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[ian1287]

Hey guys I have a 6inch redfin pickerel that's been a treasure to have as fish keeper and the past 3 days she hasn't touched her food an I'm beginning to worry, what do I need to do to fix this problem

 

[Deadeye]

Welcome to the forum!
Any recent changes to the tank? What are the params and how often do you do water changes?
It’s not uncommon for predators to go on a hunger strike in response to some stressor.

 

[ian1287]

thank you! No recent changes at all. With it being a 90 gal tank with just her in it I do water changes once a month

 

[Deadeye]

How big of a water change do you do?
I would aim for every 2 weeks at the very least.

 

[kno4te]

What have you been feeding? Live food I assume? I’d wait it out a week and retry feeding. As already mentioned increase water changes but I’d suggest weekly and check with a test kit.

 

[ian1287]

How big of a water change do you do?
I would aim for every 2 weeks at the very least.

I do about 25-30% water changes.

 

[ian1287]

What have you been feeding? Live food I assume? I’d wait it out a week and retry feeding. As already mentioned increase water changes but I’d suggest weekly and check with a test kit.

What sort of test kit would u recommend? I've been feeding her live goldfish

 

[Deadeye]

25-30% a month is insufficient even on a less heavily stocked tank. Fish constantly produce ammonia, which is processed into nitrite, and then into nitrate. Nitrate can only be efficiently removed by water changes, so you need them to be large enough to drain an appreciable amount.
A good test kit is the API freshwater master test kit.
Live goldfish isn’t great - not only is there a risk for parasite transfer, but they contain a large thiamine content which isn’t healthy long term. If you can get it eating frozen foods, that would be best though not all fish take to it well.

 

[ian1287]

25-30% a month is insufficient even on a less heavily stocked tank. Fish constantly produce ammonia, which is processed into nitrite, and then into nitrate. Nitrate can only be efficiently removed by water changes, so you need them to be large enough to drain an appreciable amount.
A good test kit is the API freshwater master test kit.
Live goldfish isn’t great - not only is there a risk for parasite transfer, but they contain a large thiamine content which isn’t healthy long term. If you can get it eating frozen foods, that would be best though not all fish take to it well.

Okay should I increase the water change to about 50-60%? I usually do live goldfish on occasion an rosies. I can try frozen food. I will buy that kit right away!

 

[Deadeye]

Doing a water test is the best way to know how much you will need to do. The goal is for nitrate not to exceed 20 ppm, but the lower the better. 50-60% every week wouldn’t be unreasonable - though a test will say so. Typically I am doing 80% every other week on my tanks.
Any of my fish go crazy over frozen salmon.