Help with w/c fingerling Flathead catfish not feeding 2 weeks

[badassissimo]

Good afternoon! I recently got a little fingerling from the LFS. One of the staff got it out the river. I live next to the Mississippi River. I'm very happy to have this flathead catfish because I'm a fan of large ambush predators. I have larger aquariums to put him in when the time comes. For the moment, my issue is feeding. Doesn't seem interested in eating. I think I saw him snap a live guppy once but am not sure. He could have just been spooked and done. LFS said he probably feeds at night. I can't tell that it's him eating the pellets or what. I have a pleco about his same size and a crab. I thought the crab would be long gone. I'm confused and curious what I can do. Foods I've tried: live guppies, cut catfish filet, frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, flake food (for other fish but it was introduced), sinking carnivore pellet, sinking bottom feeder shrimp pellet, and there are plants. It's been about two weeks and he still has a decent body but I thought I would have seen something. While introducing fish, I have used melafix and pimafix as well as several doeses of stress coat. I think if there was a need for medication, it was satisfied by now. Tank levels are good. No nitrite. ph is 7. ammonia is between 0 and .25 depending on how close it is to water change. Let me know what you think. C Citrinellus Hoyo12

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

You've tried a pretty good array. I'd go on with fish pieces, shrimp, etc. at nights, say a few times a week. Take out what's uneaten. Repeat in a few days. Can try soaking in garlic sauce and/or VitaChem to make it more attractive.

I think and I know ammonia must be firmly at zero ppm regardless of WC's or feedings, etc. I'd recommend using a test tube of known ammonia free water for reference when you measure ammonia in your fish tank because such small differences between 0.25 ppm and under 0.25 ppm versus zero ppm are often very hard or impossible to detect using the provided color chart.

What is the size of the catfish?

In general catfish can fast for a long time, with some size on them for many months.

I'd expect a w/c fish to be the most stubborn of course to wean onto new, unfamiliar, non-live feeds. So it will take time and patience.

I personally would never offer it live feeder fish, even if the flathead chose to rather die.

If all fails, please, don't even think releasing it back into the wild. This'd be irresponsible and illegal, not to mention that to do what your LFS had done requires a special collection for sales license, which I'd assume your LFS and that collector of the wild flathead doesn't possess, so we are already on a pretty thin ice with this whole case. Again, I assume. Perhaps better to not even inquire with the LFS.

 

[Terraphyte Tank Guy]

Good afternoon! I recently got a little fingerling from the LFS. One of the staff got it out the river. I live next to the Mississippi River. I'm very happy to have this flathead catfish because I'm a fan of large ambush predators. I have larger aquariums to put him in when the time comes. For the moment, my issue is feeding. Doesn't seem interested in eating. I think I saw him snap a live guppy once but am not sure. He could have just been spooked and done. LFS said he probably feeds at night. I can't tell that it's him eating the pellets or what. I have a pleco about his same size and a crab. I thought the crab would be long gone. I'm confused and curious what I can do. Foods I've tried: live guppies, cut catfish filet, frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, flake food (for other fish but it was introduced), sinking carnivore pellet, sinking bottom feeder shrimp pellet, and there are plants. It's been about two weeks and he still has a decent body but I thought I would have seen something. While introducing fish, I have used melafix and pimafix as well as several doeses of stress coat. I think if there was a need for medication, it was satisfied by now. Tank levels are good. No nitrite. ph is 7. ammonia is between 0 and .25 depending on how close it is to water change. Let me know what you think. C Citrinellus Hoyo12

Hello bad...

If you've been keeping this tank extremely clean with large, weekly water changes, then the fish are very healthy, right. Then, the chances of a healthy fish in pure water conditions, being infected by some pathogen is very, very remote. A fish tank is no place for chemicals of any kind other than the standard one that removes chemicals the public water people put into the tap to make the water safe to drink. Besides, the fish are in great health because of all your large, weekly water changes. So, as for the new fish, it's probably in shock from being moved from its habitat to a cube of water that may have a totally different water chemistry. I'm sure your LFS person didn't test the river water. So, good luck with the new fish. I hope this works out for you.

TTG

 

[wynnyelle]

in my experience large predatory catfish do almost all of their feeding in the dark. i'd just keep a bunch of guppies and ghost shrimps in there and give it time. You will rarely see them make a catch but trust me they are making them.

 

[Duckman77]

I have kept small flathead recently. They really love caves. I used the softer black pvc type y-elbows for this purpose. Once they were comfortable in the cave I dropped some sinking carnivore pellets or small bits of raw shrimp at the entrance. Some would eat right away, some were more stubborn, but they all ate eventually. Lights out/night feeding may help, but you may not get confirmation that it is eating. Good luck!

 

[badassissimo]

good deal. I'm dealing with something. I had some kind of bacteria or whatever on an archer and it ended up dying. my other archer has less of it and seems to be doing good. eating well as well. the flat head has two spots on him that I dont know are from heater or something else. the heater is raised in the tank so I suspect the pleco or more bacteria. using melafix. gotta get some stuff today for bacteria or whatever this is.

 

[badassissimo]

good news! caught him being active at night and switched to night crawlers. He'll eat the night crawlers

 

[wynnyelle]

Glad to hear the good news! He will grow REALLY fast on nightcrawlers.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

From the little I understand, it is the best to let the worms empty themselves of the soil they carry inside. IIRC it may be a source of pathogens.