New lungfish not eating (Protopterus aethiopicus)

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Mark Pajak

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 11, 2012
30
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Bristol England
We have just got a 19" Protopterus aethiopicus which does not appear to be eating. It is quite a contrast to other lungifish I have seen who eat anything. I understand they can and do go without food in the wild but would like to get ours feeding ASAP. He is in a planted tank alone. i am hoping this is just that the change in environment or stress of moving has brought on this behaviour and it will take time.We have tried prawns, live worms, muscles but he's not interested. Unfortunately we have no provenance information but He must have been eating in the past to get this size!

Is there any way to tell whether something more serious is wrong? i have turned the lights off now until he looks like he is exploring the tank. i have some massivore pellets but dont want to spoil the water with food being left too long.

What sort of steps should we try - medication and water changes? i have melafix but have heard mixed reviews and dont want to cause a problem by medicatingunnecessarily.
 
just to update this post: we turned off the lights and after a week tried some pellets - they were gone in the morning. we provided a better hiding place using a large clay pipe and he seems much happier- coming up forvair every now and then. he still wont take food straight away but it goes ad soon as we leave the room..... Looks like he was just taking time to adjust. such an amazing fish.
 
Well, there are to things to considarate here. Unlike the South American Lung Fish that starts to live of roots of aquatic plants as it matures, Protopterus gets more predatory as it grows. So depending on the content and nature of the food you are giving it, it might not fulfill it's necessities anymore. He might be looking for something with more protein.
Now the other thing. You know that this fish evolved to pass long periods of time buried in the mud, without food or even water. May be influencing it's behaivior. Good luck.
 
The lungfish is doing fine now, very keen on spending most of the day in a pipe and coming up for air and food regularly. She has not yet worked out that people means feeding time, but I am sure this behaviour will develop as time passes. She has a very shy but inquisitive personality, and is feeding well on massivore, prawns and algae wafers.
 
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