My situation is that Im a 23 year old college student in a small college town up in the mountains of idaho with no LFS. Petco and petsmart are an hour away and neither have been a help. I own a 55 gallon tank thats lightly planted with amazon swords. I have 2 marineland penguin 350's, full spectrum lighting to promote growth in the swords and a 12" bubble strip. My ph, nitrates, nitrites and ammonia levels are all stable (at the moment). The bio load includes a 5 inch raphael cat, a 2 inch common pleco, a 3 inch jack, an 8 inch tiretrack eel,(2) 3 inch oscars, and the problem (a 12 inch jaguar cichlid that a friend gave me because it outgrew his 29 gallon tank). Im currently looking for another home for him but at the moment hes gotta crash in my tank. So far he has shown mild agression towards the oscars, nothing more than the basic cichlid territorial disputes. He has not attempted to eat any of his tank mates and im more than aware that he is capable. In fact, he ahsnt eaten anything and hes been in there 4 days now. He wont touch pellets, he wont touch raw shrimp, or earthworms, or even feeder goldfish, he litterally shows no interest in food at all. He is very skittish whenever i aproach the tank, ( i suspect because of the recent transport in a 5 gallon bucket from his old tank). Other than the "get a bigger tank" or "get rid of him" or "youre an idiot", what can I do to make this situation better and promote his interest in food?
new jaguar cichlid
- Thread starter eastoff1
- Start date
Typically, it just takes some times. I've had a new fish not eat for two weeks. For a 12" fish, four days is nothing. When's he's hungry, he'll eat.
He's probably going to eat his tank mates though.
He's probably going to eat his tank mates though.
He's already surrounded by swimming food why does he need any from you 
Seriously though he does need rehoming asap your fish will suffer and he will in the long run as your tank is too small for a male jag.
In the meantime keep plenty of hides he can't get in (small pipes that other fish can fit inside) and once he's settled in I'm sure he'll eat so once he does keep him well fed or he will feed himself on tankmates
Seriously though he does need rehoming asap your fish will suffer and he will in the long run as your tank is too small for a male jag.
In the meantime keep plenty of hides he can't get in (small pipes that other fish can fit inside) and once he's settled in I'm sure he'll eat so once he does keep him well fed or he will feed himself on tankmates
I wouldn't worry about him not eating, being a jag as soon as it settles he will start taking food quick enough.
At the lfs this week....This one is barely one & a half inch, didn't stop him from eating one of his tank mates, I'm sure yours will be fine 
I have had babies eat the day I bring them home and I've had monster fish refuse to eat for weeks because I moved them 30 feet into a bigger tank. It's so random when it comes to ectotherms, you don't need to worry until something doesn't eat for a month or 2 and even then depends on size and previous health and current conditions. They will fast sometimes and then resume a normal eating schedule, but temperature or stress is usually the culprit
