Percs not eating

shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
I posted this in the fish discussion board but I was hoping for a little quicker answer. I got 2 new percs 2 days ago and they've been in my tank for 36hours and still no eating. I've tried mysis, flake, and seaweed sheets with no luck. They just watch the food float by. These are my water params
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate- 10
pH- 8.3
Temp- 79
Salinity- 1.024
I acclimated them with the drip method. What are your suggestions? Should I get the garlic stuff? Thanks.
 
timo

timo

Member
Relax...Often these fish will wait several days. What did they eat at the store? Beware of fouling the tank with the feeding attempts.
 
timsedwards

timsedwards

Active Member
No need to worry at all, be more worried about the ammonia levels if you keep on throwing food in!
Give them a few days, then try garlic.
Tim.
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
I did just check my ammonia levels and there were up so I am promptly doing a 25% water change. Well, I learned alot with this little not eating thing...any food that isn't eaten=bad. Anyway thanks everyone.
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
Ok...back again. I went and bought some kent garlic extract and I soaked some mysis in it and it still has not lured them to eat yet. They are moving around the tank more so thats a good sign I think. I am going to call the LFS that I bought them from and ask what they were being fed so if they don't eat the mysis or flake I'll try what they used. Has anyone else had any problems similar to this? If so...what did you do? Am I worrying too much? These are my first fish besides devils(I mean damsels...) so I am still learning. I am holding back trying to feed them all the time for fear of the ammonia spiking again. Anyway, thanks again for your help.
 
balashark21

balashark21

Member
mine go crazy over this stuff(they would spit out formula one. they would nibble on brine) its called:hikari tropical(for smaller marine fish) marine S. it comes in a pouch and has a pic of a false perc, blue damsel and 6line. they go crazy over this stuff!!!
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
I've heard many a story but something to throw at you....
Sometimes they won't eat due to acclimation stresses. No matter what precautions you take there is always some stress associated with that.
I've also heard something about anemone fish disease and wild caught fish. A guy i worked with who's done salt for years and years said that they need to be dewormed sometimes and the sign is they won't eat for a couple weeks. I don't have much in the ways of facts or experience on this but do a search for that, maybe, and see what you can find....
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
Ok, well I finally got them to go after some food. The only problem is they don't like the mysis or the flake. They just suck it in and spit it out. I think it might be possibly to big for them. Do you think that is the case? I called the lfs I bought them from and they told me they usually always feed brine. So I think I should go out and buy some but I was just wondering if brine is smaller than the mysis? Thanks.
 
clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
I have a mix that contains mysis, and if I have correctly ID'd the mysis out of the mix, then I say brine is much smaller. Just remember, brine is not very nutritional by itself. For now, if they were eating brine at the LFS, go buy some (all fish seem to eat this first off). In time they wont be too picky and you can then add in the other foods you have. Good luck :)
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member

Originally posted by Shoreliner11
I did just check my ammonia levels and there were up so I am promptly doing a 25% water change. Well, I learned alot with this little not eating thing...any food that isn't eaten=bad. Anyway thanks everyone.

I hope by now they have started eating. 2 percs with a 20g tank is a significant bioload. Your experience is exactly why I always recommend not feeding for the first week or until nitrItes come down. Your ammonia is up because of the percs and made higher because of the uneaten food. Once the nitrItes spike and come down they will start eating. But with the uneaten food, the nitrItes may never come down, weaken the fish and you may lose them.
I hope that does not happen and they are eating and healthy by this time
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
also find out how long the lfs had them before you picekd them up...if they have just received them and then you purchased them, they are going to be even more stressed out!
good luck
jon
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
Well...I have got them to eat...a little. I finally got brine but they seem to spit out 90% of the ones they eat. They do eat better at night though, anyone know why? If they were mating up with this cause them not to eat as much. The smaller one won't leave the others side and they'll do funny wiggles every now and then. Thanks
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
They could be mating. They usually do that. It's kind of like flirting and it could just be a dominance thing. Its something nice to watch.....
Keep trying. Mine spit out his food sometimes in the beginning but as long as they take in something.... They will be voracious eventually. Could it be its to big? How big were they? Brine is about as small as it gets. A fish will spit out food if they can't swallow it but i find it hard to believe brine is to big for them unless they are tiny tiny....
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
I was thinking the same thing. They aren't that small though, about 1.5 and 1.75 inch. But they even spit out the hikari marine S which is really tiny as well. Maybe they'll figure out soon that this is all they're gonna get (though I have tried everything already).
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
Np, balashark. Now I just have enough food to last a year or so with the most varied diet possible. :D I'm sure they'll come around...I think. One more thing to add to this, earlier today I saw what looked kinda like detritus hanging of one of the percs it was kind long and it was mostly clear. Its gone now but I heard stories of fish's intestines going out that way if they were caught with cyanide(or whatever they use). My percs were aquacultured so its not that but I was just curious. Thanks again.
 
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