Male Dovii: Hardly Eating

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

Hey guys, please help.

My 5" Male Dovii never seems to be keen to eat.
If i leave a pellet in the tank for an hour or two, he will eat it, and spit most of it out.

I am not overfeeding him, I would say he eats about 3 pellets a day.. on a good day.

Am I wrong in expecting him to 'be hungry'? he's never in a rush, and never EXCITED to eat.

I have had some live feeders in there. He would ignore them for a good 3 hours, before killing one.

Have even had a couple of those feeders survive in the tank overnight.

Any help would be appreciated.
I want him to grow up to be nice and healthy, not malnourished and weak.

Thank you so much!


Tank layout (4x2x2). Will upgrade in a couple months:

Dovii:

Pellets:

 

[justarn]

Probably nervous add some decor and dithers till he is bigger IMO, maybe 6 larger spanner barbs.

 

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

Probably nervous add some decor and dithers till he is bigger IMO, maybe 6 larger spanner barbs.

I had thrown 4 barbs in there a few weeks ago. But that didnt do much for him, he just ignored them and stuck in the same place.

Is it common for many dovii to be really shy for months?

 

[dan518]

Yes

 

[B. Hizzle]

Hey bro imo those 8mm pellets are too big for a 5" fish and thats why he keep spitting it out. Maybe get him something smaller so he can digest it easier and save the large ones for when he's bigger.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Add some decor / hiding place. Dim lighting, smaller food, school of dithers.

What's your water change practices?

 

[robham777]

How long have you had him? Mine was painfully shy at that size when I first got him.

 

[jwd]

I would try smaller sinking pellets.

 

[duanes]

In that bare tank I'm not surprised, at 5 inches in nature, dovii are vulnerable to many predators (birds, reptiles, otters etc etc) and hide under hanging vegatative cover, under branches, logs and such.
That tank doesn't offer any such security that aa dovii instinctually searches out.
I also agree about pellet size.
In a number of studies the main stomach content for dovii in nature, are insects.
I live in very near dovii country and can tell you large numbers of beetles, grasshoppers and other insects are constantly floundering and disturbing the waters surface, and picked off by large cichlids.

 

[ClaustrophobicTurtle]

Hey bro imo those 8mm pellets are too big for a 5" fish and thats why he keep spitting it out. Maybe get him something smaller so he can digest it easier and save the large ones for when he's bigger.

Excellent wil do that tomorrow and report back