focus)
 
Thanks so much everybody for the posts. I'm going to try target feeding her today a mixture of garlic soaked mysis, finely shredded nori, and clyopeeze with the lights off. Hopefully the ambient light from the room will be enough for her to see the food, and not be too bright to scare her into hiding.

Also may travel to some other LFS's to see if I can acquire some live brine shrimp and/or blackworms...

Thanks all!!!



Whisperer said:
Yes, fish can last a couple of weeks without eating but that is too long. I have one and it behaved the same way in the beginning. It is a very nice angel, mine eats nori and everything else I feed the others.
Here she is,
IMG_4364.jpg

(I was taking pic of the clam, she just happen to swim by. She's not in focus)
Click to expand...
Beautiful Fish you have there!!! How long was yours reclusive before she finally started to come around?

Thanks again!!!
 
She was shy a few days and was even chased by my two tangs but she held her own. She even lost one tip of her tail but it grew back. Started eating within 1 week. Good luck with yours. They are nice and have good temperament.
 
Genicanthus angels are all plankton pickers. Won't have much, if any, interest in nori. In addition to the live brine, cyclopeze, and fresh hatched brine shrimp nauplii should work well.
 
General statement at best. Not applicable to every single specimen especially there is a thing called adaptation and acclimation.
 
Here is a nice pic today. Eyes on target, ready to strike on a piece of floating nori.
IMG_4441.jpg

DO not expect your fish to eat nori right away. She will eventually accept anything that other fish eat. My point is, yes my swallowtail eat nori.
 
Last edited:
Great, and thanks for all of your help. Do you all think I should take her out of the QT as well, and place her in a tank by herself so I can concentrate the target feeding, or would that stress her more and further cause her not to eat for even longer?

Thanks again!!!
 
Alright... Well, I came back into my office to see her laying by the powerhead in my QT tank. She is not dead yet, but, her swimming is labored, and her mouth and nose are turning dark. I feel like I'm watching her die regardless of my efforts. I'm not sure if she'll make it through the night. Any last minute advice you all can offer would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

I feel sadly responsible...
2012-11-10_19-22-56_730.jpg


photobucket-11904-1352597065502.jpg


Again, thanks for all of your help and support thus far...
 
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