I have a 4" GT that has stopped eating. It's been a long time now... about a month I'd say. He isn't interested in feeding time at all, but sometimes he'll take pellets in his mouth and immediately spit them out. He used to love those pellets. He seems to only eat bloodworms (I feed one or two cubes a week) and even then he's not very interested. He's lost a little bit of weight but still isn't skinny. He looks completely healthy, swims around a lot, and still comes to the glass to say hi. Any ideas? He used to eat quite a bit, and has completely lost interested. Parasites maybe?
GT that won't eat?
- Thread starter Psylant
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Behavior plays a huge role in diagnosing issues that effects eating habits. If he seems healthy and interactive i would dismiss a parasite issue. Naturally fish will go extended periods without eating (spawning, dry seasons). Keep an eye on him, keep offering him food, he should come around.... hope this helps!
If we as humans don't eat for 2 or 3 days our metabolism slows down and we get full off a small meal when we do decide to eat. You should try and get his metabolism going again by stuffing him with some live food.
This is what I would do. If they are eating the cubes somewhat I bet you can get him to eat the live bloodworms even more. If he will eat the live bloodworms, I would increase the temp to 86-87 degrees, stuff him with the live bloodworms for 3 or 4 days, then don't feed for 2 or 3 days. Assuming he was stuffed good, he'll be really hungry after this. Try and offer him pellets and he should accept. If he starts eating good again, you can drop the temp back to normal. If this fails and he's still not eating right, I would look into some medication. I've had success with live bloodworms soaked in metronidazole. This metronidazole worked even when they spit the food out, as long as they take it in for a second or two. This is just my approach, I hope some others chime in to give you some other pointers as well.
This is what I would do. If they are eating the cubes somewhat I bet you can get him to eat the live bloodworms even more. If he will eat the live bloodworms, I would increase the temp to 86-87 degrees, stuff him with the live bloodworms for 3 or 4 days, then don't feed for 2 or 3 days. Assuming he was stuffed good, he'll be really hungry after this. Try and offer him pellets and he should accept. If he starts eating good again, you can drop the temp back to normal. If this fails and he's still not eating right, I would look into some medication. I've had success with live bloodworms soaked in metronidazole. This metronidazole worked even when they spit the food out, as long as they take it in for a second or two. This is just my approach, I hope some others chime in to give you some other pointers as well.
Thanks for the tips. However, if I didn't feed for a couple days and jacked the temp up I think a lot of my fish would end up dead/beaten. They get pretty grumpy when they're hungry/hot
. I'm always sceptical to feed live food but I will as a last resort.
I just figured a temp change could help to give a sense of change which could in turn help him to eat, but it's not completely necessary. Live foods do wonders for fish who don't want to eat, I would give it a try. If you do use live, just make sure you rinse those bloodworms before feeding. What other fish do you have in the tank and how big are they?
If he's te smallest that could be te reason he's not eating. Does he get picked on a lot?
Well keep us posted. I'd like to know if he eats and how you got him to do it, if anything was done at all. I hope its just a normal hunger strike or something.