Miniatus Grouper

[ago33823]

I have a beautiful Miniatus that has grown by leaps and bounds, but all of a sudden he has stopped eating. I've had him for approximately 6 months and has doubled if not tripled in size. He has ALWAYS been a healthy eater (he will not eat live fish though) but he will take food out of the other fishes mouths sometimes, but he isn't aggressive towards any of my other fish . As a matter of fact he actually seems intimidated by our Yellow Tang for some reason. I called the fish store where we purchased all of our fish, but they said not to be too concerned right now since it's only been a few days. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? I was wondering if I should take out the live rocks for a while until he starts eating again. He will come out while I'm feeding but, he won't eat.

 

[flower]

Hi,

Welcome to the site! Yellow tangs get really aggressive as they mature. You can't remove the live rock because it houses the good bacteria that keeps the tank's nitrate cycle balanced. If you remove the rock, there won't be enough good bacteria to keep the ammonia levels safe.

If the fish is hiding in the rocks all of the time, and now is afraid to eat, and the tang seems to be what spooks him...I would guess the tang has become quite the bully. Tangs need about 6 foot of space to call their own, or battles for territory arise.

 

[ago33823]

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. We only see the Grouper at feeding time, he has never come out from the rocks to socialize the whole time we've had him. I'm just really concerned because he all of a sudden isn't eating. He watches me feed the others but won't come out, even with no one else around him. I have a 155 with only a Lion, Spiny Puffer, Stars & Stripes Puffer, Yellow Tang & The Grouper.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ago33823 http:///t/397840/miniatus-grouper#post_3547785
Thank you for the welcome and the advice. We only see the Grouper at feeding time, he has never come out from the rocks to socialize the whole time we've had him. I'm just really concerned because he all of a sudden isn't eating. He watches me feed the others but won't come out, even with no one else around him. I have a 155 with only a Lion, Spiny Puffer, Stars & Stripes Puffer, Yellow Tang & The Grouper.

Hi,

Well tank size isn't the problem...Are you sure he isn't eating?... There is food that gets lost deep in the rocks, and there are sea-bugs (for lack of a better way to put it) loaded all over and in the live rock, that he may be feeding off of.

 

[ago33823]

Ok, thank you so much, I didn't know if they would do that. I will continue to watch him and see what happens. Again thank you for the help