YLN Not Eating in Quarantine

[Dr Colliebreath]

I put a Yellow Long Nose butterflyfish in quarantine on Friday along with a saddleback and a falcula butterflyfish. The saddleback and falcula started eating immediately but the YLN has eaten little to nothing. I am feeding 4x per day to try and get it eating and all three in good shape, which is forcing extra water changes to ensure water quality (all water is from my DT). The QT is 37 gal with a sponge/airpump filter, biocylinders, and now a HOB. It has a good biofilter developed as I have had 2 fish in it the past 5 weeks, although there is more fish load now as these fish are larger in addition to being more numerous.

The YLN isn't eating. I have tried small pellet food sent by the seller, NLS flakes, Rod's Fish Only Blend, myesis, ArctiPods, and fresh minced scallop. The saddleback and falcula go right after the food and the YLN is oblivious to it. It picks a little at the bottom of the tank, the sponge filter, and the pvc. I don't have any rock in because I am going to dose with Cupramine and PraziPro after the fish get a week to settle in.

I made a plastic tube with holes drilled in it and put some of the Rod's and the scallop in so only the YLN could eat it. The other two fish knew food was there and tried to get it but the YLN didn't go for it over a period of two hours.

The YLN is from Hawaii so I expect it was collected and handled properly. This is supposed to be a relatively easy butterfly and it is acting like a copperband.

All three fish get along fine, sometimes swimming together and sometimes apart but no aggression at all, even with food around.

I have read many other threads on YLN and CBB. I know a couple here have pretty much experience with them and wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions other than wait it out and see whether the fish decides to eat or succumbs.

Thank you.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I fed the other two fish some Rods and then put brine shrimp in. I think the YLN ate a few brine shrimp and then stopped (I was too far away to make sure it wasn't spitting them out). It just doesn't seem very interested in food. In contrast, the other two cruise the tank looking for food and clean up everything I put in. I also picked up a few blackworms to try tomorrow.

I know fish with flukes frequently don't eat very well, but I don't want to treat with PraziPro until I the fish settle in.

Is this normal for the YLN or should it be feeding about as much and eagerly as the other two (all three are around the same size)?

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

The fish died this evening. It ate a couple more brine this morning so I hoped it would start really eating but it was never interested in food.

We will see whether the saddleback and falcula continue to do well, but it is making me reconsider butterflies. Longnose are supposed to be relatively easy for butterflies. It makes me wonder how this one was collected and handled even though it came from Hawaii.

Makes you wonder

 

[iwishtofish]

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your fish. It is always very discouraging, IME. And it seems like there is just no way to be certain a fish has been captured/handled properly.

 

[SDguy]

Since it died so quickly (2 days) and the other two are doing well, it just sounds like the fish was sick to begin with. Was it terribly skinny? Fish don't starve to death that quickly. And yes, IME, YLN BF eat right away. Don't let it get to you, just focus on the two others, and keep water quality up considering all the food you put in

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

Thanks, it is discouraging. I agree the fish had to have been sick when it arrived. The fish looked fine physically and wasn't thin. Its color was very good. It tilted towards the other two initially and flared its dorsal fins even though the others ignored it, so I wondered if it was sick. This started in the acclimation bucket and continued in the qt for a short period. The yln finally realized the others weren't going to bother it.

I am watching the water quality. 60% water change on Sunday and 50% yesterday evening after the burial and service. (Picture, bag and freezer.) I will return to normal feeding levels.

 

[Monkeyfish]

If you decide to try another LNB in the future, try feeding it live black worms.

