My Midas has HITH and now wont eat, can you help?

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My Midas has HITH and now wont eat, can you help?
We just adopted this cichlid, he's about 7inches long, a Midas (might be a Red Devil), and he had HITH when we got him.
we have been trying to get it fixed, changing the water, put him in our bigest tank by him self (a 55gl), and am trying to feed him good food.
but he doesnt seem to eat any thing when we put it in there....

can you shine some light onto this?
 
how long has it been since you got him and put him in the tank? if it hasn't been more than a couple of days then I wouldn't be too worried yet about him not eating. the larger a cichlid gets the harder it is for them to get used to being moved so it could take him up to a couple of weeks to start eating again.

one thing you can do if you get too concerned is turn the water temp up to around 80-82F. the increase in temp should kickstart his metabolism and make him more likely to start eating. after a few weeks after he gets comfortable in the tank and is eating normally then you can gradually decrease the tank temp back to 76-78F.

was the tank cycled before you put him in? just make sure to keep the water as clean as possible...I'd recommend doing 50% water changes at least once, maybe even twice a week. clean water and a healthy diet should are usually the best cure for HITH.

one thing to think about is what you think his diet might have been before you adopted him. it's possible he'd been fed on feeders a lot and if that's the case then it may take him even longer to find pellets to appear appetizing. I'd just give him some time but after 2 weeks or so if he's still not eating then I'd start to get a little concerned. oh and also make sure the tank is setup for him to feel comfortable. make sure he has one big cave hiding area where he can retreat to until he gets really comfortable in the tank. :)
 
Jason_S;1748648; said:
how long has it been since you got him and put him in the tank? if it hasn't been more than a couple of days then I wouldn't be too worried yet about him not eating. the larger a cichlid gets the harder it is for them to get used to being moved so it could take him up to a couple of weeks to start eating again.

one thing you can do if you get too concerned is turn the water temp up to around 80-82F. the increase in temp should kickstart his metabolism and make him more likely to start eating. after a few weeks after he gets comfortable in the tank and is eating normally then you can gradually decrease the tank temp back to 76-78F.

was the tank cycled before you put him in? just make sure to keep the water as clean as possible...I'd recommend doing 50% water changes at least once, maybe even twice a week. clean water and a healthy diet should are usually the best cure for HITH.

one thing to think about is what you think his diet might have been before you adopted him. it's possible he'd been fed on feeders a lot and if that's the case then it may take him even longer to find pellets to appear appetizing. I'd just give him some time but after 2 weeks or so if he's still not eating then I'd start to get a little concerned. oh and also make sure the tank is setup for him to feel comfortable. make sure he has one big cave hiding area where he can retreat to until he gets really comfortable in the tank. :)
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Thank you very much for you insight!

the fish has been in the tank for about a week and a half now, first he was in our 30 gl, then after our 55 was ready we moved him in there, last weekend. we have feeder fish, and shrimp, we think he's been eating the ghost shrimp we put in there, but we arnt sure, all the feeder fish are still in the tank. theres about 5 of them in there, small minos.
we are going to keep doing the water changes, and trying to feed him.
we dont have a large care for him, we are going to look into finding something large enough that he wont push over. her likes to dig around, and make holes in the sand, and he pushes over this small castle we have in there.
may be thats his way of sayin he wants a little house of his own.

thanks for you help!
 
yess they like to dig/push plant's and other decor around
 
pics would really help. Try some prepared food too, that's better than feeders imo.
 
Melafix or a strong dose of Lifeguard along with a raise in the temperature will most likely get rid of the HITH and help him get his appetite back.
 
yeah but his diet should be vitamin rich too, and his water i good condition. people say HITH is caused by a vitamin deficiency. usually when people feed their cichlids one food only, the fish dont get all of the nutrients they need.. unless youre feeding a really good pellet or prepared food.
meds will help, but you need to fix the source of the problem to prevent it from coming back and you having to medicate the fish again and possibly stress him/her out.
feeders arent a good staple diet for cichlids, you should look into some vitamin/nutrient rich pellets or something for his staple. give him feeders as treats.
of course if he was mainly fed on feeders before, you will need to wean him off of them, which may take a while. he probably wont eat the pellets until hes very hungry.
so.. turn up the temp a bit, feed him a new staple food, keep the water clean and maybe use some meds after/ontop of that and the HITH will most likely clear up pretty quickly. good luck.
 
Jason_S;1748648; said:
how long has it been since you got him and put him in the tank? if it hasn't been more than a couple of days then I wouldn't be too worried yet about him not eating. the larger a cichlid gets the harder it is for them to get used to being moved so it could take him up to a couple of weeks to start eating again.

one thing you can do if you get too concerned is turn the water temp up to around 80-82F. the increase in temp should kickstart his metabolism and make him more likely to start eating. after a few weeks after he gets comfortable in the tank and is eating normally then you can gradually decrease the tank temp back to 76-78F.

was the tank cycled before you put him in? just make sure to keep the water as clean as possible...I'd recommend doing 50% water changes at least once, maybe even twice a week. clean water and a healthy diet should are usually the best cure for HITH.

one thing to think about is what you think his diet might have been before you adopted him. it's possible he'd been fed on feeders a lot and if that's the case then it may take him even longer to find pellets to appear appetizing. I'd just give him some time but after 2 weeks or so if he's still not eating then I'd start to get a little concerned. oh and also make sure the tank is setup for him to feel comfortable. make sure he has one big cave hiding area where he can retreat to until he gets really comfortable in the tank. :)
Click to expand...

I am impressed with your good advice..just thought i would tell you..:D
 
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