I need help with my clownfish not eating.

[scubamedic]

I am very new to this hobby and I need a little help. I just got a mated pair of True Percula CF and the male does not seem to eat very much. These are actually my first SW fish. The female eats like a pig and is constantly going after anything that floats by. The male will pick at stuff occasionally but not very often. The pair have kind of adopted a cave in the LR as there home. The male seems to mainly hang out there and the female will venture around the tank. The male did roam around for a while last night, but it did not seem like he was searching for food. He looks good and his color is good. The tank has been set up for a couple of months with snails/crabs but these are the first fish in it.
I am not sure if he should be as active as the female in his search for food, or if he is acting normally.
I have tried slow sinking pellets, 2 different flake, dried blood worms, dried brine shrimp, tubifex worm cubes and frozen food. I have not tried live yet.
The tank does have lots of pods in it though. Could he just be filling up on these when I'm not watching?
I checked the water and everything was good. (ph, salinity, etc)
I also just noticed that his feces is white and stringy and does not seem to come off right away. I don't know if it is the same for the female because I have not seen any come out of her.
Is this a sign or symptom of anything?
He has also just been hanging out in the corner of the tank for the past few hours.
Any help would be appreciated. I don't want him to just fade away.
Thanks, Alan

 

[col]

Hi Alan
How long have you had the fish and where did you get them?
How do you know they are a mated pair and how do you know which is male/female?

 

[scubamedic]

I got them from ***********.com on the 23rd of this month. I just assume they are mated. They hang out together instead of fight. I am also assuming the bigger one is the female.

 

[twoods71]

It took mine around a week or so before they starting eating. If you are able to get live brine try that. Live food is very good at getting fish to eat and once they start eating they will usually adapt to almost anything.
Good luck with them.

 

[angus]

Besides trying different foods, make sure that the food you're offering is not too large. If the male is small, offer some really small pieces. The live brine shrimp might work as well.
My clownfish loves squid and mysis shrimp. Small pieces, and she'll eat like a pig. Big pieces, she'll spit them out. Since you just got these guys, I wouldn't panic yet, he'll come around. Good luck.

 

[col]

Alan
You are right, the largest will be the female.
My pair will eat anyhting, as long as it's small. If the food is too big for them they just leave it, but if the same food is in smaller form they gobble it all up.

 

[holacanthus]

He should start eating shortly. It is possible that he hasn't gotton used to his surroundings yet and dosn't feel like eating yet. Remember that fish are individualistic and each fish will acclimate to your tank differently! Keep trying the variety of foods, make sure they are appropriately sized, and keep us posted on the outcome!

 

[mightyoxjuice]

Kent also makes a product called "garlic extreme". The garlic stimulates the appetite of the fish and they tend to eat much quicker. Some people also use garlic to help ward off parasites.

 

[scubamedic]

I just wanted to give an update and thank everyone for the help.
I hatched out some brine and started feed them to the fish. He came around rather quickly. Boy do they love those things. I then fed the brine about 15 min before the timer to feed the pellets went off. I guess the feeding frenzy just continued. He now goes after the pellets as long as they are not to big. He is also eating the frozen food also.
He is now just as active and out in the open as the female is.
I have also ordered some Garlic stuff and the clownfish book.
Thanks again.

 

[saltysand]

so what is the white stingy stuff from?

 

[teresaq]

I was going to suggest garlic too, and if feed live brine you might want to enrich them. Good Luck

 

[fishguy84]

Originally Posted by mightyoxjuice
Kent also makes a product called "garlic extreme". The garlic stimulates the appetite of the fish and they tend to eat much quicker. Some people also use garlic to help ward off parasites.
YES. Garlic is very useful... I actually soak food in garlic every once in a while for 15 minutes before feeding, and all my fish go psichotic over it! But in any event, he might just be having a harder time acclimating than she is, or it could be that the food is a bit too large. Offer variety! Clowns love different types of foods, and the more variety, the healthier they'll be. As long as he's eating something for the time being, I wouldn't be too concerned. Just watch to make sure that his lack of appitite isn't manifesting itself in his appearence- ie, weight loss, loss of color, decreased activity- as that all may be signs of some other underlying problem if it continues for too long. But like myself and others said, try garlic. The worst that could happen is that you'll reek really bad, and nobody will want to go near you!