 

[Rogger Castells]

Although, LNB are relatively easy to keep, IME this only happens when they are able to settle from shipping. I find that they are very particular about their tank mates, Personally I would not have placed all three BF together, I believe that is a bad combination to begin with.
I was going to suggest that you remove the falcula and saddleback during feeding times to allow the LNB to feel more comfortable, at least until she was eating normally, however the fact that it died so soon probably means that it was not a healthy specimen.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I hadn't heard that the LNB is particular about tank mates, but I can see what you mean as it generally is a slower eater. Good idea to separate less aggressive eaters from those that eat with enthusiasm. A piece of eggcrate would do the trick. I had hoped that the LNB would learn from the other two when food was in the tank and how to find it as I know the LNB typically eats from crevices in rock rather than from the water column generally. The other two didn't bother it at all and would swim with the LNB from time to time.

The LNB had to have been sick from the outset given how fast it died and how quickly it went from looking pretty normal to gone. It just wasn't apparent other than its lack of interest in food. In hindsight, it sometimes kept to itself in a corner (e.g., at night) and it was a slow swimmer, which probably were tip-offs that something was very wrong. However, the fish had very nice color and no indications of distress in its breathing, clamped fins, etc. until the very end when it went completely downhill in the 11 hours from when I went to work until I returned home.

The LNB ate a couple of brine shrimp Monday evening and a couple on Tuesday morning and had maintained its coloring just fine. I hoped it was going to turn the corner and start really eating on Tuesday evening, but when I got home it had lost its coloring and strength and was lying on its side on the bottom. Shortly thereafter, the end.

Rogger, you say that the three butterflies were not a good combination for quarantine. Is that because the other two eat more aggressively and from the water column, or three sensitive fish together are too much, or what? Put the LNB in first, and then add the other two later (this would require another QT or shipping costs would get prohibitive)?

 

[Rogger Castells]

I hadn't heard that the LNB is particular about tank mates, but I can see what you mean as it generally is a slower eater. Good idea to separate less aggressive eaters from those that eat with enthusiasm. A piece of eggcrate would do the trick. I had hoped that the LNB would learn from the other two when food was in the tank and how to find it as I know the LNB typically eats from crevices in rock rather than from the water column generally. The other two didn't bother it at all and would swim with the LNB from time to time.

The LNB had to have been sick from the outset given how fast it died and how quickly it went from looking pretty normal to gone. It just wasn't apparent other than its lack of interest in food. In hindsight, it sometimes kept to itself in a corner (e.g., at night) and it was a slow swimmer, which probably were tip-offs that something was very wrong. However, the fish had very nice color and no indications of distress in its breathing, clamped fins, etc. until the very end when it went completely downhill in the 11 hours from when I went to work until I returned home.

The LNB ate a couple of brine shrimp Monday evening and a couple on Tuesday morning and had maintained its coloring just fine. I hoped it was going to turn the corner and start really eating on Tuesday evening, but when I got home it had lost its coloring and strength and was lying on its side on the bottom. Shortly thereafter, the end.

Rogger, you say that the three butterflies were not a good combination for quarantine. Is that because the other two eat more aggressively and from the water column, or three sensitive fish together are too much, or what? Put the LNB in first, and then add the other two later (this would require another QT or shipping costs would get prohibitive)?

Yes, the way I would have done it is to introduce the less aggressive fish first, qt him by him self and introduce him in the main tank first, the other two BF are going to be fine if QT and introduced together.
these are my fish

OK, This one has nothing to do with the BF but I can never get a clear picture of him, I was so happy tonight when he stayed still!!!!!!!

 

[SDguy]

It really is just going to depend on the individual fish. My experience with YLN BF has been that they are good eaters (as long as the food you provide is small) and they only look delicate. They are not at all shy. My experience with C. falcula has been the opposite. Difficult to get eating at first. Rather shy.

 

[MrTuskfish]

It really is just going to depend on the individual fish. My experience with YLN BF has been that they are good eaters (as long as the food you provide is small) and they only look delicate.

+1 Any fish, from anywhere just may not survive the trip. You can't draw any conclusions to what happened to this guy; I think just about everyone has had/will have a similar experience sooner or later. I've bought and acclimated 3 YLNs over the years and all went well, the next one could croak in QT, but I still consider them easy (for butterflies).