RTC feeding

[brewerytattooer]

Hey there.

I moved my RTC to his pond about a month ago and he is not eating like he used to. he eats, but only in small amounts. water temp sits right around 76-78. ALso he is not as active as he was in the smaller tank. No new tankmates or anything. Any ideas on how to get him back to his normal self?

 

[divemaster99]

Maybe feed him more appealing foods. For example Asian bumblebee cats are supposed to so fine on dry but mine will only eat frozen or live so maybe try feeding your RTC things like tilapia, beef heart, fish filets, etc.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

What are the water parameters?

Silly question but I don't see a filter on his pond? http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?577982-RTC-in-his-new-home

 

[brewerytattooer]

that's all i feed him. Tilapia fillets, raw shell on shrimp. Water params are ammonia 0, nitrites 0 and the nitrates are low as well. ph is 7.6

 

[brewerytattooer]

original pics had filter removed. he is what is looks like all set up.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Temp?

What test kit? Is it fresh?

Have you washed the liner and the gravel well? Are they both fish-friendly? Non-fish liners like some vinyls, PVCs, etc. can and have been reported to leach out toxic substances.

Wrong rock can too make the water too hard (your pH is ok but 7.6 is at the extreme of the range of one of the pH tests in the Master kit; have you double checked with the other, wide-range pH test?) or leach toxic stuff like heavy metal containing substances into the water.

Same goes for the filter media - has to be clean, pre-washed well, and fish-friendly... i.e., if you put together a new filter.

Have you tested with tester fish?

There could be something that stresses out the fish.

Is the light too bright? I'd ditch the light altogether or replace with a much dimmer one.

Could it have already swallowed gravel as we warned you in that other thread?