naso not eating, getting skinny-worried!

[l.i. geo]

I bought the naso tang three days ago, i can't get him to eat. I have tried brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, silversides, clams, spectrum thera + a pellets and also green seaweed and green lettuce.He's taken a couple of nips of the seaweed but nothing significant. If anyone had any ideas i would appreciate it!!!
GEORGE

 

[scotts]

try soaking the food in garlic juice first. I would suggest the brine and/or mysis just to get it started eating. When I first got mine it would not eat and I had to soak the food. Now it eats anything that I put in the tank.

 

[l.i. geo]

Thank You I'll Try That, I'll Let Ya Know

 

[l.i. geo]

just tried it, didnt work! but i'll keep at it!! thanks, i'm also gonna try live brine

 

[dinogeorge]

It’s not that unusual for a new fish to not eat for three, four or even five days. Once he gets used to your water quality, and his new surroundings, then chances are he’ll eat fine.
But, the fact that he ate a little something and then didn’t eat again suggests that he might have something else wrong. Gill flukes and ick are the two things that come to mind. Keep a close eye on his behavior and if he becomes really lethargic, then you should be ready to move him into a QT, assuming that you have one.

 

[scotts]

Dude, SOAK the food in the garlic. Think of the garlic as a marinade and you are trying to get the shrimp tasty before you feed it to to your fish. Let it soak for at least an hour to get the flavor in the shrimp. Also when you feed, walk away! Don't stick your nose on the glass to see if it eats, you will know if it does.
Sorry if this is sounding mean, I am actually amused at your enthusiasm for the well being of your fish. I know it wil eventually eat for you.
Scott

 

[aquaknight]

How big is he? Small juvi's or big show size will take a bit longer to start eating as well.
As mentioned SOAK the food in garlic for an hr. You're also feeding a pretty meaty diet for a Naso. Try feeding the other types of seaweed (red and purple) as well as some macro algaes. I just got a baby juvi Naso (~2.5") this past Thursday and he's been picking at the chaeto ball I have in QT. He also liked the red seaweed more.

 

[l.i. geo]

hes eating the seaweed now. just not the meaty foods.i put the garlic on the shrimp and i'm gonna keep at it, thanks scotts, i know the fish well being is fine.

 

[l.i. geo]

i dont feed my tangs that meaty of a diet. i was just trying to see if he would take any of them. thanks for your help guys

 

[wattsupdoc]

Originally Posted by L.I. GEO
hes eating the seaweed now. just not the meaty foods.i put the garlic on the shrimp and i'm gonna keep at it, thanks scotts, i know the fish well being is fine.
Great,

use a vitamin along with the garlic. Even on the seaweed. soah it good. Start mixing a little meaty stuff each each time you feed. Once he takes a bit or two, he'll be hooked. Mines a little pig!

 

[l.i. geo]

good advise, thank you, i'll try it in the morning

 

[l.i. geo]

still not taking meaty foods but i'm gonna keep at that garlic. i know hes not sick just adapting, i just need to be patient

 

[l.i. geo]

stiil not eating scotts, anymore advise, when i put the garlic soak frozen food in he goes through it like hes searching for something else, but he is being a slob with the seaweed. running out of ideas

 

[aquaknight]

Is he at least mantaining weigh? Or is he getting skinner? Maybe try the pellets again now that he's settled in a bit. Mine has started taking to them. Continue to feed a lot of seaweed though...

 

[l.i. geo]

gaining weight, he loves the seaweed now but still wont take the frozen food, i guess its just a matter of time. at least hes not deathly skinny anymore

 

[l.i. geo]

thanks i'll try those pellets again

 

[aquaknight]

Sure thing, lemme know how it goes.
You never posted how big he was? Free to toss a pic up too!

 

[l.i. geo]

he's 4", thanks for your help, i'll let ya know my progress

 

[scotts]

If it is eating the seaweed then don't try and force it to eat anything else. One thing to remember is that even though you know you are putting food in the tank, the fish probably does not know it is food. In the long run it may come around and eat meaty foods, but you have to be careful continually throwing food in there getting a fish to eat. The waste can throw off the balance in your tank.
If you want it to eat meat then I would suggest keep soaking the brine shrimp in garlic extract and sooner or later it will take a nibble and decide that it likes it. From there you can move on to other meaty foods like the mysis.
FYI people here do not recommend a diet of brine shrimp for fish. It is said that it tastes good but has little nutritional value, it is equivalent to you filling up on only lettuce.
Let's see a picture of your fish

 

[l.i. geo]

i dont overload my tank with food to get him to eat, just when its feeding time and i feed my fish a variety, not only brine. your the one that suggest starting the garlic with brine and mysis. thanks, i appreciate your help