Jaguar not eating..

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moespeaking

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 9, 2006
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Massachusetts
I have a jaguar about 4-5 inches in total length who ive had for about 3 months. I originally had him in a 60 gallon tank along with 3 small aquatic turtles. This was only temporary until i can get him another tank. first two months he was eating very readily, though the last month he seems to shy away for the turtles so he is eating a lot less only when he felt safe enough to snag something. So i emptied out my community tank (29g) and tossed him in there with only a bushy nose pleco. hes been in their for about a week now and just seems to refuse to eat. all water tested good no ammonia no nitrites 20ppm nitrate and 7.3 ph. I threw in about 10 feeders to entice him he ate maybee one and killed the other nine (they were shredded up so i knew he killed em and they didnt just die). ive been trying krill which used to be his favorite. ive tried earthworms frozed foods just about anythign i can think of. He also doesnt seem as active as he once was except for his or hers constant digging.


it just seems weird to me does anyone have any advice or input on the situation . all comments welcome

btw if he/she makes a good recovery il be moving em into atleast a 75 with only a pleco. within the next couple months. i know a 29 is small.
 
are there any bumps or anything that may indicate internal blockage? nothing else is phisically wrong with em? not diseases or parasites or fungus?

if not that is weird. but you may want to try some kind of frozen food that has a stronger odor so he may want to eat it more. just keep trying to give him foods he cant refuse!:popcorn:
 
moespeaking;694498; said:
well he has sunken belly but i figure that is just from not eating.
Click to expand...

oops didn't post quick enough .. sunken belly in most cases is internal parasites look for anything poking out the business end like a white worm (they come out sometimes when the fish is still)
 
my poly had a worm and didn't eat for a while. look for a red "hickie" looking thing on his side eventually a worm bore a hole out of him. i picked it out and burnt it. damn thing almost killed my favorite fish!!!
 
can anyone recommend a good medication for internal parasites. i can remove the pleco so the jag would be the only one in the tank. i would be treating him in the 29.
 
digging at that age does not indicate stress. digging at any age for cichlids is perfectly normal behavior, especially in such a small tank where he really doesn't have anything else to do.

imo his behavior sounds perfectly normal. you took him from a larger home where he had plenty of room to swim around to a much smaller home where he is very confined. he is going to sulk for a while until he gets used to the newer, cramped quarters. put that together with the fact that the move alone will stress him enough for him to not eat for a week or two. I definitely woulnd't start worrying yet.

also, if he hasn't eaten in several days or even a week then his belly will sink in a little bit. I have a trimac that is a very particular eater and when I ran out of krill (his favorite food) I tried other foods for days trying to get him onto pellets (which never worked unfortunately) and his belly was starting to sink in a bit. I finally had to cave and get more krill and he's eating like a pig again. point being I wouldn't go treating for anything until you know for sure what's wrong with him. treating for things that are not wrong can do much more harm than good so I'd find out for sure before adding any meds to the tank. if you want to add anything try aquarium salt (should help reduce stress) and increase the temp a few degrees to around 82 or 83F and see how he does for the next few days.


I do agree with keeping the lights low for a few days and try not to make any sudden movements around the tank that will frighten him until he gets completely comfortable in the new tank. also, I'd try to get that 75 as soon as possible. :)
 
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