Fish Won't Eat

[threedifferentco]

So I'm cycling my aquarium with a small amount of fish with the idea of adding more Green tiger barbs.

I have 1 Cory Cat, 1 Albino Tiger Barb, and 2 Green Tiger Barbs.

One of the Green barbs has not been eating. It's fairly obvious in the way the fish act that he is on the bottom of the pecking order. The other barbs chase him away from the food and he has taken to hiding in the corner during feeding time. After a week, I feel he hasn't eaten. The other barbs are very active at feeding time coming up to the surface before I even put food in. I've tried adding a little more food hoping the the other barbs would be distracted and the other could get a bite to eat.

So far nothing has worked. Today I placed him in a separate bowl and removed him from the sight of the other tank. I added a generous portion of food in the thought that if he wasn't being bullied he would be able to eat a solid meal. But he just sat there and watched all the flakes of food fall slowly to the bottom. He is very inactive tending to sit in one spot for long periods of time.

Is there anything I can do???

Thanks for all your help

-Adam-

 

[sandtiger]

Putting the fish in a bowl won't help. There will be no oxygen being pumped into the water, since there is no bacteria ammonia will build up and the fish is likely very stressed from that kind of move and won't eat anyway. I suggest getting one of those breeding nets, putting it in the main tank and letting him stay in there till the tank is fully cycled and you can add more barbs. What re the readings as of now?

 

[ShadowBass]

What size is the tank?

You never want to add fish while you're cycling. In a very large tank you may be able to get away with it because it will take longer for waste to build up, but generally you want to wait until you aren't showing ammonia or nitrites anymore before you add more fish.

 

[threedifferentco]

The readings are (as of last night)

Ammonia - 1.0
Nitrite - 0.1ish (between 0 and .25
Nitrate - 0

The tank is a 10 gallon, and I will be adding fish after the tank is cycled. I messed up bad the first time, so this time I'm just going to take my time.

I'll look into a breeder net. Is there anything I can do before I get to a store?

 

[ShadowBass]

The readings are (as of last night)

Ammonia - 1.0
Nitrite - 0.1ish (between 0 and .25
Nitrate - 0

The tank is a 10 gallon, and I will be adding fish after the tank is cycled. I messed up bad the first time, so this time I'm just going to take my time.

I'll look into a breeder net. Is there anything I can do before I get to a store?

Oops, sorry, it looked like you were wanting to add fish right away.

You're showing nitrites which means you're probably halfway through.

Your fishes poor appetite may have nothing to do with the other fish, but the ammonia level. I'd try to get it back down to .25 and keep it there. There's no need to let rise higher while cycling. Add an ammonia neutralizer if you're not already.

I wouldn't worry about that particular fish at the moment. Unless it's getting torn up by the other fish it will be fine in the main part of the tank for now. Fish can go a long time without eating.

 

[sandtiger]

I would think that if it were the ammonia causing the fish not to eat the others wouldn't as well. Though I suppose it could be a combination of that and the stress from the other fish and perhaps it's a particularly sensitive individual.
Threed; don't be suprised if you loose that and any other fish. Using fish to cycle is very hard on them.

 

[ShadowBass]

I would think that if it were the ammonia causing the fish not to eat the others wouldn't as well. Though I suppose it could be a combination of that and the stress from the other fish and perhaps it's a particularly sensitive individual.
Threed; don't be suprised if you loose that and any other fish. Using fish to cycle is very hard on them.

You would think that but it's not always the case.

I've seen tanks with large ammonia spikes where all fish were acting fine and only one showed signs of stress, even with several of the same species.

 

[jagr200]

I made the mistake awhile back of wanting fish right off the bat. It was an impulse move on my part and I was like "I had fish when I was a kid, I want more right now" So I went and bought a tank and the cheapest fish they had. I got 4 fire tail mollys and 2 Flame Dwarf Gouramis. I think together they cost under $10. Once my tank was setup I waited probaly 12 hours before I went and got the fish at the store and put them in. It looked really great until I started doing research! I then learned of the cycling process which I never knew about when I was a kid so I ran down and check on my tank. I noticed that the water was kinda cloudy but the fish looked fine but about three days later all four of the mollys were dead but the Gouramis were still fine. Now 2.5 months later the Gouramis are doing great and I have added a Dwarf Bristlenose Pleco, a Gold Gourami, a Neon Blue Gourami, a Spotted Cory, and a Albino Cory. I also VERY heavily planted my tank because I know most male gouramis dont get along but mine do amazing. I had 2 gold Gouramis but had to return one because it was a fin nipper and he totally mangled my other Gold Gourami. I was really worried when I noticed how bad the Gold looked but about 5 days after returning the one it looked great. So now I have no fin nippers and they all do great together. I love Gouramis they are such little characters!!!