Fish has stopped eating so far as I know

[FishHobby99]

I am experiencing a perplexing problem with a 5” peacock OB. He came to me about 6 weeks ago and was added to a tank of ~ 30 cichlids, all smaller. He made attempts to take over as the Boss, mostly by chasing the established boss. I was going to let them work it out, assuming the aggression remained minor.
After about a week, I noticed the new OB never participated in the daily feeding frenzies. I observed him more closely & never saw him eat up to and including now. He has rejected every food in the book, including peas. I put him in his own tank, a 40 G. He looks good and swims about. I can‘t imagine he has lasted over a month without eating.
The plan is to not rerurn him to the other tank and add some peacock females to his new tank & upgrade the size later on. But I am so conflicted. I do not want to create a stressful situation with the girls. I want to emergize the male so to speak. I have 4 female peacock OBs i got from a local guy. They are maybe 6 months old and 3+ inches. They are doing well in the big tank & this male left them alone during their brief time together. I am desperate for insight & advice.
thanks

I have over 100 fish in 9 tanks here. All are well. Good params and diet.

EDIT: I am being advised by my Facebook friends to add MetroPlex to the tank. I see this is an antibiotic that treats protozoan & other infections. This fish is asymptomatic other than his lack of appetite. Is there a downside to treating a fish that may not have an infection? Thank you.

 

[Rocky998]

I am experiencing a perplexing problem with a 5” peacock OB. He came to me about 6 weeks ago and was added to a tank of ~ 30 cichlids, all smaller. He made attempts to take over as the Boss, mostly by chasing the established boss. I was going to let them work it out, assuming the aggression remained minor.
After about a week, I noticed the new OB never participated in the daily feeding frenzies. I observed him more closely & never saw him eat up to and including now. He has rejected every food in the book, including peas. I put him in his own tank, a 40 G. He looks good and swims about. I can‘t imagine he has lasted over a month without eating.
The plan is to not rerurn him to the other tank and add some peacock females to his new tank & upgrade the size later on. But I am so conflicted. I do not want to create a stressful situation with the girls. I want to emergize the male so to speak. I have 4 female peacock OBs i got from a local guy. They are maybe 6 months old and 3+ inches. They are doing well in the big tank & this male left them alone during their brief time together. I am desperate for insight & advice.
thanks

I have over 100 fish in 9 tanks here. All are well. Good params and diet.
View attachment 162631

Yah seems like he was just a but stressed being in a larger group... I would keep him in the separate tank and maybe even keep him single.

Seems like you're doing the right thing

 

[connorlindeman]

you seem to be doing everything correctly. I don't know what else to suggest.

 

[FishHobby99]

Yah seems like he was just a but stressed being in a larger group... I would keep him in the separate tank and maybe even keep him single.

Seems like you're doing the right thing

But he’s discussing polygamy with the fish in the next tank. Bad Boy!

 

[Slaphppy7]

@Wills , any thoughts?

 

[Rocky998]

But he’s discussing polygamy with the fish in the next tank. Bad Boy!

Mmm... Not good

 

[Colin_T]

If a fish isn't eating, there is either something wrong with the water and tank, or there is something wrong with the fish. In this case it is probably the fish due to you having other tanks and fish that are fine.

Has the fish eaten at all since you got it?
Has it pooped since you got it?
What are you feeding it?
What was it being fed on before you got it?
Have you tried live and frozen foods?

What is the pH and GH of the water?

It could be an old fish that is sick or dying.
It could have an infection in the mouth/ throat.

You could try adding some salt (2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres (5 gallons) of tank water. Keep salt in there for 2-4 weeks. If there's no improvement after 2 weeks then stop using it.

Maybe try a broad spectrum fish medication that treats fungus and bacteria (preferably not an antibiotic).

 

[FishHobby99]

you seem to be doing everything correctly. I don't know what else to suggest.

Thanks for your kind words.

If a fish isn't eating, there is either something wrong with the water and tank, or there is something wrong with the fish. In this case it is probably the fish due to you having other tanks and fish that are fine.

