Auriga Butterfly Not Eating

[jamesp]

I bought a Auriga Butterfly on 12/15 and so far he isn't eating. I've tried Romaine Lettuce, Ghost Shrimp and a variety of frozen foods.
Is this normal? Any Ideas?
Thanks, JamesP

 

[karajay]

Anything in the tank it could be grazing on?

 

[blueface]

I hate to say it but I think he's doomed. Butterflies are so thin that they can hardly afford to go on an extended fast w/o a death in their future. LOL

 

[lesleybird]

All my angelfish.....majestic, flame, and lemonpeel angelfish like something called Bioblend bottom feeder fish food by Marineland labs. These are green pellets about the size of a dime that slowly soften. My fish all love them when they are placed on a small rock with a rubberband on the bottom of the tank. They can then peck at them for a couple of hours without them dissoulving and polluting the tank. Don't let the picture of the catfish on the bottle scare you as they are for all types of fish. I know you have a butterfly, but they are grazers like angelfish. They also love Seaweed Selects seaweed sheets placed on a rock with a rubber band. They come in green and red....my fish like both, but the red is softer. Don't bother with lettuce as the nutrition is very poor. Go immediatly to buy some of these items before it is too late for your fish. I find the fish take a lot faster to eating to food on a rock compared to a feeding clip which scares some fish at first. In nature these types of fish graze on rocks all day long. Maybe in time you can get your fish to eat flake or some other items but a lot of older fish caught in the wild may not have been use to the items you were giving and not recognize them as food at first. Good luck, Lesley

 

[jamesp]

Thanks all for your help! I will answer the questions the best I can.
Originally posted by karajay
Anything in the tank it could be grazing on?
I haven't seen him grazing on anything yet. Could be eating at night when the lights go off and I'm in bed.
Does the fish have any reddened areas around the nose, mouth or gills? Is it swimming and breathing normally?
I haven't seen any redness yet. He cruses the tank pretty good. As for breathing, I don't know how to tell.
What all else is in the tank and what is the tank size?
I have a Naso Tang and a Clarkii Clown. Tank size is 125g.
I have attached a image of him. I just took it 5 minutes ago.

 

[psufan43]

GO THE SEAFOOD DEPT OF YOUR FOOD STORE GET A LIVE MUSCLE
I HAD A PAKISTAN, A WHITE FACE, AND DOT DASH NOT ONE OF THEM ATE FOR THE FIRST 2 DAYS, THEY WERE GETTING THIN, BROUGHT A MUSCLE CRACKED IT OPEN, WORKED ALL 3 TIMES.

 

[saltfin]

My fish just about flipped over garlic soaked frozen shrimp and formula one combination. 2 drops per teaspoonful of actual thawed food with a thimble of their tank water to help thaw. When food is as warm as tank water I sparingly drip in some. The battle is on.
Best luck! I have Heniochus, Maroon Cln, 2 Yellow Tangs, Coral Bandit Shrimp, 3 stripe Humbug damsel.

 

[nerdy]

I had always heard that butterflies really only dined on live food and not so much frozen foods!!! I could be wrong though!