tigrinus catfish refusing to eat. Need Help.

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Vulkan

Vulkan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 7, 2010
178
8
18
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Hello,
I'm having issues feeding my 4" tigrinus catfish. I've had him for a month now, the first week he barely ate, tried blood worms and shrimps, on the 2nd week he started eating twice a day on cut tilapia meat and, but only if I put of food in front of him, the 3rd week he started eating less, once a day. Now on the 4th week he had stopped eating completely. He gained at least an inch in size in the first 3 weeks as i tried to power feed him, but now I'm concerned as I'm traveling for 6 days after tomorrow. he's in a 50 gal grow out with 2 motoro stingrays and 2 bichirs, I do 20% water change twice a week and there is moderate flow in the tank. This is by far the most picky/ finicky catfish I have ever kept. Please any advice or "trick" would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Change lots more water is my first suggestion. Also more water flow. What are your water parameter?
 
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Increase oxygen levels as this fish lives in highly oxygenated waters also do not power feed. Adding some floating water plants helps keep water more stable and reduces stress on the fish
 
Vulkan said:
Hello,
I'm having issues feeding my 4" tigrinus catfish. I've had him for a month now, the first week he barely ate, tried blood worms and shrimps, on the 2nd week he started eating twice a day on cut tilapia meat and, but only if I put of food in front of him, the 3rd week he started eating less, once a day. Now on the 4th week he had stopped eating completely. He gained at least an inch in size in the first 3 weeks as i tried to power feed him, but now I'm concerned as I'm traveling for 6 days after tomorrow. he's in a 50 gal grow out with 2 motoro stingrays and 2 bichirs, I do 20% water change twice a week and there is moderate flow in the tank. This is by far the most picky/ finicky catfish I have ever kept. Please any advice or "trick" would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Have you tried feeding with the light off
 
As stated, make sure the conditions in the aquarium are suitable for this species. The tigrinus catfish is a river dweller... they require fast-flowing water and high dissolved oxygen content. As juveniles, they can be quite sensitive and will waste away if these conditions are not met.

Feeding with the lights off is a good idea, as is varying your offerings. Predatory fish require a varied diet anyway, but they can be especially picky as juveniles. I'd recommend feeding chopped nightcrawlers or even live ghost shrimp... most fish cant resist those.
 
Bottomfeeder said:
As stated, make sure the conditions in the aquarium are suitable for this species. The tigrinus catfish is a river dweller... they require fast-flowing water and high dissolved oxygen content. As juveniles, they can be quite sensitive and will waste away if these conditions are not met.

Feeding with the lights off is a good idea, as is varying your offerings. Predatory fish require a varied diet anyway, but they can be especially picky as juveniles. I'd recommend feeding chopped nightcrawlers or even live ghost shrimp... most fish cant resist those.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice, I dropped the temperature down to 26 degree celsius from 27.5, and I added a wave maker to agitate the water surface more to create oxygen and flow.
It has started to feed again, I still have to pretty much hand feed it, but at least its eating. Thank you guys again for the advice.
 
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