Has the fish eaten at all since you got it?
Has it pooped since you got it?
What are you feeding it?
What was it being fed on before you got it?
Have you tried live and frozen foods?

What is the pH and GH of the water?

It could be an old fish that is sick or dying.
It could have an infection in the mouth/ throat.

You could try adding some salt (2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres (5 gallons) of tank water. Keep salt in there for 2-4 weeks. If there's no improvement after 2 weeks then stop using it.

Maybe try a broad spectrum fish medication that treats fungus and bacteria (preferably not an antibiotic).

Would Instant Ocean sea salt be ok? Do you recommend the salt & broad spectrum fish med at the same tIme? I ordered MetroPlex from Amazon.
thanks for your helpful response. I have never seen him eat or poop. He appears healthy & looks good. i have tried every food under the sun.

 

[Rocky998]

Thanks for your kind words.

Would Instant Ocean sea salt be ok? Do you recommend the salt & broad spectrum fish med at the same tIme? I ordered MetroPlex from Amazon.
thanks for your helpful response. I have never seen him eat or poop. He appears healthy & looks good. i have tried every food under the sun.

Something like API salt is good. You don't want sea salt

 

[Rocky998]

Thanks, ordered just now from Amazon.

Hopefully it can help

 

[Colin_T]

Sea salt is fine for Rift Lake cichlids, rainbowfish and livebearers but not other types of fish. Rock salt (aquarium salt) is a lot cheaper than marine salt and also works.

Have you tried live brineshrimp?

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Don't mix medications and salt, just try salt first and if no improvement, try a medication.

Metroplex contains Metronidazole, which can treat internal protozoan parasites in fish. Fish with internal protozoan infections do a stringy white poop, don't eat as much as normal, and lose weight over a week or two. Eventually the fish die.

If the fish hasn't done stringy white poop and hasn't lost any weight, it is unlikely to be an internal protozoan infection.

 

[FishHobby99]

Sea salt is fine for Rift Lake cichlids, rainbowfish and livebearers but not other types of fish. Rock salt (aquarium salt) is a lot cheaper than marine salt and also works.

Have you tried live brineshrimp?

----------------
Don't mix medications and salt, just try salt first and if no improvement, try a medication.

Metroplex contains Metronidazole, which can treat internal protozoan parasites in fish. Fish with internal protozoan infections do a stringy white poop, don't eat as much as normal, and lose weight over a week or two. Eventually the fish die.

If the fish hasn't done stringy white poop and hasn't lost any weight, it is unlikely to be an internal protozoan infection.

What medication would you recommend? MetroPlex was suggested in a Facebook Group. Yes, it gets protozoan, but certain bacterial infections as well. Is there something better?

 

[Colin_T]

I don't recommend any chemical or antibacterial medication until we figure out what is wrong with the fish. Salt treats some minor bacterial and fungal infections and is the first thing to try. Then a broad spectrum liquid medication. Finally if all else fails, antibiotics can be tried but they should only be used as a last resort on known bacterial infections that haven't responded to normal treatments.

Metronidazole is an antibiotic designed for people, not for fish. It should be used only if necessary.

--------------------
Have you tried live brineshrimp or live daphnia for the fish?

 

[FishHobby99]

i tried frozen brine & if he ate any, it was not in my presence.. Where would I get the live foods you mention? Call the local petshops?

the only salts I have here now are Instant Ocean & table salt. Per someone’s suggestion i ordered API Aquarium salt. Will arrive tomorrow. Would any of these be ok? You mentioned, as I recall, rock salt. Is that something grocery stores sell?

What antibiotic would you recommend, if it gets to that. Thanks so much for all your helpful advice, much appreciated. Again, this fish is asymptomatic other than the eating issue.

 

[FishHobby99]

Colin,

A guy in a Facebook Group is saying API Aquarium salt is ordinary table salt & indeed, so far as I can determine, it appears to be NaCl. So looks like I paid $10 for a $1 item, , but minor issue. The FB guy is saying use Cichlid Lake Salt which has a more complex formulation. is this the best salt for my purpose?