Recently I acquired a rather large Midas/RD. He loves to eat feeders only. But the problem is that he is too slow for even gold fish feeders what should I do? As of late he just scoops gravel into his mouth and spits it at the frost of the tank. I'm worried because his belly is getting that half starved sunken look to it and I've tried everything even wounding feeders and he won't eat them. He can't catch the feeders he likes and refuses all other forms of food. What should I do?
RD trouble
- Thread starter Stramn
- Start date
I'm worried that he will just die. Since he can't catch the feeders and he won't take the pellets i put in every day, nor the blood worms, nor the tubifexworms, nor the live shrimp, nor the sticks, nor the flakes. What am I supposed to do? He won't even eat beefheart or anything. He is just obsesssed with chasing the feeder fishes and when he has the chance to eat them he stops in his tracks, or he sucks them in and spits them back out. I'm about ready to just buy 40 to 50 feeders and drop them in his tank.
how long have you had him? It can take a few days or even a week for him to settle. I find larger midas/RDs take longer to settle.
Starve him for another 2-3 days (by starving i mean don't introduce anything he can eat) and he'll eventually take pellets.
Starve him for another 2-3 days (by starving i mean don't introduce anything he can eat) and he'll eventually take pellets.
First, stop trying to feed it Goldfish, they are of little nutritional value and can introduce disease and parasites. I realize you said it’s not eating but have you noticed any white stringy poop? Are you keeping up with tank maintenance? Weekly water changes, filter maint, checking parameters?
A good quality pellet is much better for your fish, NLS, Hakari Bio-Gold+, Hikari Massivore ECT along with frozen or freeze dried Krill, market shrimp and night crawlers as treats used supplementary with the pellets is a good diet.
How long have you had the fish? I agree it may take a while for it to settle into its new surroundings, that being said the stomach distention is concerning as that doesn’t occur in a week, so how long has it been since it’s eaten? Was it eating when you first got it? One other question is what temp is the tank? If your keeping it at the mid to upper 70’s I would bump the temp up to around 82 warm water increases the fishes metabolism and aggression and barring any other problem usually gets them eating. Good luck.
A good quality pellet is much better for your fish, NLS, Hakari Bio-Gold+, Hikari Massivore ECT along with frozen or freeze dried Krill, market shrimp and night crawlers as treats used supplementary with the pellets is a good diet.
How long have you had the fish? I agree it may take a while for it to settle into its new surroundings, that being said the stomach distention is concerning as that doesn’t occur in a week, so how long has it been since it’s eaten? Was it eating when you first got it? One other question is what temp is the tank? If your keeping it at the mid to upper 70’s I would bump the temp up to around 82 warm water increases the fishes metabolism and aggression and barring any other problem usually gets them eating. Good luck.
First if he recovers and gets healthy again i would do everything in my power to get him off of feeders.. they introduce disease and are not as nutritional as commercial foods.. for now i would try to get him to eat .. and i would add some garlic oil according to directions to his tank.. this enhances hunger and also inhibits the infection if he has one..and do frequent water changes..this also enhances appetite.. good luck
You said he spits the feeders out, so this tells me he's not eating at all. If he's got the sunken belly, it means he hasn't eaten for quite a while. It takes a big, healthy cichlid several weeks to get the sunken belly look.
Has this fish eaten at all since you acquired it? And how long have you had it?
When I have a stubborn fish, I always turn the heat up and starve them for a few days. The heat speeds up their metabolism and usually encourages them to eat. That, paired with starving them for a few days (up to a week) will make for a hungry fish. Also, I've always been told the fish are more hungry in the morning, and to try the food then.
It could also be suffering from an internal bug like hexamita (white, stringy poop) or worms. That could be the reason for him spitting out food and having the sunken look.
Has this fish eaten at all since you acquired it? And how long have you had it?
When I have a stubborn fish, I always turn the heat up and starve them for a few days. The heat speeds up their metabolism and usually encourages them to eat. That, paired with starving them for a few days (up to a week) will make for a hungry fish. Also, I've always been told the fish are more hungry in the morning, and to try the food then.
It could also be suffering from an internal bug like hexamita (white, stringy poop) or worms. That could be the reason for him spitting out food and having the sunken look.