Geos not eating anymore

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Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 18, 2009
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Nunya
Hi I have 4 geos (abalios I think) in my tank with 4 cichla, 3 tinfoil barbs and 1 silver arowana. Come feeding time, the geos go to the opposite side of the tank that I feed on. They used to come up for food like everyone else, but over the last few days they aren't :( I try to spot feed them but the flinch at the sight of my hand hoverin over them and swim away, then the other fish eat what I dropped for them. I don't know what to do..

Do you guys think the other fish are bullying them, making them scared to compete? They used to be at the top as far as pecking order is concerned but lately the bass are starting to take over as they get bigger. The barbs get beat up from time to time but they still get in there and eat plenty. The arowana is not aggressive at all. All fish are nearing 4 inches, arowana is about 7 or 8.

What should I do? I love the geos and would gladly get rid of the barbs for them, but the bass and arowana are here to stay for good. Is there any way I can get them eating again?
 
If they get hungry enough, they should eat unless they are being whipped by the pbass. I have adult abalios, and they are very skittish. They have been that way since I got them about 4 years ago. I assume yours are sifting through the substrate, correct? See if a small sinking food can be placed in the tank and scattered to where it is hard for pbass and barbs to get it all. Geos can get it through the day while sifting. I am thinking of something like the New Life Spectrum 1 mm size. My abalios love the NLS, but I use a medium size pellet since I feed it to larger cichlids in other tanks too.
 
What size pellets are you offering?
In nature many Geos feed on very small crustaceans, detritus and molluscs.
Although the size of their mouths may give the impression they can take large items, the reality may be quite different. And very different from the size items the other species in your tank prefer.
 
I am feeding massivores which I break up into small enough pieces for everyone to eat. I don't think it's a pellet size issue. The general skittishness of the geos lately leads me to believe that they are being bullied or at least intimidated. Most likely the latter, as they don't have any marks on them or any evidence of being physically harassed. Is it possible that they are just scared of the bass since they are getting bigger?
 
what I do with my geos is toss a bunch of small size pellets in front of the power head and it blows them all over, I find this works for me. I find my geos only eat the sinking pellets, wont come anywhere near the top usually.
 
I really don't want to spread food out like that and have it rot if they don't find it. I'm thinking I may have to rehome them :(
 
It's very possible they're being intimidated. I recently rearranged some fish and removed a large pair of Krobia guianensis from my 6' community tank. As soon as they were gone, my geos colored up and started spawning. Sometimes the presence of larger fish looming around will make more passive species feel unsettled. If your bass are very active and aggressive at feeding time, the movement of the bass darting around at food may spook the geos which would explain why they retreat to the other side of the tank.

Are they still sifting? They may be getting some food from the substrate.
 
So they're otherwise acting relatively normally without indications of an illness, but then they retreat at feeding time? Sounds to me like either
a) as already suggested, they're being stressed or intimidated by the more aggressive fish-- or
b) they taken a dislike to the food.

I've had "b" happen before, so it can happen. In fact, once had some frontosa go completely into hiding when I tried to get them on Thera-A, wouldn't come out at all-- for weeks-- until I gave it up and went back to their normal foods (including cichlid formula NLS), after which their behavior returned to normal within a day or two, being out and about, etc. Another example is I had a wild rotkeil severum act disinterested and not eat much until I fed something she liked better.

One thing that suggests this to me is I don't know how good massivore is for your abalios, not what I'd feed them, anyway-- for starters it's one of the highest percentage foods in ash I've ever seen; also, I won't feed any product with soybean meal as an ingredient (good bit of study has shown soy in many forms can cause intestinal inflammation in fish, some species more sensitive than others), and protein levels almost too high for geos once they've passed early growth stages. Call it an educated opinion, but for the sake of not arguing over food-- just my opinion.

What sometimes happens is at a small size some fish will eat anything available, but after a certain stage of growth they can get more particular. But I'm not saying that's the answer, just a possibility. Stress itself can also inhibit eating. Fish have a tight energy budget and stress hormones tax their energy budget. Some fish respond by not eating or not eating much. The worry here is if they're stressed now, what happens as the cichla get bigger and more boisterous?

As far as worries about food getting lost and rotting, not much of a risk with geos behaving normally (or if you have plecos or catfish), unless maybe your tank is set up to trap food in inaccessible places. They're really good at finding any leftover bits and, in fact, could already be doing this after the other fish are finished eating.
 
They are totally fine with the bass except for feeding time. They all hang out during the day with no problems but I bet it's the bass aggressive eating style that gets em scared.

I have thought of changing the food too but the bass are going to eat anything that goes into the tank and I want to save room in their bellies for the massivores and Freeze dried krill. I don't know how good of a food massivores are either. I have heard nothing but great things from other hobbyists and online reviews but something tells me it shouldn't be a staple. I plan on getting them on frozen market shrimp and silversides or smelt with the massivores as only a supplement. But Im trying to grow them out a bit first so I don't have to chop everything up into super small pieces as that takes forever lol
 
I bet they are getting some food somehow cause they look perfectly healthy and they sift all day
 
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