Fish not eating?

[jasonmarc]

Hi guys - nice message boards - I'm back to a salt tank after many years in college, grad school, fellowship, etc - so bear with me while I try to keep track of all the changes in the past decade!
Ok - I'm sure there are a bizillon messages about this aready, but here's my situation. Set up a new tank, have 2 TR ocellaris in there presently. Water parameters:
hydrometer 1.019 (I know, a little low)
pH 8.2
dKH 14
Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates all 0
temp 78/79
Had the clowns for about 3 days now - they're active, alert, responsive, and overall appear to be doing well. No interest in food whatsoever. Have frozen mysis as well as the same slow-sinking pellets they were raised on. Any advice on how long before I should worry about them not eating? Or is it possible they're eating when I'm not looking?
Thanks in advance - and I'm sure I'll have more questions to follow.
Jason

 

[scsinet]

Did you by chance see them eat before you purchased them?
How did you acclimate them to your tank?

 

[chickadee]

you can try enticing them by soaking their food in garlic xtreme (found at your LFS) they go crazy for it!
How long has your tank been setup? Welcome to the boards, and back to the hobby!
you should really try to raise your sg, i know you know it's low. The best way to raise it is to top off with saltwater instead of freshwater. This'll raise it slow enough.

 

[jasonmarc]

Nope - I didn't even think of asking to see them eat. Yes, another mistake...
I'm working on the sg - I was actually running into KH issues so left it somewhat lower while I got that straightened out... it hasn't been up very long - just long enough where I was getting stable KH and pH readings. Fish since SUnday.
acclimated by floating then doing the approx 1/4 cup tank water addition every 5 mins or so...
it's a fish-only (not even FOWLR) - I've also heard about using a bit of minced fresh garlic soaked with the food instead of purchasing something - any insights on that?
Thanks for kicking in some advice so far...

 

[chickadee]

well, the garlic xtreme is incredibly potent, so it goes a long way. Just one drop will be more than enough. you can do the normal garlic, but it worries me about pestacides and unwanted chemicals going into your tank. I ALWAYS use what's designed and made for aquarium use, or else you're risking some sort of contamination.
Clowns are pretty hardy, so not seeing them eat before purchase isn't that big of a deal, but when you get into more delicate fish, it's always best to see them eat prior to purchasing them. it's also not that uncommon for them to not eat when first introduced to the tank. Mine ate right away, but that's cause i bought them from ***** and they were probably starving.
just curious, you say you don't have LR, do you have any rock work at all? if not, it's a must to get some sort of rock or decor so that your fish can hide when they're frightened or stressed, otherwise they might start to stress too much which can kill them.
the technique you used to acclimate them is ok for clowns because they're so hardy, but the mest method is the drip method. you can look over on the left hand side of this website and click on the "acclimation" button. This is the best way to eliminate stress from the move. It allows them time to calm down a little bit, and it's not such a shock to go from one water setting to another. it's kinda like adjusting to the difference in oxygen while climbing a mountain. if you don't do it slowly, it'll cause problems. The same thing is true for acclimating anything in your tank, especially more delicate animals and inverts. Hope this helps, and ask away! Remember, the only stupid questions are the ones left unasked!!!

 

[jasonmarc]

Thanks Chickadee. I do have plenty of decor - a large barnacle cluster, a couple of pieces of dead coral, some fake coral, and fake "live rock" - it looks like the real stuff without all the benefits! lol
I wanted to use the drip method - but frankly, I forgot to buy a container in which to "drip" them, and was afraid the dishwasher may have left a little too much soap residue in the tupperware!
My concern was it had been a couple of days, and the tank is still way too sterile for them to be picking at any sort of algae growth, etc. But, I'll just keep an eye and see what happens (well, that and the garlic suggetion!)
And I can't believe you openly admit on here you bought fish at ***** - from some of the reactions of folks on here to much "lessor" offenses.... wow you're brave!

 

[readster]

yeah, definately never use anything to put fish in, other than a brand new, fish only bucket or container.

 

[mikeyjer]

If you get a frozen bar of cyclopeeze, it should work! Just swoosh it in your tank for a bit. Mine wouldn't eat anything at first, not even garlic soaked foods, but they're loving this stuff. They would eat anything now after they start eating the cyclopeeze. :happyfish

 

[jasonmarc]

Thanks Mikey - but what's that product?

 

[chickadee]

i agree with read, never put them in any kind of container that has been washed by anything besides water or used for any other purpose.
I feed my fish marine cuisine, which is a comination of mysis, baby brine, krill and other such items combined with garlic. They go crazy for it, and it's a varied enough diet that they stay nice and healthy and brightly colored. If you notice that they start to fade in color, that means they're not getting enough nutrients...
and yes, i've learned from experience to not shop at *****... unfortunately it was the hard way... i haven't shopped there since, and i refuse to even get crickets for my lizard. It's not all ***** chains, though, so don't stop shopping at ***** just cause you've heard bad things, but my chain is horrible ever since the really knowledgable employee left... I test my new fish stores before buying by asking questions i know the answer to. If they answer incorrectly, menos puntos, but if they answer correctly or say "i don't know, let me go check" then they get points. once the lose all of their points, i don't go there anymore... lol!

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by JasonMarc
Thanks Mikey - but what's that product?
Just go to your local LFS and ask for a frozen bar of Cyclopeeze, you can find out more information about them online, just type cyclopeeze in your search.... :happyfish